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Alternating Unit Tensor

The document discusses the alternating unit tensor ε ijk, which is defined based on the equality and permutation of its indices. It explains the conditions under which the tensor takes values of 0, +1, or -1, and provides examples of its applications, such as in the cross product of vectors and the determinant of a second-order tensor. The document also highlights that among the 27 components of this tensor, 21 are zero, with the remaining 6 split between +1 and -1 values.

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Jason Stanley
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61 views1 page

Alternating Unit Tensor

The document discusses the alternating unit tensor ε ijk, which is defined based on the equality and permutation of its indices. It explains the conditions under which the tensor takes values of 0, +1, or -1, and provides examples of its applications, such as in the cross product of vectors and the determinant of a second-order tensor. The document also highlights that among the 27 components of this tensor, 21 are zero, with the remaining 6 split between +1 and -1 values.

Uploaded by

Jason Stanley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Alternating Unit Tensor ε ijk

R. Shankar Subramanian
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York 13699

The alternating unit tensor ε ijk is useful when expressing certain results in compact form in index
notation. It is defined as follows.

ε ijk = 0 if any two of the indices are equal

ε ijk = + 1 when the indices form an even permutation of (123)

ε ijk = − 1 when the indices form an odd permutation of (123)

When the indices are different from each other, they must form either an even or an odd
permutation of (123). We determine whether a permutation is even or odd by examining the
number of transpositions that will lead to it. For example, consider (231). One way to obtain
this is to first swap 1 and 2 in (123) to yield (213) and then swap 1 and 3 to get (231). We have
gone through two such swaps. Therefore, this is an even permutation of (123). On the other
hand, to get (213) from (123), we needed just a single swap. Hence, (213) is an odd permutation
of (123).

Using the above information, you can establish that among the 27 components of this third order
tensor, 21 are zero. Of the remaining 6, three take on the value of +1, and the other three, the
value –1.

By enumeration, prove to yourself that

ε=
ijk ε klm δ il δ jm − δ im δ jl

Here are some examples illustrating the uses of the alternating unit tensor.

Cross Product of Two Vectors

a×b =ε ijk ai b j

Determinant of a second-order tensor A

Det ( Aij ) ε=
= ijk A1i A2 j A3 k ε ijk Ai1 Aj 2 Ak 3

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