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Jacobi–Lie Bracket
In the mathematical field of differential topology, the Lie bracket of vector fields, also known as the Jacobi–Lie bracket or the commutator of vector fields, is an operator that assigns to any two vector fields X and Y on a smooth manifold M a third vector field denoted ,Y/math>. Conceptually, the Lie bracket ,Y/math> is the derivative of Y along the flow generated by X, and is sometimes denoted ''\mathcal_X Y'' ("Lie derivative of Y along X"). This generalizes to the Lie derivative of any tensor field along the flow generated by X. The Lie bracket is an R- bilinear operation and turns the set of all smooth vector fields on the manifold M into an (infinite-dimensional) Lie algebra. The Lie bracket plays an important role in differential geometry and differential topology, for instance in the Frobenius integrability theorem, and is also fundamental in the geometric theory of nonlinear control systems. V. I. Arnold refers to this as the "fisherman derivative", as one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Topology
In mathematics, differential topology is the field dealing with the topological properties and smooth properties of smooth manifolds. In this sense differential topology is distinct from the closely related field of differential geometry, which concerns the ''geometric'' properties of smooth manifolds, including notions of size, distance, and rigid shape. By comparison differential topology is concerned with coarser properties, such as the number of holes in a manifold, its homotopy type, or the structure of its diffeomorphism group. Because many of these coarser properties may be captured algebraically, differential topology has strong links to algebraic topology. The central goal of the field of differential topology is the classification of all smooth manifolds up to diffeomorphism. Since dimension is an invariant of smooth manifolds up to diffeomorphism type, this classification is often studied by classifying the ( connected) manifolds in each dimension separately: * In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Directional Derivative
In multivariable calculus, the directional derivative measures the rate at which a function changes in a particular direction at a given point. The directional derivative of a multivariable differentiable (scalar) function along a given vector v at a given point x intuitively represents the instantaneous rate of change of the function, moving through x with a direction specified by v. The directional derivative of a scalar function ''f'' with respect to a vector v at a point (e.g., position) x may be denoted by any of the following: \begin \nabla_(\mathbf) &=f'_\mathbf(\mathbf)\\ &=D_\mathbff(\mathbf)\\ &=Df(\mathbf)(\mathbf)\\ &=\partial_\mathbff(\mathbf)\\ &=\mathbf\cdot\\ &=\mathbf\cdot \frac.\\ \end It therefore generalizes the notion of a partial derivative, in which the rate of change is taken along one of the curvilinear coordinate curves, all other coordinates being constant. The directional derivative is a special case of the Gateaux derivative. Definition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
