Metric Tensor (general Relativity)

Metric Tensor (general Relativity)

In general relativity, the metric tensor (or simply, the metric) is the fundamental object of study. It may loosely be thought of as a generalization of the gravitational field familiar from Newtonian gravitation. The metric captures all the geometric and causal structure of spacetime, being used to define notions such as distance, volume, curvature, angle, future and past.

Notation and conventions: Throughout this article we work with a metric signature that is mostly positive (− + + +); see sign convention. As is customary in relativity, units are used where the speed of light c = 1. The gravitation constant G will be kept explicit. The summation convention, where repeated indices are automatically summed over, is employed.