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What is this notation with an un-sandwiched comma in the subscript?

Physics Asked on August 17, 2021

I have a scalar deflection potential (in the study of weak lensing) and in the book (Schneider, Kochanek and Wambsganss’s Gravitational Lensing: Strong, Weak and Micro) I have the following passage:

If a source is much smaller than the angular scale on which the lens properties change, the lens mapping can be linearised locally. The distortion of images is then described by

$$
vec{A}(vec{theta})
=frac{partialvec{beta}}{partialvec{theta}}
=Big(delta_{ij}-frac{partial^2psi(vec{theta})}{partialtheta_itheta_j}Big)
=begin{pmatrix}
1-kappa-gamma_1 &gamma_2
gamma & -kappa+gamma_1end{pmatrix}$$

where we have introduced the components of the shear $gamma=gamma_1+igamma_2=|gamma|e^{2iphi}$, $$gamma_1=frac{1}{2}(psi_{,11}-psi_{,22}),$$ $$gamma_2=psi_{,12}.$$

So there it is in context. Could someone please explan the notation used in the scalar potentials on the last 2 lines?

One Answer

It means a partial derivative, the same as it usually does. In this case, $psi$ is as scalar field, so it has no indices of its own, so there is nothing to "sandwich" (your word) the comma against on the left side of the subscript.

Answered by Brick on August 17, 2021

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