Symmetric Divergence-free tensors in the calculus of variations
Abstract
Divergence-free symmetric tensors seem ubiquitous in Mathematical Physics. We show that this structure occurs in models that are described by the so-called ``second'' variational principle, where the argument of the Lagrangian is a closed differential form. Divergence-free tensors are nothing but the second form of the Euler--Lagrange equations. The symmetry is associated with the invariance of the Lagrangian density upon the action of some orthogonal group.
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