Covariance and Contravariance of Vectors - Definition

Definition

The general formulation of covariance and contravariance refers to how the components of a coordinate vector transform under a change of basis (passive transformation). Thus let V be a vector space of dimension n over the field of scalars S, and let each of f = (X1,...,Xn) and f' = (Y1,...,Yn) be a basis of V. Also, let the change of basis from f to f′ be given by

(1)

for some invertible n×n matrix A with entries . Here, each vector Yj of the f' basis is a linear combination of the vectors Xi of the f basis, so that

Read more about this topic:  Covariance And Contravariance Of Vectors

Famous quotes containing the word definition:

    ... if, as women, we accept a philosophy of history that asserts that women are by definition assimilated into the male universal, that we can understand our past through a male lens—if we are unaware that women even have a history—we live our lives similarly unanchored, drifting in response to a veering wind of myth and bias.
    Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)

    The definition of good prose is proper words in their proper places; of good verse, the most proper words in their proper places. The propriety is in either case relative. The words in prose ought to express the intended meaning, and no more; if they attract attention to themselves, it is, in general, a fault.
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

    It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.”
    Jane Adams (20th century)