Cadabra is a symbolic computer algebra system (CAS) designed especially for theoretical and mathematical physics, with a strong focus on field theory and tensor calculations. It can manipulate tensors with complicated symmetries, fermionic and non-commuting quantities, Clifford algebras, gamma matrices, Fierz identities, covariant derivatives, and both abstract and component expressions. Mathematical input and output use a subset of LaTeX, while computations can be programmed in Python; the underlying system is largely implemented in C++. Cadabra can be used from a command line, its own notebook interface, or through Jupyter, and it can also interact with SymPy.
A distinctive feature of Cadabra is its philosophy of keeping the mathematician in control. Instead of automatically simplifying every expression into what the software considers a canonical form, Cadabra generally leaves expressions unchanged until the user explicitly requests a transformation. This makes it behave more like a mathematical scratchpad, which is particularly useful in research calculations where several valid manipulation paths may exist.
The project began around 2001 for work on higher-derivative supergravity, was first publicly released in 2007, and underwent a major rewrite into Cadabra 2 during 2015–2016. Recent releases have improved plotting, the notebook interface, SymPy integration, component calculations, performance, and usability.
Cadabra
A distinctive feature of Cadabra is its philosophy of keeping the mathematician in control. Instead of automatically simplifying every expression into what the software considers a canonical form, Cadabra generally leaves expressions unchanged until the user explicitly requests a transformation. This makes it behave more like a mathematical scratchpad, which is particularly useful in research calculations where several valid manipulation paths may exist.
The project began around 2001 for work on higher-derivative supergravity, was first publicly released in 2007, and underwent a major rewrite into Cadabra 2 during 2015–2016. Recent releases have improved plotting, the notebook interface, SymPy integration, component calculations, performance, and usability.
Cadabra
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