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Vector Operator
A vector operator is a differential operator used in vector calculus. Vector operators are defined in terms of del, and include the gradient, divergence, and curl: :\begin \operatorname &\equiv \nabla \\ \operatorname &\equiv \nabla \cdot \\ \operatorname &\equiv \nabla \times \end The Laplacian is : \nabla^2 \equiv \operatorname\ \operatorname \equiv \nabla \cdot \nabla Vector operators must always come right before the scalar field or vector field on which they operate, in order to produce a result. E.g. : \nabla f yields the gradient of ''f'', but : f \nabla is just another vector operator, which is not operating on anything. A vector operator can operate on another vector operator, to produce a compound vector operator, as seen above in the case of the Laplacian. See also * del * d'Alembertian operator In special relativity, electromagnetism and wave theory, the d'Alembert operator (denoted by a box: \Box), also called the d'Alembertian, wave operator, box operator ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Operator
In mathematics, a differential operator is an operator defined as a function of the differentiation operator. It is helpful, as a matter of notation first, to consider differentiation as an abstract operation that accepts a function and returns another function (in the style of a higher-order function in computer science). This article considers mainly linear differential operators, which are the most common type. However, non-linear differential operators also exist, such as the Schwarzian derivative. Definition An order-m linear differential operator is a map A from a function space \mathcal_1 to another function space \mathcal_2 that can be written as: A = \sum_a_\alpha(x) D^\alpha\ , where \alpha = (\alpha_1,\alpha_2,\cdots,\alpha_n) is a multi-index of non-negative integers, , \alpha, = \alpha_1 + \alpha_2 + \cdots + \alpha_n, and for each \alpha, a_\alpha(x) is a function on some open domain in ''n''-dimensional space. The operator D^\alpha is interpreted as D^\ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vector Calculus
Vector calculus, or vector analysis, is concerned with differentiation and integration of vector fields, primarily in 3-dimensional Euclidean space \mathbb^3. The term "vector calculus" is sometimes used as a synonym for the broader subject of multivariable calculus, which spans vector calculus as well as partial differentiation and multiple integration. Vector calculus plays an important role in differential geometry and in the study of partial differential equations. It is used extensively in physics and engineering, especially in the description of electromagnetic fields, gravitational fields, and fluid flow. Vector calculus was developed from quaternion analysis by J. Willard Gibbs and Oliver Heaviside near the end of the 19th century, and most of the notation and terminology was established by Gibbs and Edwin Bidwell Wilson in their 1901 book, '' Vector Analysis''. In the conventional form using cross products, vector calculus does not generalize to higher dime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradient of a function is non-zero at a point , the direction of the gradient is the direction in which the function increases most quickly from , and the magnitude of the gradient is the rate of increase in that direction, the greatest absolute directional derivative. Further, a point where the gradient is the zero vector is known as a stationary point. The gradient thus plays a fundamental role in optimization theory, where it is used to maximize a function by gradient ascent. In coordinate-free terms, the gradient of a function f(\bf) may be defined by: :df=\nabla f \cdot d\bf where ''df'' is the total infinitesimal change in ''f'' for an infinitesimal displacement d\bf, and is seen to be maximal when d\bf is in the direction of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divergence
In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of the outward flux of a vector field from an infinitesimal volume around a given point. As an example, consider air as it is heated or cooled. The velocity of the air at each point defines a vector field. While air is heated in a region, it expands in all directions, and thus the velocity field points outward from that region. The divergence of the velocity field in that region would thus have a positive value. While the air is cooled and thus contracting, the divergence of the velocity has a negative value. Physical interpretation of divergence In physical terms, the divergence of a vector field is the extent to which the vector field flux behaves like a source at a given point. It is a local measure of its "outgoingness" – the extent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curl (mathematics)
In vector calculus, the curl is a vector operator that describes the infinitesimal circulation of a vector field in three-dimensional Euclidean space. The curl at a point in the field is represented by a vector whose length and direction denote the magnitude and axis of the maximum circulation. The curl of a field is formally defined as the circulation density at each point of the field. A vector field whose curl is zero is called irrotational. The curl is a form of differentiation for vector fields. The corresponding form of the fundamental theorem of calculus is Stokes' theorem, which relates the surface integral of the curl of a vector field to the line integral of the vector field around the boundary curve. is a notation common today to the United States and Americas. In many European countries, particularly in classic scientific literature, the alternative notation is traditionally used, which is spelled as "rotor", and comes from the "rate of rotation", which it re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laplacian
In mathematics, the Laplace operator or Laplacian is a differential operator given by the divergence of the gradient of a scalar function on Euclidean space. It is usually denoted by the symbols \nabla\cdot\nabla, \nabla^2 (where \nabla is the nabla operator), or \Delta. In a Cartesian coordinate system, the Laplacian is given by the sum of second partial derivatives of the function with respect to each independent variable. In other coordinate systems, such as cylindrical and spherical coordinates, the Laplacian also has a useful form. Informally, the Laplacian of a function at a point measures by how much the average value of over small spheres or balls centered at deviates from . The Laplace operator is named after the French mathematician Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749–1827), who first applied the operator to the study of celestial mechanics: the Laplacian of the gravitational potential due to a given mass density distribution is a constant multiple of that den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scalar Field
In mathematics and physics, a scalar field is a function associating a single number to every point in a space – possibly physical space. The scalar may either be a pure mathematical number ( dimensionless) or a scalar physical quantity (with units). In a physical context, scalar fields are required to be independent of the choice of reference frame, meaning that any two observers using the same units will agree on the value of the scalar field at the same absolute point in space (or spacetime) regardless of their respective points of origin. Examples used in physics include the temperature distribution throughout space, the pressure distribution in a fluid, and spin-zero quantum fields, such as the Higgs field. These fields are the subject of scalar field theory. Definition Mathematically, a scalar field on a region ''U'' is a real or complex-valued function or distribution on ''U''. The region ''U'' may be a set in some Euclidean space, Minkowski space, or more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D'Alembertian Operator
In special relativity, electromagnetism and wave theory, the d'Alembert operator (denoted by a box: \Box), also called the d'Alembertian, wave operator, box operator or sometimes quabla operator (''cf''. nabla symbol) is the Laplace operator of Minkowski space. The operator is named after French mathematician and physicist Jean le Rond d'Alembert. In Minkowski space, in standard coordinates , it has the form : \begin \Box & = \partial^\mu \partial_\mu = \eta^ \partial_\nu \partial_\mu = \frac \frac - \frac - \frac - \frac \\ & = \frac - \nabla^2 = \frac - \Delta ~~. \end Here \nabla^2 := \Delta is the 3-dimensional Laplacian and is the inverse Minkowski metric with :\eta_ = 1, \eta_ = \eta_ = \eta_ = -1, \eta_ = 0 for \mu \neq \nu. Note that the and summation indices range from 0 to 3: see Einstein notation. We have assumed units such that the speed of light = 1. (Some authors alternatively use the negative metric signature of , with \eta_ = -1,\; \eta_ = \et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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