Nonlinear elasticity complex and a finite element diagram chase

Abstract: In this paper, we present a nonlinear version of the linear elasticity (Calabi, Kr\"oner, Riemannian deformation) complex which encodes isometric embedding, metric, curvature and the Bianchi identity. We reformulate the rigidity theorem and a fundamental theorem of Riemannian geometry as the exactness of this complex. Then we generalize an algebraic approach for constructing finite elements for the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand (BGG) complexes. In particular, we discuss the reduction of degrees of freedom with injective connecting maps in the BGG diagrams. We derive a strain complex in two space dimensions with a diagram chase.