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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] |
Calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus; the former concerns instantaneous Rate of change (mathematics), rates of change, and the slopes of curves, while the latter concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves. These two branches are related to each other by the fundamental theorem of calculus, and they make use of the fundamental notions of convergence (mathematics), convergence of infinite sequences and Series (mathematics), infinite series to a well-defined limit (mathematics), limit. Infinitesimal calculus was developed independently in the late 17th century by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Later work, including (ε, δ)-definition of limit, codify ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limit (mathematics)
In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) approaches as the input (or index) approaches some value. Limits are essential to calculus and mathematical analysis, and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals. The concept of a limit of a sequence is further generalized to the concept of a limit of a topological net, and is closely related to limit and direct limit in category theory. In formulas, a limit of a function is usually written as : \lim_ f(x) = L, (although a few authors may use "Lt" instead of "lim") and is read as "the limit of of as approaches equals ". The fact that a function approaches the limit as approaches is sometimes denoted by a right arrow (→ or \rightarrow), as in :f(x) \to L \text x \to c, which reads "f of x tends to L as x tends to c". History Grégoire de Saint-Vincent gave the first definition of limit (terminus) of a geometric series in his work ''Opus Geometricum'' (1647): "The ''terminus'' of a pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential (infinitesimal)
In mathematics, differential refers to several related notions derived from the early days of calculus, put on a rigorous footing, such as infinitesimal differences and the derivatives of functions. The term is used in various branches of mathematics such as calculus, differential geometry, algebraic geometry and algebraic topology. Introduction The term differential is used nonrigorously in calculus to refer to an infinitesimal ("infinitely small") change in some varying quantity. For example, if ''x'' is a variable, then a change in the value of ''x'' is often denoted Δ''x'' (pronounced ''delta x''). The differential ''dx'' represents an infinitely small change in the variable ''x''. The idea of an infinitely small or infinitely slow change is, intuitively, extremely useful, and there are a number of ways to make the notion mathematically precise. Using calculus, it is possible to relate the infinitely small changes of various variables to each other mathematically using d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-standard Calculus
In mathematics, nonstandard calculus is the modern application of infinitesimals, in the sense of nonstandard analysis, to infinitesimal calculus. It provides a rigorous justification for some arguments in calculus that were previously considered merely heuristic. Non-rigorous calculations with infinitesimals were widely used before Karl Weierstrass sought to replace them with the (ε, δ)-definition of limit starting in the 1870s. (See history of calculus.) For almost one hundred years thereafter, mathematicians such as Richard Courant viewed infinitesimals as being naive and vague or meaningless. Contrary to such views, Abraham Robinson showed in 1960 that infinitesimals are precise, clear, and meaningful, building upon work by Edwin Hewitt and Jerzy Łoś. According to Howard Keisler, "Robinson solved a three hundred year old problem by giving a precise treatment of infinitesimals. Robinson's achievement will probably rank as one of the major mathematical advances of the tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exterior Derivative
On a differentiable manifold, the exterior derivative extends the concept of the differential of a function to differential forms of higher degree. The exterior derivative was first described in its current form by Élie Cartan in 1899. The resulting calculus, known as exterior calculus, allows for a natural, metric-independent generalization of Stokes' theorem, Gauss's theorem, and Green's theorem from vector calculus. If a differential -form is thought of as measuring the flux through an infinitesimal - parallelotope at each point of the manifold, then its exterior derivative can be thought of as measuring the net flux through the boundary of a -parallelotope at each point. Definition The exterior derivative of a differential form of degree (also differential -form, or just -form for brevity here) is a differential form of degree . If is a smooth function (a -form), then the exterior derivative of is the differential of . That is, is the unique -form such that for e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangent Vector
In mathematics, a tangent vector is a vector that is tangent to a curve or surface at a given point. Tangent vectors are described in the differential geometry of curves in the context of curves in R''n''. More generally, tangent vectors are elements of a tangent space of a differentiable manifold. Tangent vectors can also be described in terms of germs. Formally, a tangent vector at the point x is a linear derivation of the algebra defined by the set of germs at x. Motivation Before proceeding to a general definition of the tangent vector, we discuss its use in calculus and its tensor properties. Calculus Let \mathbf(t) be a parametric smooth curve. The tangent vector is given by \mathbf'(t), where we have used a prime instead of the usual dot to indicate differentiation with respect to parameter . The unit tangent vector is given by \mathbf(t) = \frac\,. Example Given the curve \mathbf(t) = \left\ in \R^3, the unit tangent vector at t = 0 is given by \mathbf(0) = \frac = ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gateaux Derivative
In mathematics, the Gateaux differential or Gateaux derivative is a generalization of the concept of directional derivative in differential calculus. Named after René Gateaux, a French mathematician who died young in World War I, it is defined for functions between locally convex topological vector spaces such as Banach spaces. Like the Fréchet derivative on a Banach space, the Gateaux differential is often used to formalize the functional derivative commonly used in the calculus of variations and physics. Unlike other forms of derivatives, the Gateaux differential of a function may be nonlinear. However, often the definition of the Gateaux differential also requires that it be a continuous linear transformation. Some authors, such as , draw a further distinction between the Gateaux differential (which may be nonlinear) and the Gateaux derivative (which they take to be linear). In most applications, continuous linearity follows from some more primitive condition which is na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fréchet Derivative
In mathematics, the Fréchet derivative is a derivative defined on normed spaces. Named after Maurice Fréchet, it is commonly used to generalize the derivative of a real-valued function of a single real variable to the case of a vector-valued function of multiple real variables, and to define the functional derivative used widely in the calculus of variations. Generally, it extends the idea of the derivative from real-valued functions of one real variable to functions on normed spaces. The Fréchet derivative should be contrasted to the more general Gateaux derivative which is a generalization of the classical directional derivative. The Fréchet derivative has applications to nonlinear problems throughout mathematical analysis and physical sciences, particularly to the calculus of variations and much of nonlinear analysis and nonlinear functional analysis. Definition Let V and W be normed vector spaces, and U\subseteq V be an open subset of V. A function f : U \to W is ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linear Functional
In mathematics, a linear form (also known as a linear functional, a one-form, or a covector) is a linear map from a vector space to its field of scalars (often, the real numbers or the complex numbers). If is a vector space over a field , the set of all linear functionals from to is itself a vector space over with addition and scalar multiplication defined pointwise. This space is called the dual space of , or sometimes the algebraic dual space, when a topological dual space is also considered. It is often denoted , p. 19, §3.1 or, when the field is understood, V^*; other notations are also used, such as V', V^ or V^. When vectors are represented by column vectors (as is common when a basis is fixed), then linear functionals are represented as row vectors, and their values on specific vectors are given by matrix products (with the row vector on the left). Examples * The constant zero function, mapping every vector to zero, is trivially a linear functional. * Indexing int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Analysis
In mathematics, the branch of real analysis studies the behavior of real numbers, sequences and series of real numbers, and real functions. Some particular properties of real-valued sequences and functions that real analysis studies include convergence, limits, continuity, smoothness, differentiability and integrability. Real analysis is distinguished from complex analysis, which deals with the study of complex numbers and their functions. Scope Construction of the real numbers The theorems of real analysis rely on the properties of the real number system, which must be established. The real number system consists of an uncountable set (\mathbb), together with two binary operations denoted and , and an order denoted . The operations make the real numbers a field, and, along with the order, an ordered field. The real number system is the unique ''complete ordered field'', in the sense that any other complete ordered field is isomorphic to it. Intuitively, completeness means ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Geometry
Differential geometry is a mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of differential calculus, integral calculus, linear algebra and multilinear algebra. The field has its origins in the study of spherical geometry as far back as antiquity. It also relates to astronomy, the geodesy of the Earth, and later the study of hyperbolic geometry by Lobachevsky. The simplest examples of smooth spaces are the plane and space curves and surfaces in the three-dimensional Euclidean space, and the study of these shapes formed the basis for development of modern differential geometry during the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the late 19th century, differential geometry has grown into a field concerned more generally with geometric structures on differentiable manifolds. A geometric structure is one which defines some notion of size, distance, shape, volume, or other rigidifying structu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
