Hi,


I see that the tetrad postulate:


$\nabla\_{\mu}e\_{\nu}^{I}=\partial\_{\mu}e\_{\nu}^{I}-\Gamma\_{\mu\nu}^{\rho}e\_{\rho}^{I}+\omega\_{\mu J}^{I}e\_{\nu}^{J}=0$
Can be merely derived from writing a tensor in two different basis (pure natural-coordinates $\{\partial\_\mu\}$ and mixed $\{\partial\_\mu\} + \{e\_a\}$), my questions are:


1. Does this imply the metricity of the connexion or the inverse?
2. If it is the inverse, how?
3. In writing $g\_{\mu\nu}=\eta\_{IJ}e\_{\mu}^{I}e\_{\nu}^{J}$ do we need to impose a metricity on $\eta$?


ps: metricity = metric compatible



Tetrad postulate: Implies or results from the metricity of the connection?
Having botched the first attempt at answering this question and not wanting to delete the evidence, let me try again here.


The "tetrad postulate" is independent from metricity and from the condition that the connection be torsion-free. It is simply the equivalence (via the vielbein) of two connections on two different bundles. Here are the details. $M$ is a smooth $n$-dimensional manifold.


First of all we have an affine connection $\nabla$ on $TM$ with connection coefficients $\Gamma^\rho\_{\mu\nu}$ relative to a coordinate basis -- that is,
$$\nabla\_{\partial\_\mu} \partial\_\nu = \Gamma\_{\mu\nu}^\rho \partial\_\rho,$$
with $\partial\_\mu$ an abbreviation for $\partial/\partial x^\mu$ where $x^\mu$ is a local chart on $M$.


Then we have a connection on an associated vector bundle to the frame bundle $P\_{\mathrm{GL}}(M)$. The frame bundle is a principal $\mathrm{GL}(n)$-bundle and given any representation $\rho: \mathrm{GL}(n) \to \mathrm{GL}(V)$ of $\mathrm{GL}(n)$ we can define a vector bundle
$$P\_{\mathrm{GL}}(M) \times\_\rho V.$$
Take $V$ to be the defining $n$-dimensional representation and call the resulting bundle $E$. Relative to a local frame $e\_a$ for $E$, a connection $\hat\nabla$ defines connection one-form $\omega$ by
$$\hat\nabla\_{\partial\_\mu} e\_a = \omega\_{\mu~a}^b e\_b.$$


Now the vielbein defines a bundle isomorphism $TM \buildrel\cong\over\longrightarrow E$ and all the "tetrad postulate" says is that the two connections $\nabla$ and $\hat\nabla$ correspond. In fact, the "tetrad postulate" is just the statement that the vielbein is a parallel section of the bundle $T^\*M \otimes E$ relative to the tensor product connection.


This works for *any* affine connection $\nabla$ on *any* smooth manifold $M$. No metric is involved.


A special case of this construction is when $(M,g)$ is a riemannian manifold and $\nabla$ is the Levi-Civita connection (i.e., the unique torsion-free, metric connection on $TM$).
You can without loss of generality restrict to orthonormal frames, which defines a principal $\mathrm{O}(n)$ (or $\mathrm{O}(p,q)$ depending on signature) bundle. The representation $V$ restricts to an irreducible rep of the orthogonal group, possessing an invariant bilinear form $\eta$. This relates $g$ and $\eta$ as in your question.


