[Math] A learning question about volume forms

differential-geometry

I am learning differential manifold and got a question.

How do we calculate the surface area? Or how to calculate the volume of a submanifold?
Like for the surface area of $S^n$, if $\phi$ is the embedding map, then it seems that
$S=\int\phi^*(\sum_{j=1}^{n+1}(-1)^{j-1}x_j dx_1\wedge dx_2…dx_{j-1}\wedge dx_{j+1}…\wedge dx_{n+1})$ according to some webpage I found. But where did that volume form come from? For a general case, if $(N,\phi)$ is a n-dimension submanifold embedding in a m-dimension manifold M, what is the n-form in $A(M)$ that should be pulled back and integrate on $N$?

Thank you for your patience.

Best Answer

I think that in general the best approach is the following: For all this discussion, we start with a Riemannian metric $ds^2$ on $M$, and we look at the induced Riemannian metric $i^*ds^2$ on $N$. We write $$i^*ds^2 = \sum_{j=1}^n \omega^j\otimes\omega^j$$ for a suitable collection of $1$-forms $\omega^j$. Then the induced volume ("area") form on $N$ will be $\omega^1\wedge\dots\wedge\omega^n$.

For example, consider $S^2\hookrightarrow \mathbb R^3$. Considering spherical coordinates, $i(\phi,\theta) = (\sin\phi\cos\theta,\sin\phi\sin\theta,\cos\phi)$, we have \begin{align*} i^*ds^2_{\mathbb R^3} &= i^*\big(dx^1\otimes dx^1+ dx^2\otimes dx^2+dx^3\otimes dx^3\big) \\ &= d\phi\otimes d\phi + \sin^2\phi\, d\theta\otimes d\theta \\ &= \omega^1\otimes\omega^1 + \omega^2\otimes\omega^2\,, \end{align*} where $\omega^1 = d\phi$ and $\omega^2 = \sin\phi\,d\theta$. [We order these to give the orientation we want on the submanifold.] Then our area form on $S^2$ is $$\omega^1\wedge\omega^2 = \sin\phi\,d\phi\wedge d\theta\,.$$

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