CHAPTER 1

Vector Calculus

~ = (a1 , a2 , a3 ) = a1 i + a2 j + a3 k
Vector: A

q
~ =
Amplitude of vector: |A| a21 + a22 + a23

~ =1
Unit vector: |A|

Basis: In the above example, the unit vectors i, j and k form a vector basis.
~ B
Any 3 vectors A, ~ and C ~ can form a vector basis
~ ~ ~
as long as det(A, B, C) 6= 0.
 
~ B)
~ a a 

Determinant: det(A, = 1 2  = a1 b2 a2 b1

b1 b2 



 
a1 a2 a3 



 b b 
 
 b b 
 
 b b 

~ B,
det(A, ~ C)
~  2
= b1 b2 b3  = a1 
  3   3
 + a2 
1   1
 + a3 
2 
 c2 c3   c3 c1   c1 c2 
 
c1 c2 c3 
 


Geometrically: ~ B)
det(A, ~ = area of parallelogram
~ ~ ~
det(A, B, C) = volume of parallelepiped

Multiplication by scalar: A~ = (a1 , a2 , a3 )

~ = || |A|
| A| ~

~+B
Summation of vectors: A ~ =B
~ +A
~ = (a1 + b1 , a2 + b2 , a3 + b3 )

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Einstein Summation Convention: ai bi = ai bi = a1 b1 + a2 b2 + a3 b3
P
i

Dot product (aka scalar product): ~B

A ~ = ai bi = |A|
~ |B|
~ cos
~B
A ~ =B~ A ~
Useful for:
~ B/(|
computing angle between two vectors: cos = A ~ A| ~ |B|)
~

~ B
check orthogonality: two vectors are orthogonal if A ~ =0

~ in direction of A,
compute projection of B ~ which is given by A
~ B/|
~ A|~

 
i j 
 k 
~ ~
Cross Product (aka vector product): A B = a1 a2

 a3  = ijk ai bj ek


b1 b2  b3 
|A~ B|
~ = |A|
~ |B|
~ sin = det(A,~ B)~

0 any two of i, j, k are the same
Levi-Civita tensor: ijk = +1 i, j, k is even permutation of 1, 2, 3
1 i, j, k is odd permutation of 1, 2, 3

~B
A ~ =B
~ A
~ ~B
A ~ = B
~ A
~

~ B
(A) ~ = (A
~ B)
~ =A
~ (B)
~ ~ B
(A) ~ = (A
~ B)
~ =A
~ (B)
~

~ (B
A ~ + C)
~ =A
~B
~ +A
~C
~ ~ (B
A ~ + C)
~ =A
~ B
~ +A
~C
~

~B
A ~ =0 ~B
A ~ ~B
A ~ =0 ~kB
A ~

~A
A ~ = |A|
~2 ~ A
A ~=0

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Triple Scalar Product: ~ (B
A ~ C)
~ = det(A,
~ B,
~ C)
~ = ijk ai bj ck
~ (B
A ~ C)
~ = 0 A, ~ B,
~ C
~ are coplanar
~ (B
A ~ C)
~ =B~ (C
~ A)
~ =C ~ (A
~ B)~

~ (B
Triple Vector Product: A ~ C)
~ = (A~ C)
~ B~ (A
~ B)
~ C~
as is clear from above, A~ (B
~ C)
~ lies in plane of B
~ and C.
~

Useful to remember: ~ B)
(A ~ (C
~ D)
~ = (A
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
h C) (B D)i (A h D) (B C) i
~ B)
(A ~ (C~ D)
~ = A~ (B
~ D)
~ C ~ A ~ (B
~ C)
~ D ~

~ = , ,
 
Gradient Operator: = x y z
This vector operator is sometimes called the nabla or del operator.

2 2 2
Laplacian operator: 2 = = x 2 + y 2 + z 2

This is a scalar operator.

f f f
Differential: f = f (x, y, z) df = x
dx + y
dy + z
dz

Chain Rule: If x = x(t), y = y(t) and z = z(t) then df dt

= f dx
x dt
+ f dy
y dt
+ f dz
z dt
If x = x(s, t), y = y(s, t) and z = z(s, t) then f
s
= f x
x s
+ f y
y s
+ f z
z s

 
Gradient Vector: f = gradf = f , f , f
x y z
the gradient vector at (x, y, z) is normal to the level surface
through the point (x, y, z).

Directional Derivative: The derivative of f = f (x, y, z) in direction of ~u is

Du f = f |~~uu| = |f | cos

Vector Field: F~ (~x) = (Fx , Fy , Fz ) = Fx i + Fy j + Fz k

where Fx = Fx (x, y, z), Fy = Fy (x, y, z), and Fz = Fz (x, y, z).

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 Divergence of Vector Field: divF~ = F~ = F x
x
+ F
y
y
+ F
z
z

A vector field for which F~ = 0 is called solenoidal or divergence-free.

 

 i j k 
Curl of Vector Field: curlF~ = F~ = /x /y /z 
 


Fx Fy Fz 
A vector field for which F~ = 0 is called irrotational or curl-free.

Laplacian of Vector Field: 2 F~ = ( )F~ = ( F~ ) ( F~ )

Note that 2 F~ =
6 ( F~ ): do not make this mistake.

~ x) and B(~
Let S(~x) and T (~x) be scalar fields, and let A(~ ~ x) be vector fields:

S = gradS = vector 2 S = (S) = scalar

~ = divA
A ~ = scalar ~ = ( ) A
2 A ~ = vector

~ = curlA
A ~ = vector

(S) = 0 curl grad S = 0

~ =0
( A) ~=0
div curl A

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 (ST ) = S T + T S

~ = S( A)
(S A) ~ +A
~ S

~ = (S) A
(S A) ~ + S( A)
~

~ B)
(A ~ =B
~ ( A)
~ A
~ ( B)
~

~ B)
(A ~ = A(
~ B)
~ B(
~ ~ + (B
A) ~ )A
~ (A
~ )B
~

~ B)
(A ~ = (A
~ )B
~ + (B
~ )A
~ +A
~ ( B)
~ +B
~ ( A)
~

~ ( A)
A ~ = 1 (A
~ A)
~ (A
~ )A
~
2