The following are important identities involving derivatives and integrals in vector calculus.
Operator notation
Gradient
For a function f ( x , y , z ) {\displaystyle f(x,y,z)} in three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate variables, the gradient is the vector field:
grad ( f ) = ∇ f = ( ∂ ∂ x , ∂ ∂ y , ∂ ∂ z ) f = ∂ f ∂ x i + ∂ f ∂ y j + ∂ f ∂ z k {\displaystyle \operatorname {grad} (f)=\nabla f={\begin{pmatrix}\displaystyle {\frac {\partial }{\partial x}},\ {\frac {\partial }{\partial y}},\ {\frac {\partial }{\partial z}}\end{pmatrix}}f={\frac {\partial f}{\partial x}}\mathbf {i} +{\frac {\partial f}{\partial y}}\mathbf {j} +{\frac {\partial f}{\partial z}}\mathbf {k} }
where i, j, k are the standard unit vectors for the x, y, z-axes. More generally, for a function of n variables ψ ( x 1 , … , x n ) {\displaystyle \psi (x_{1},\ldots ,x_{n})} , also called a scalar field, the gradient is the vector field:
∇ ψ = ( ∂ ∂ x 1 , … , ∂ ∂ x n ) ψ = ∂ ψ ∂ x 1 e 1 + ⋯ + ∂ ψ ∂ x n e n {\displaystyle \nabla \psi ={\begin{pmatrix}\displaystyle {\frac {\partial }{\partial x_{1}}},\ldots ,{\frac {\partial }{\partial x_{n}}}\end{pmatrix}}\psi ={\frac {\partial \psi }{\partial x_{1}}}\mathbf {e} _{1}+\dots +{\frac {\partial \psi }{\partial x_{n}}}\mathbf {e} _{n}}
where e i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n ) {\displaystyle \mathbf {e} _{i}\,(i=1,2,...,n)} are mutually orthogonal unit vectors. As the name implies, the gradient is proportional to, and points in the direction of, the function's most rapid (positive) change. For a vector field A = ( A 1 , … , A n ) {\displaystyle \mathbf {A} =\left(A_{1},\ldots ,A_{n}\right)} , also called a tensor field of order 1, the gradient or total derivative is the n × n Jacobian matrix:
J A = d A = ( ∇ A ) T = ( ∂ A i ∂ x j ) i j . {\displaystyle \mathbf {J} _{\mathbf {A} }=d\mathbf {A} =(\nabla \!\mathbf {A} )^{\textsf {T}}=\left({\frac {\partial A_{i}}{\partial x_{j}}}\right)_{\!ij}.}
For a tensor field T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } of any order k, the gradient grad ( T ) = d T = ( ∇ T ) T {\displaystyle \operatorname {grad} (\mathbf {T} )=d\mathbf {T} =(\nabla \mathbf {T} )^{\textsf {T}}} is a tensor field of order k + 1. For a tensor field T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } of order k > 0, the tensor field ∇ T {\displaystyle \nabla \mathbf {T} } of order k + 1 is defined by the recursive relation
( ∇ T ) ⋅ C = ∇ ( T ⋅ C ) {\displaystyle (\nabla \mathbf {T} )\cdot \mathbf {C} =\nabla (\mathbf {T} \cdot \mathbf {C} )}
where C {\displaystyle \mathbf {C} } is an arbitrary constant vector.
Divergence
In Cartesian coordinates, the divergence of a continuously differentiable vector field F = F x i + F y j + F z k {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =F_{x}\mathbf {i} +F_{y}\mathbf {j} +F_{z}\mathbf {k} } is the scalar-valued function:
div F = ∇ ⋅ F = ( ∂ ∂ x , ∂ ∂ y , ∂ ∂ z ) ⋅ ( F x , F y , F z ) = ∂ F x ∂ x + ∂ F y ∂ y + ∂ F z ∂ z . {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\operatorname {div} \mathbf {F} =\nabla \cdot \mathbf {F} &={\begin{pmatrix}{\dfrac {\partial }{\partial x}},\ {\dfrac {\partial }{\partial y}},\ {\dfrac {\partial }{\partial z}}\end{pmatrix}}\cdot {\begin{pmatrix}F_{x},\ F_{y},\ F_{z}\end{pmatrix}}\\[1ex]&={\frac {\partial F_{x}}{\partial x}}+{\frac {\partial F_{y}}{\partial y}}+{\frac {\partial F_{z}}{\partial z}}.\end{aligned}}}
As the name implies, the divergence is a (local) measure of the degree to which vectors in the field diverge. The divergence of a tensor field T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } of non-zero order k is written as div ( T ) = ∇ ⋅ T {\displaystyle \operatorname {div} (\mathbf {T} )=\nabla \cdot \mathbf {T} } , a contraction of a tensor field of order k − 1. Specifically, the divergence of a vector is a scalar. The divergence of a higher-order tensor field may be found by decomposing the tensor field into a sum of outer products and using the identity,
∇ ⋅ ( A ⊗ T ) = T ( ∇ ⋅ A ) + ( A ⋅ ∇ ) T {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \left(\mathbf {A} \otimes \mathbf {T} \right)=\mathbf {T} (\nabla \cdot \mathbf {A} )+(\mathbf {A} \cdot \nabla )\mathbf {T} }
where A ⋅ ∇ {\displaystyle \mathbf {A} \cdot \nabla } is the directional derivative in the direction of A {\displaystyle \mathbf {A} } multiplied by its magnitude. Specifically, for the outer product of two vectors,
∇ ⋅ ( A B T ) = B ( ∇ ⋅ A ) + ( A ⋅ ∇ ) B . {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \left(\mathbf {A} \mathbf {B} ^{\textsf {T}}\right)=\mathbf {B} (\nabla \cdot \mathbf {A} )+(\mathbf {A} \cdot \nabla )\mathbf {B} .}
For a tensor field T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } of order k > 1, the tensor field ∇ ⋅ T {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {T} } of order k − 1 is defined by the recursive relation
( ∇ ⋅ T ) ⋅ C = ∇ ⋅ ( T ⋅ C ) {\displaystyle (\nabla \cdot \mathbf {T} )\cdot \mathbf {C} =\nabla \cdot (\mathbf {T} \cdot \mathbf {C} )}
where C {\displaystyle \mathbf {C} } is an arbitrary constant vector.
Curl
In Cartesian coordinates, for F = F x i + F y j + F z k {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =F_{x}\mathbf {i} +F_{y}\mathbf {j} +F_{z}\mathbf {k} } the curl is the vector field:
curl F = ∇ × F = ( ∂ ∂ x , ∂ ∂ y , ∂ ∂ z ) × ( F x , F y , F z ) = | i j k ∂ ∂ x ∂ ∂ y ∂ ∂ z F x F y F z | = ( ∂ F z ∂ y − ∂ F y ∂ z ) i + ( ∂ F x ∂ z − ∂ F z ∂ x ) j + ( ∂ F y ∂ x − ∂ F x ∂ y ) k {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\operatorname {curl} \mathbf {F} &=\nabla \times \mathbf {F} ={\begin{pmatrix}\displaystyle {\frac {\partial }{\partial x}},\ {\frac {\partial }{\partial y}},\ {\frac {\partial }{\partial z}}\end{pmatrix}}\times {\begin{pmatrix}F_{x},\ F_{y},\ F_{z}\end{pmatrix}}\\[1em]&={\begin{vmatrix}\mathbf {i} &\mathbf {j} &\mathbf {k} \\{\frac {\partial }{\partial x}}&{\frac {\partial }{\partial y}}&{\frac {\partial }{\partial z}}\\F_{x}&F_{y}&F_{z}\end{vmatrix}}\\[1em]&=\left({\frac {\partial F_{z}}{\partial y}}-{\frac {\partial F_{y}}{\partial z}}\right)\mathbf {i} +\left({\frac {\partial F_{x}}{\partial z}}-{\frac {\partial F_{z}}{\partial x}}\right)\mathbf {j} +\left({\frac {\partial F_{y}}{\partial x}}-{\frac {\partial F_{x}}{\partial y}}\right)\mathbf {k} \end{aligned}}}
where i, j, and k are the unit vectors for the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. As the name implies the curl is a measure of how much nearby vectors tend in a circular direction. In Einstein notation, the vector field F = ( F 1 , F 2 , F 3 ) {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} ={\begin{pmatrix}F_{1},\ F_{2},\ F_{3}\end{pmatrix}}} has curl given by:
∇ × F = ε i j k e i ∂ F k ∂ x j {\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {F} =\varepsilon ^{ijk}\mathbf {e} _{i}{\frac {\partial F_{k}}{\partial x_{j}}}}
where ε {\displaystyle \varepsilon } = ±1 or 0 is the Levi-Civita parity symbol. For a tensor field T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } of order k > 1, the tensor field ∇ × T {\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {T} } of order k is defined by the recursive relation
( ∇ × T ) ⋅ C = ∇ × ( T ⋅ C ) {\displaystyle (\nabla \times \mathbf {T} )\cdot \mathbf {C} =\nabla \times (\mathbf {T} \cdot \mathbf {C} )}
where C {\displaystyle \mathbf {C} } is an arbitrary constant vector. A tensor field of order greater than one may be decomposed into a sum of outer products, and then the following identity may be used:
∇ × ( A ⊗ T ) = ( ∇ × A ) ⊗ T − A × ( ∇ T ) . {\displaystyle \nabla \times \left(\mathbf {A} \otimes \mathbf {T} \right)=(\nabla \times \mathbf {A} )\otimes \mathbf {T} -\mathbf {A} \times (\nabla \mathbf {T} ).}
Specifically, for the outer product of two vectors,
∇ × ( A B T ) = ( ∇ × A ) B T − A × ( ∇ B ) . {\displaystyle \nabla \times \left(\mathbf {A} \mathbf {B} ^{\textsf {T}}\right)=(\nabla \times \mathbf {A} )\mathbf {B} ^{\textsf {T}}-\mathbf {A} \times (\nabla \mathbf {B} ).}
Laplacian
In Cartesian coordinates, the Laplacian of a function f ( x , y , z ) {\displaystyle f(x,y,z)} is
Δ f = ∇ 2 f = ( ∇ ⋅ ∇ ) f = ∂ 2 f ∂ x 2 + ∂ 2 f ∂ y 2 + ∂ 2 f ∂ z 2 . {\displaystyle \Delta f=\nabla ^{2}\!f=(\nabla \cdot \nabla )f={\frac {\partial ^{2}\!f}{\partial x^{2}}}+{\frac {\partial ^{2}\!f}{\partial y^{2}}}+{\frac {\partial ^{2}\!f}{\partial z^{2}}}.}
The Laplacian is a measure of how much a function is changing over a small sphere centered at the point. When the Laplacian is equal to 0, the function is called a harmonic function. That is,
Δ f = 0. {\displaystyle \Delta f=0.}
For a tensor field, T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } , the Laplacian is generally written as:
Δ T = ∇ 2 T = ( ∇ ⋅ ∇ ) T {\displaystyle \Delta \mathbf {T} =\nabla ^{2}\mathbf {T} =(\nabla \cdot \nabla )\mathbf {T} }
and is a tensor field of the same order. For a tensor field T {\displaystyle \mathbf {T} } of order k > 0, the tensor field ∇ 2 T {\displaystyle \nabla ^{2}\mathbf {T} } of order k is defined by the recursive relation
( ∇ 2 T ) ⋅ C = ∇ 2 ( T ⋅ C ) {\displaystyle \left(\nabla ^{2}\mathbf {T} \right)\cdot \mathbf {C} =\nabla ^{2}(\mathbf {T} \cdot \mathbf {C} )}
where C {\displaystyle \mathbf {C} } is an arbitrary constant vector.
Special notations In Feynman subscript notation,
∇ B ( A ⋅ B ) = A × ( ∇ × B ) + ( A ⋅ ∇ ) B {\displaystyle \nabla _{\mathbf {B} }\!\left(\mathbf {A{\cdot }B} \right)=\mathbf {A} {\times }\!\left(\nabla {\times }\mathbf {B} \right)+\left(\mathbf {A} {\cdot }\nabla \right)\mathbf {B} }
where the notation ∇B means the subscripted gradient operates on only the factor B. More general but similar is the Hestenes overdot notation in geometric algebra. The above identity is then expressed as:
∇ ˙ ( A ⋅ B ˙ ) = A × ( ∇ × B ) + ( A ⋅ ∇ ) B {\displaystyle {\dot {\nabla }}\left(\mathbf {A} {\cdot }{\dot {\mathbf {B} }}\right)=\mathbf {A} {\times }\!\left(\nabla {\times }\mathbf {B} \right)+\left(\mathbf {A} {\cdot }\nabla \right)\mathbf {B} }
where overdots define the scope of the vector derivative. The dotted vector, in this case B, is differentiated, while the (undotted) A is held constant. The utility of the Feynman subscript notation lies in its use in the derivation of vector and tensor derivative identities, as in the following example which uses the algebraic identity C⋅(A×B) = (C×A)⋅B:
∇ ⋅ ( A × B ) = ∇ A ⋅ ( A × B ) + ∇ B ⋅ ( A × B ) = ( ∇ A × A ) ⋅ B + ( ∇ B × A ) ⋅ B = ( ∇ A × A ) ⋅ B − ( A × ∇ B ) ⋅ B = ( ∇ A × A )