16

VECTOR CALCULUS
VECTOR CALCULUS

Here, we define two operations

that:

 Can be performed on vector fields.

 Play a basic role in the applications of vector

calculus to fluid flow, electricity, and magnetism.
VECTOR CALCULUS

Each operation resembles differentiation.

However, one produces a vector field

whereas the other produces a scalar field.
VECTOR CALCULUS

Curl and Divergence

In this section, we will learn about:

The operations of curl and divergence
and how they can be used to obtain
vector forms of Green’s Theorem.
CURL

Suppose:

 F = P i + Q j + R k is a vector field on .

 The partial derivatives of P, Q, and R all exist

CURL Equation 1

Then, the curl of F is the vector field on

defined by:

curl F 
 R Q   P R   Q P 
 y  z  i   z  x  j   x  y  k
     
CURL

As a memory aid, let’s rewrite Equation 1

using operator notation.

 We introduce the vector differential operator

 (“del”) as:
  
  i  j k
x y z
CURL

It has meaning when it operates on a scalar

function to produce the gradient of f :

f f f
f  i  j  k
x y z
f f f
 i  j k
x y z
CURL

If we think of  as a vector with

components ∂/∂x, ∂/∂y, and ∂/∂z, we can
also consider the formal cross product of 
with the vector field F as follows.
CURL

F
i j k
  

x y z
P Q R
 R Q   P R   Q P 
   i   j   k
 y z   z x   x y 
 curl F
CURL Equation 2

Thus, the easiest way to remember

Definition 1 is by means of the symbolic
expression
curl F    F
CURL Example 1

If F(x, y, z) = xz i + xyz j – y2 k
find curl F.

 Using Equation 2, we have the following

result.
CURL Example 1
i j k
  
curl F    F 
x y z
xz xyz  y 2
  
    y    xyz  i
2

 y z 
      
    y    xz  j    xyz    xz  k
2

 x z   x y 
  2 y  xy  i   0  x  j   yz  0  k
  y  2  x  i  x j  yz k
CURL

Most computer algebra systems (CAS)

have commands that compute the curl and
divergence of vector fields.

 If you have access to a CAS, use these commands

to check the answers to the examples and exercises
in this section.
CURL

Recall that the gradient of a function f of

three variables is a vector field on .
So, we can compute its curl.

 The following theorem says that the curl

of a gradient vector field is 0.
GRADIENT VECTOR FIELDS Theorem 3

If f is a function of three variables that has

continuous second-order partial derivatives,
then

curl f   0
GRADIENT VECTOR FIELDS Proof

By Clairaut’s Theorem,
i j k
  
curl f     f  
x y z
f f f
x y z
 2 f 2 f   2 f 2 f 
   i   j
 y z z y   z x x z 
 2 f 2 f 
   k
 x y y x 
 0i  0 j  0k  0
GRADIENT VECTOR FIELDS

Notice the similarity to what we know

from Section 12.4:

a x a = 0 for every three-dimensional (3-D)

vector a.
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS

A conservative vector field is one for which

F  f

So, Theorem 3 can be rephrased as:

If F is conservative, then curl F = 0.

 This gives us a way of verifying that

a vector field is not conservative.
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS Example 2

Show that the vector field

F(x, y, z) = xz i + xyz j – y2 k
is not conservative.

 In Example 1, we showed that:

curl F = –y(2 + x) i + x j + yz
k

 This shows that curl F ≠ 0.

 So, by Theorem 3, F is not conservative.

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS

The converse of Theorem 3 is not true in

general.

The following theorem, though, says that

it is true if F is defined everywhere.

 More generally, it is true if the domain is

simply-connected—that is, “has no hole.”
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS

Theorem 4 is the 3-D version of

Theorem 6 in Section 16.3

 Its proof requires Stokes’ Theorem and

is sketched at the end of Section 16.8
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS Theorem 4

If F is a vector field defined on all of

whose component functions have continuous
partial derivatives and curl F = 0, then
F is a conservative vector field.
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS Example 3

a. Show that
F(x, y, z) = y2z3 i + 2xyz3 j + 3xy2z2 k
is a conservative vector field.

b. Find a function f such that F  f .

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS Example 3 a
i j k
  
curl F    F 
x y z
2 3 3 2 2
y z 2 xyz 3 xy z
  6 xyz 2  6 xyz 2  i  3 y 2 z 2  3 y 2 z 2  j
  2 yz 3  2 yz 3  k
0
 As curl F = 0 and the domain of F is ,
F is a conservative vector field by Theorem 4.
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS E. g. 3 b—Eqns. 5-7

The technique for finding f was given in

Section 16.3
We have:
fx(x, y, z) = y2z3

fy(x, y, z) = 2xyz3

fz(x, y, z) = 3xy2z2
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS E. g. 3 b—Eqn. 8

Integrating Equation 5 with respect to x,

we obtain:

f(x, y, z) = xy2z3 + g(y, z)

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS Example 3 b

Differentiating Equation 8 with respect to y,

we get:
fy(x, y, z) = 2xyz3 + gy(y, z)

 So, comparison with Equation 6 gives:

gy(y, z)
=0

 Thus, g(y, z) = h(z) and

fz(x, y, z) = 3xy2z2 +
h’(z)
CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELDS Example 3 b

Then, Equation 7 gives:

h’(z) = 0

 Therefore,
f(x, y, z) = xy2z3 + K
CURL

The reason for the name curl is that

the curl vector is associated with rotations.

 One connection is explained in Exercise 37.

 Another occurs when F represents the velocity

field in fluid flow (Example 3 in Section 16.1).
CURL

Particles near (x, y, z) in the fluid tend

to rotate about the axis that points in
the direction of curl F(x, y, z).

 The length of
this curl vector is
a measure of
how quickly
the particles move
around the axis.
F = 0 (IRROTATIONAL CURL)

If curl F = 0 at a point P, the fluid is free

from rotations at P.

F is called irrotational at P.

 That is, there is no whirlpool or eddy at P.

F=0&F≠0

If curl F = 0, a tiny paddle wheel moves with

the fluid but doesn’t rotate about its axis.

If curl F ≠ 0, the paddle wheel rotates about

its axis.

 We give a more detailed explanation in Section 16.8

as a consequence of Stokes’ Theorem.
DIVERGENCE Equation 9

If F = P i + Q j + R k is a vector field on
and ∂P/∂x, ∂Q/∂y, and ∂R/∂z exist,
the divergence of F is the function of three
variables defined by:

P Q R
div F   
x y z
CURL F VS. DIV F

Observe that:

 Curl F is a vector field.

 Div F is a scalar field.

DIVERGENCE Equation 10

In terms of the gradient operator

       
   i    j  k
 x   y   z 

the divergence of F can be written

symbolically as the dot product of  and F:

div F    F
DIVERGENCE Example 4

If F(x, y, z) = xz i + xyz j – y2 k
find div F.

 By the definition of divergence (Equation 9 or 10)

we have:
div F    F
  
  xz    xyz     y 
2

x y z
 z  xz
DIVERGENCE

If F is a vector field on , then curl F is

also a vector field on .

As such, we can compute its divergence.

 The next theorem shows that the result is 0.

DIVERGENCE Theorem 11

If F = P i + Q j + R k is a vector field on
and P, Q, and R have continuous second-
order partial derivatives, then

div curl F = 0
DIVERGENCE Proof

By the definitions of divergence and curl,

div curl F
     F 
  R Q    P R    Q P 
          
x  y z  y  z x  z  x y 
 2 R  2Q  2 P  2 R  2Q  2 P
      0
x y x z y z y x z x z y

 The terms cancel in pairs by Clairaut’s Theorem.

DIVERGENCE

Note the analogy with the scalar triple

product:
a . (a x b) = 0
DIVERGENCE Example 5

Show that the vector field

F(x, y, z) = xz i + xyz j – y2 k
can’t be written as the curl of another vector
field, that is, F ≠ curl G

 In Example 4, we showed that

div F = z + xz
and therefore div F ≠ 0.
DIVERGENCE Example 5

 If it were true that F = curl G, then Theorem 11

would give:
div F = div curl G = 0

 This contradicts div F ≠ 0.

 Thus, F is not the curl of another vector field.

DIVERGENCE

Again, the reason for the name divergence

can be understood in the context of fluid flow.

 If F(x, y, z) is the velocity of a fluid (or gas),

div F(x, y, z) represents the net rate of change
(with respect to time) of the mass of fluid (or gas)
flowing from the point (x, y, z) per unit volume.
INCOMPRESSIBLE DIVERGENCE

In other words, div F(x, y, z) measures

the tendency of the fluid to diverge from
the point (x, y, z).

If div F = 0, F is said to be incompressible.

GRADIENT VECTOR FIELDS

Another differential operator occurs when

we compute the divergence of a gradient
vector field f .

 If f is a function of three variables,

we have:
div f     f 
2 f 2 f 2 f
 2  2  2
x y z
LAPLACE OPERATOR

This expression occurs so often that

2
we abbreviate it as  f .

2
The operator     is called
the Laplace operator due to its relation to
Laplace’s equation
2 2 2
2  f  f  f
 f  2  2  2 0
x y z
LAPLACE OPERATOR

We can also apply the Laplace operator

to a vector field
F=Pi+Qj+Rk
in terms of its components:

 2 F   2 P i   2Q j   2 R k