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Functional Derivative
In the calculus of variations, a field of mathematical analysis, the functional derivative (or variational derivative) relates a change in a functional (a functional in this sense is a function that acts on functions) to a change in a function on which the functional depends. In the calculus of variations, functionals are usually expressed in terms of an integral of functions, their arguments, and their derivatives. In an integral of a functional, if a function is varied by adding to it another function that is arbitrarily small, and the resulting integrand is expanded in powers of , the coefficient of in the first order term is called the functional derivative. For example, consider the functional J = \int_a^b L( \, x, f(x), f \, '(x) \, ) \, dx \ , where . If is varied by adding to it a function , and the resulting integrand is expanded in powers of , then the change in the value of to first order in can be expressed as follows:According to , this notation is customar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calculus Of Variations
The calculus of variations (or Variational Calculus) is a field of mathematical analysis that uses variations, which are small changes in functions and functionals, to find maxima and minima of functionals: mappings from a set of functions to the real numbers. Functionals are often expressed as definite integrals involving functions and their derivatives. Functions that maximize or minimize functionals may be found using the Euler–Lagrange equation of the calculus of variations. A simple example of such a problem is to find the curve of shortest length connecting two points. If there are no constraints, the solution is a straight line between the points. However, if the curve is constrained to lie on a surface in space, then the solution is less obvious, and possibly many solutions may exist. Such solutions are known as ''geodesics''. A related problem is posed by Fermat's principle: light follows the path of shortest optical length connecting two points, which depends up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Total Differential
In calculus, the differential represents the principal part of the change in a function ''y'' = ''f''(''x'') with respect to changes in the independent variable. The differential ''dy'' is defined by :dy = f'(x)\,dx, where f'(x) is the derivative of ''f'' with respect to ''x'', and ''dx'' is an additional real variable (so that ''dy'' is a function of ''x'' and ''dx''). The notation is such that the equation :dy = \frac\, dx holds, where the derivative is represented in the Leibniz notation ''dy''/''dx'', and this is consistent with regarding the derivative as the quotient of the differentials. One also writes :df(x) = f'(x)\,dx. The precise meaning of the variables ''dy'' and ''dx'' depends on the context of the application and the required level of mathematical rigor. The domain of these variables may take on a particular geometrical significance if the differential is regarded as a particular differential form, or analytical significance if the differential is re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fundamental Lemma Of Calculus Of Variations
In mathematics, specifically in the calculus of variations, a variation of a function can be concentrated on an arbitrarily small interval, but not a single point. Accordingly, the necessary condition of extremum (functional derivative equal zero) appears in a weak formulation (variational form) integrated with an arbitrary function . The fundamental lemma of the calculus of variations is typically used to transform this weak formulation into the strong formulation (differential equation), free of the integration with arbitrary function. The proof usually exploits the possibility to choose concentrated on an interval on which keeps sign (positive or negative). Several versions of the lemma are in use. Basic versions are easy to formulate and prove. More powerful versions are used when needed. Basic version :If a continuous function f on an open interval (a,b) satisfies the equality :: \int_a^b f(x)h(x)\,\mathrmx = 0 :for all compactly supported smooth functions h on (a,b), the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divergence Theorem
In vector calculus, the divergence theorem, also known as Gauss's theorem or Ostrogradsky's theorem, reprinted in is a theorem which relates the ''flux'' of a vector field through a closed surface to the ''divergence'' of the field in the volume enclosed. More precisely, the divergence theorem states that the surface integral of a vector field over a closed surface, which is called the "flux" through the surface, is equal to the volume integral of the divergence over the region inside the surface. Intuitively, it states that "the sum of all sources of the field in a region (with sinks regarded as negative sources) gives the net flux out of the region". The divergence theorem is an important result for the mathematics of physics and engineering, particularly in electrostatics and fluid dynamics. In these fields, it is usually applied in three dimensions. However, it generalizes to any number of dimensions. In one dimension, it is equivalent to integration by parts. In two di ... [...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 to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matrix Calculus
In mathematics, matrix calculus is a specialized notation for doing multivariable calculus, especially over spaces of matrices. It collects the various partial derivatives of a single function with respect to many variables, and/or of a multivariate function with respect to a single variable, into vectors and matrices that can be treated as single entities. This greatly simplifies operations such as finding the maximum or minimum of a multivariate function and solving systems of differential equations. The notation used here is commonly used in statistics and engineering, while the tensor index notation is preferred in physics. Two competing notational conventions split the field of matrix calculus into two separate groups. The two groups can be distinguished by whether they write the derivative of a scalar with respect to a vector as a column vector or a row vector. Both of these conventions are possible even when the common assumption is made that vectors should be tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Total Derivative
In mathematics, the total derivative of a function at a point is the best linear approximation near this point of the function with respect to its arguments. Unlike partial derivatives, the total derivative approximates the function with respect to all of its arguments, not just a single one. In many situations, this is the same as considering all partial derivatives simultaneously. The term "total derivative" is primarily used when is a function of several variables, because when is a function of a single variable, the total derivative is the same as the ordinary derivative of the function. The total derivative as a linear map Let U \subseteq \R^n be an open subset. Then a function f:U \to \R^m is said to be (totally) differentiable at a point a\in U if there exists a linear transformation df_a:\R^n \to \R^m such that :\lim_ \frac=0. The linear map df_a is called the (total) derivative or (total) differential of f at a. Other notations for the total derivative inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Functional Derivative
In the calculus of variations, a field of mathematical analysis, the functional derivative (or variational derivative) relates a change in a functional (a functional in this sense is a function that acts on functions) to a change in a function on which the functional depends. In the calculus of variations, functionals are usually expressed in terms of an integral of functions, their arguments, and their derivatives. In an integral of a functional, if a function is varied by adding to it another function that is arbitrarily small, and the resulting integrand is expanded in powers of , the coefficient of in the first order term is called the functional derivative. For example, consider the functional J = \int_a^b L( \, x, f(x), f \, '(x) \, ) \, dx \ , where . If is varied by adding to it a function , and the resulting integrand is expanded in powers of , then the change in the value of to first order in can be expressed as follows:According to , this notation is customar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statistical Mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic behavior of nature from the behavior of such ensembles. Statistical mechanics arose out of the development of classical thermodynamics, a field for which it was successful in explaining macroscopic physical properties—such as temperature, pressure, and heat capacity—in terms of microscopic parameters that fluctuate about average values and are characterized by probability distributions. This established the fields of statistical thermodynamics and statistical physics. The founding of the field of statistical mechanics is generally credited to three physicists: *Ludwig Boltzmann, who developed the fundamental interpretation of entropy in terms of a collection of microstates *James Clerk Maxwell, who developed models of probability distr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Density Functional Theory
Density-functional theory (DFT) is a computational quantum mechanical modelling method used in physics, chemistry and materials science to investigate the electronic structure (or nuclear structure) (principally the ground state) of many-body systems, in particular atoms, molecules, and the condensed phases. Using this theory, the properties of a many-electron system can be determined by using functionals, i.e. functions of another function. In the case of DFT, these are functionals of the spatially dependent electron density. DFT is among the most popular and versatile methods available in condensed-matter physics, computational physics, and computational chemistry. DFT has been very popular for calculations in solid-state physics since the 1970s. However, DFT was not considered accurate enough for calculations in quantum chemistry until the 1990s, when the approximations used in the theory were greatly refined to better model the exchange and correlation interactions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagrangian Mechanics
In physics, Lagrangian mechanics is a formulation of classical mechanics founded on the stationary-action principle (also known as the principle of least action). It was introduced by the Italian-French mathematician and astronomer Joseph-Louis Lagrange in his 1788 work, '' Mécanique analytique''. Lagrangian mechanics describes a mechanical system as a pair (M,L) consisting of a configuration space M and a smooth function L within that space called a ''Lagrangian''. By convention, L = T - V, where T and V are the kinetic and potential energy of the system, respectively. The stationary action principle requires that the action functional of the system derived from L must remain at a stationary point (a maximum, minimum, or saddle) throughout the time evolution of the system. This constraint allows the calculation of the equations of motion of the system using Lagrange's equations. Introduction Suppose there exists a bead sliding around on a wire, or a swinging simple p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principle Of Least Action
The stationary-action principle – also known as the principle of least action – is a variational principle that, when applied to the '' action'' of a mechanical system, yields the equations of motion for that system. The principle states that the trajectories (i.e. the solutions of the equations of motion) are ''stationary points'' of the system's ''action functional''. The term "least action" is a historical misnomer since the principle has no minimality requirement: the value of the action functional need not be minimal (even locally) on the trajectories. The principle can be used to derive Newtonian, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian equations of motion, and even general relativity (see Einstein–Hilbert action). In relativity, a different action must be minimized or maximized. The classical mechanics and electromagnetic expressions are a consequence of quantum mechanics. The stationary action method helped in the development of quantum mechanics. In 1933, the physicist Paul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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