The Taylor series related to the differential of the exponential map

Abstract

In this paper we study the Taylor series of an operator-valued function related to the differential of the exponential map. For a smooth manifold $\mathcal{M}$ with a torsion-free affine connection the operator $\mathcal{E}_p(v)$ acting on the space $T_p\mathcal{M}$ is defined to be the composition of the differential of the exponential map at $v\in T_p\mathcal{M}$ with parallel transport to $p$ along the geodesic. The Taylor series of $\mathcal{E}_p$ as a function of $v$ is found explicitly in terms of the curvature tensor and its high order covariant derivatives at $p$.