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Invariance under spacetime translations

Proved
PolyakovAction.translation_invariance

by Lucas · Oct 1, 2026 · Mathlib 0df444a (Lean v4.33.1)

mathematical-physicsstring-theory

Let the target metric be a constant matrix gμνg_{\mu\nu}gμν​. For every constant vector bαb^\alphabα, the spacetime translation Xα→Xα+bαX^\alpha\to X^\alpha+b^\alphaXα→Xα+bα leaves the Polyakov action unchanged:

S[X+b]=S[X].S[X+b]=S[X].S[X+b]=S[X].

This is transformation (i) of the Poincaré symmetry of the target manifold in the source ("Global symmetries"); it holds because the action depends on XXX only through its first derivatives.

Formalization Note. The target metric is taken constant (flat target), the setting in which the source's Poincaré symmetry is stated. The identity holds for any worldsheet metric, any region and any map XXX.

Preamble
import Mathlib
import Definitions.Def_PolyakovAction_Defs

open MeasureTheory Filter Asymptotics
open scoped Matrix Topology
Formal statement
namespace PolyakovAction

theorem translation_invariance {D : ℕ} (T : ℝ) (g : Matrix (Fin D) (Fin D) ℝ)
    (h : Worldsheet → Matrix (Fin 2) (Fin 2) ℝ) (X : Worldsheet → Spacetime D)
    (b : Spacetime D) (U : Set Worldsheet) :
    polyakovAction T (fun _ => g) h (fun σ => X σ + b) U
      = polyakovAction T (fun _ => g) h X U := by sorry

end PolyakovAction
Source
Wikipedia, "Polyakov action", revision oldid=1292212311 (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polyakov_action&oldid=1292212311)
Read-back

What the Lean code literally says, in plain math · Aristotle (Harmonic)

Non-blind read-back — not independent testimony. This read-back was written by the same agent (Aristotle, by Harmonic) that drafted the Lean statements of this proposal, at the account owner's explicit instruction. Its author knew the source material and the intended meaning of the code while writing it, so it is not a blind audit and must not be mistaken for independent testimony. Reviewers should compare it against the Lean code themselves.

Throughout, σ=(σ0,σ1)∈R2\sigma=(\sigma^0,\sigma^1)\in\mathbb R^2σ=(σ0,σ1)∈R2 is a worldsheet point (index 000 is τ\tauτ, index 111 is σ\sigmaσ), X:R2→RDX:\mathbb R^2\to\mathbb R^DX:R2→RD is the embedding, ∂aXμ(σ)\partial_a X^\mu(\sigma)∂a​Xμ(σ) is the μ\muμ-th component of the Fréchet derivative of XXX at σ\sigmaσ applied to the aaa-th standard basis vector (it is 000 wherever XXX is not differentiable), Gab(σ)=∑μ,νgμν(X(σ)) ∂aXμ ∂bXνG_{ab}(\sigma)=\sum_{\mu,\nu} g_{\mu\nu}(X(\sigma))\,\partial_aX^\mu\,\partial_bX^\nuGab​(σ)=∑μ,ν​gμν​(X(σ))∂a​Xμ∂b​Xν is the induced metric, habh^{ab}hab denotes the entries of the matrix inverse (hab)−1(h_{ab})^{-1}(hab​)−1 (Mathlib's inverse, which is the zero matrix when det⁡h=0\det h=0deth=0), and ⋅\sqrt{\cdot}⋅​ is the real square root, which returns 000 on negative inputs. The Polyakov density is LP=−det⁡h ∑a,bhabGab\mathcal L_P=\sqrt{-\det h}\,\sum_{a,b}h^{ab}G_{ab}LP​=−deth​∑a,b​habGab​, the Polyakov action on a set UUU is SP[U]=T2∫ULP d2σS_P[U]=\frac T2\int_U\mathcal L_P\,d^2\sigmaSP​[U]=2T​∫U​LP​d2σ (Lebesgue measure; Bochner integral, equal to 000 if the integrand is not integrable on UUU), and the Nambu–Goto action is SNG[U]=T∫U−det⁡G d2σS_{NG}[U]=T\int_U\sqrt{-\det G}\,d^2\sigmaSNG​[U]=T∫U​−detG​d2σ. The stress–energy tensor is Tab=T(Gab−12hab∑c,dhcdGcd)T_{ab}=T\big(G_{ab}-\tfrac12 h_{ab}\sum_{c,d}h^{cd}G_{cd}\big)Tab​=T(Gab​−21​hab​∑c,d​hcdGcd​), and η(n)=diag(1,−1,…,−1)\eta^{(n)}=\mathrm{diag}(1,-1,\dots,-1)η(n)=diag(1,−1,…,−1) is the n×nn\times nn×n Minkowski matrix.

Statement. For every DDD, real TTT, constant matrix g∈RD×Dg\in\mathbb R^{D\times D}g∈RD×D (used as the target metric at every point), worldsheet metric h:R2→R2×2h:\mathbb R^2\to\mathbb R^{2\times2}h:R2→R2×2, map X:R2→RDX:\mathbb R^2\to\mathbb R^DX:R2→RD, vector b∈RDb\in\mathbb R^Db∈RD and set U⊆R2U\subseteq\mathbb R^2U⊆R2 (no measurability, differentiability or integrability assumed):

SP(T, g, h,  σ↦X(σ)+b,  U)=SP(T, g, h, X, U).S_P\big(T,\,g,\,h,\;\sigma\mapsto X(\sigma)+b,\;U\big)=S_P(T,\,g,\,h,\,X,\,U).SP​(T,g,h,σ↦X(σ)+b,U)=SP​(T,g,h,X,U).
Human review
  • Endorsed by Shuze Chen · Oct 8, 2026

    Confirmed by the moderator at approval.

  • Endorsed by Lucas · Oct 8, 2026

    Confirmed by the mission captain (proposal self-audit).

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