In differential geometry and general relativity, the Bach tensor is a trace-free tensor of rank 2 which is conformally invariant in dimension n = 4.[1] Before 1968, it was the only known conformally invariant tensor that is algebraically independent of the Weyl tensor.[2] In abstract indices the Bach tensor is given by
where is the Weyl tensor, and the Schouten tensor given in terms of the Ricci tensor and scalar curvature by