|
Infinitesimal Transformation
In mathematics, an infinitesimal transformation is a limiting form of ''small'' transformation. For example one may talk about an infinitesimal rotation of a rigid body, in three-dimensional space. This is conventionally represented by a 3×3 skew-symmetric matrix ''A''. It is not the matrix of an actual rotation in space; but for small real values of a parameter ε the transformation :T=I+\varepsilon A is a small rotation, up to quantities of order ε2. History A comprehensive theory of infinitesimal transformations was first given by Sophus Lie. This was at the heart of his work, on what are now called Lie groups and their accompanying Lie algebras; and the identification of their role in geometry and especially the theory of differential equations. The properties of an abstract Lie algebra are exactly those definitive of infinitesimal transformations, just as the axioms of group theory embody symmetry. The term "Lie algebra" was introduced in 1934 by Hermann Weyl, for what ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacobi Identity
In mathematics, the Jacobi identity is a property of a binary operation that describes how the order of evaluation, the placement of parentheses in a multiple product, affects the result of the operation. By contrast, for operations with the associative property, any order of evaluation gives the same result (parentheses in a multiple product are not needed). The identity is named after the German mathematician Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi. The cross product a\times b and the Lie bracket operation ,b/math> both satisfy the Jacobi identity. In analytical mechanics, the Jacobi identity is satisfied by the Poisson brackets. In quantum mechanics, it is satisfied by operator commutators on a Hilbert space and equivalently in the phase space formulation of quantum mechanics by the Moyal bracket. Definition Let + and \times be two binary operations, and let 0 be the neutral element for +. The is :x \times (y \times z) \ +\ y \times (z \times x) \ +\ z \times (x \times y)\ =\ 0. Notic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exponential Function
The exponential function is a mathematical function denoted by f(x)=\exp(x) or e^x (where the argument is written as an exponent). Unless otherwise specified, the term generally refers to the positive-valued function of a real variable, although it can be extended to the complex numbers or generalized to other mathematical objects like matrices or Lie algebras. The exponential function originated from the notion of exponentiation (repeated multiplication), but modern definitions (there are several equivalent characterizations) allow it to be rigorously extended to all real arguments, including irrational numbers. Its ubiquitous occurrence in pure and applied mathematics led mathematician Walter Rudin to opine that the exponential function is "the most important function in mathematics". The exponential function satisfies the exponentiation identity e^ = e^x e^y \text x,y\in\mathbb, which, along with the definition e = \exp(1), shows that e^n=\underbrace_ for positi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analytic Function
In mathematics, an analytic function is a function that is locally given by a convergent power series. There exist both real analytic functions and complex analytic functions. Functions of each type are infinitely differentiable, but complex analytic functions exhibit properties that do not generally hold for real analytic functions. A function is analytic if and only if its Taylor series about ''x''0 converges to the function in some neighborhood for every ''x''0 in its domain. Definitions Formally, a function f is ''real analytic'' on an open set D in the real line if for any x_0\in D one can write : f(x) = \sum_^\infty a_ \left( x-x_0 \right)^ = a_0 + a_1 (x-x_0) + a_2 (x-x_0)^2 + a_3 (x-x_0)^3 + \cdots in which the coefficients a_0, a_1, \dots are real numbers and the series is convergent to f(x) for x in a neighborhood of x_0. Alternatively, a real analytic function is an infinitely differentiable function such that the Taylor series at any point x_0 in its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taylor's Theorem
In calculus, Taylor's theorem gives an approximation of a ''k''-times differentiable function around a given point by a polynomial of degree ''k'', called the ''k''th-order Taylor polynomial. For a smooth function, the Taylor polynomial is the truncation at the order ''k'' of the Taylor series of the function. The first-order Taylor polynomial is the linear approximation of the function, and the second-order Taylor polynomial is often referred to as the quadratic approximation. There are several versions of Taylor's theorem, some giving explicit estimates of the approximation error of the function by its Taylor polynomial. Taylor's theorem is named after the mathematician Brook Taylor, who stated a version of it in 1715, although an earlier version of the result was already mentioned in 1671 by James Gregory. Taylor's theorem is taught in introductory-level calculus courses and is one of the central elementary tools in mathematical analysis. It gives simple arithmetic fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operator (mathematics)
In mathematics, an operator is generally a Map_(mathematics), mapping or function (mathematics), function that acts on elements of a space (mathematics), space to produce elements of another space (possibly and sometimes required to be the same space). There is no general definition of an ''operator'', but the term is often used in place of ''function'' when the domain of a function, domain is a set of functions or other structured objects. Also, the domain of an operator is often difficult to be explicitly characterized (for example in the case of an integral operator), and may be extended to related objects (an operator that acts on functions may act also on differential equations whose solutions are functions that satisfy the equation). See Operator (physics) for other examples. The most basic operators are linear maps, which act on vector spaces. Linear operators refer to linear maps whose domain and range are the same space, for example \R^n to \R^n. Such operators oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First-order 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^\alp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scaling (mathematics)
In affine geometry, uniform scaling (or isotropic scaling) is a linear transformation that enlarges (increases) or shrinks (diminishes) objects by a ''scale factor'' that is the same in all directions. The result of uniform scaling is similar (in the geometric sense) to the original. A scale factor of 1 is normally allowed, so that congruent shapes are also classed as similar. Uniform scaling happens, for example, when enlarging or reducing a photograph, or when creating a scale model of a building, car, airplane, etc. More general is scaling with a separate scale factor for each axis direction. Non-uniform scaling (anisotropic scaling) is obtained when at least one of the scaling factors is different from the others; a special case is directional scaling or stretching (in one direction). Non-uniform scaling changes the shape of the object; e.g. a square may change into a rectangle, or into a parallelogram if the sides of the square are not parallel to the scaling axes (the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One-parameter Group
In mathematics, a one-parameter group or one-parameter subgroup usually means a continuous group homomorphism :\varphi : \mathbb \rightarrow G from the real line \mathbb (as an additive group) to some other topological group G. If \varphi is injective then \varphi(\mathbb), the image, will be a subgroup of G that is isomorphic to \mathbb as an additive group. One-parameter groups were introduced by Sophus Lie in 1893 to define infinitesimal transformations. According to Lie, an ''infinitesimal transformation'' is an infinitely small transformation of the one-parameter group that it generates. It is these infinitesimal transformations that generate a Lie algebra that is used to describe a Lie group of any dimension. The action of a one-parameter group on a set is known as a flow. A smooth vector field on a manifold, at a point, induces a ''local flow'' - a one parameter group of local diffeomorphisms, sending points along integral curves of the vector field. The local flow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematical Analysis
Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series (mathematics), series, and analytic functions. These theories are usually studied in the context of Real number, real and Complex number, complex numbers and Function (mathematics), functions. Analysis evolved from calculus, which involves the elementary concepts and techniques of analysis. Analysis may be distinguished from geometry; however, it can be applied to any Space (mathematics), space of mathematical objects that has a definition of nearness (a topological space) or specific distances between objects (a metric space). History Ancient Mathematical analysis formally developed in the 17th century during the Scientific Revolution, but many of its ideas can be traced back to earlier mathematicians. Early results in analysis were i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schwartz Distribution
Distributions, also known as Schwartz distributions or generalized functions, are objects that generalize the classical notion of functions in mathematical analysis. Distributions make it possible to differentiate functions whose derivatives do not exist in the classical sense. In particular, any locally integrable function has a distributional derivative. Distributions are widely used in the theory of partial differential equations, where it may be easier to establish the existence of distributional solutions than classical solutions, or where appropriate classical solutions may not exist. Distributions are also important in physics and engineering where many problems naturally lead to differential equations whose solutions or initial conditions are singular, such as the Dirac delta function. A function f is normally thought of as on the in the function domain by "sending" a point x in its domain to the point f(x). Instead of acting on points, distribution theory reinterpr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smooth Function
In mathematical analysis, the smoothness of a function is a property measured by the number of continuous derivatives it has over some domain, called ''differentiability class''. At the very minimum, a function could be considered smooth if it is differentiable everywhere (hence continuous). At the other end, it might also possess derivatives of all orders in its domain, in which case it is said to be infinitely differentiable and referred to as a C-infinity function (or C^ function). Differentiability classes Differentiability class is a classification of functions according to the properties of their derivatives. It is a measure of the highest order of derivative that exists and is continuous for a function. Consider an open set U on the real line and a function f defined on U with real values. Let ''k'' be a non-negative integer. The function f is said to be of differentiability class ''C^k'' if the derivatives f',f'',\dots,f^ exist and are continuous on U. If f is k-dif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> Smooth Function")