A first-order differential relation for sections of a smooth bundle E→ME\to M is a R⊂J1E\mathcal R\subset J^1E of its . A solution is a smooth ss of EE with jx1s∈Rj_x^1s\in\mathcal R for every x∈Mx\in M.

Coordinate form

The relation prescribes allowed triples (x,y,A)(x,y,A) of base point, value, and derivative. Equalities and inequalities on these triples can both define relations.

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