Simplification of tensor expressions in computer algebra

Abstract

Computer algebra is widely used in various fields of mathematics, physics and other sciences. The simplification of tensor expressions is an important special case of computer algebra. In this paper, we consider the reduction of tensor polynomials to canonical form, taking into account the properties of symmetry under permutations of indices, the symmetries associated with the renaming of summation indices, and also linear relations between tensors of a general form. We give a definition of the canonical representation for polynomial (multiplicative) expressions of variables with abstract indices, which is the result of averaging of the original expression by the action of some finite group (the signature stabilizer). In practice, the proposed algorithms demonstrate high efficiency for expressions made of Riemann curvature tensors.