An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A abbreviated notation for various functions associated with quadratic differential forms. Each Christoffel symbol is essentially a triplet of three indices, i, j and k, where each index can assume values from 1 to 2 for the case of two variables, or from 1 to n in the case of a quadratic form in n variables. Christoffel symbols appear in many calculations in geometry where non-Cartesian coordinates are used. These symbols are fundamental in the study of tensor analysis.

See also: Named after Elwin Bruno Christoffel (1829-1900), a German mathematician; → symbol.