The Hodge Decomposition is a fundamental theorem in differential geometry and algebraic topology that provides a way to break down differential forms on a Riemannian manifold into orthogonal components. According to this theorem, any differential form can be uniquely expressed as the sum of three parts:
Mathematically, for a differential form on a Riemannian manifold , Hodge's theorem states that:
where is the exterior derivative, is the codifferential, and , , and are differential forms representing the exact, co-exact, and harmonic components, respectively. This decomposition is crucial for various applications in mathematical physics, such as in the study of electromagnetic fields and fluid dynamics.
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