Definition: Configuration support

The support ${\mathrm{supp}}_{\mathrm{fun}}F$ of an actual functional is the complement of the largest open region on which every compactly supported configuration variation leaves $F$ unchanged at every configuration. Metric and scalar support are defined by restricting the variations to the respective field species.

For a finite formal functional, its support is taken to be the union of its coefficient supports when a formal support statement is required.