Introduction to differential forms

Donu Arapura

The calculus of differential forms give an alternative to vector calculus which

is ultimately simpler and more flexible. Unfortunately it is rarely encountered
at the undergraduate level. However, the last few times I taught undergraduate
advanced calculus I decided I would do it this way. So I wrote up this brief
supplement which explains how to work with them, and what they are good
for. By the time I got to this topic, I had covered a certain amount of standard
material, which is briefly summarized at the end of these notes. My thanks to
João Carvalho and Josh Hill for catching some typos.

Contents
1 1-forms 2

2 Exactness in R2 3

3 Parametric curves 3

4 Line integrals 4

5 Work 7

6 2-forms 7

7 “d” of a 1-form and the curl 9

8 Exactness in R3 and conservation of energy 10

9 “d” of a 2-form and divergence 11

10 Parameterized Surfaces 11

11 Surface Integrals 14

12 Surface integrals (continued) 15

13 Length and Area 17

14 Green’s and Stokes’ Theorems 19

1
15 Cauchy’s theorem 20

16 Triple integrals and the divergence theorem 23

17 Gravitational Flux 24

18 Laplace’s equation 25

19 Beyond 3 dimensions 27

20 Maxwell’s equations in R4 30

21 Further reading 32

A Essentials of multivariable calculus 32

1 1-forms
A differential 1-form (or simply a differential or a 1-form) on an open subset of
R2 is an expression F (x, y)dx + G(x, y)dy where F, G are R-valued functions on
the open set. A very important example of a differential is given as follows: If
f (x, y) is C 1 R-valued function on an open set U , then its total differential (or
exterior derivative) is
∂f ∂f
df = dx + dy
∂x ∂y
It is a differential on U .
In a similar fashion, a differential 1-form on an open subset of R3 is an
expression F (x, y, z)dx + G(x, y, z)dy + H(x, y, z)dz where F, G, H are R-valued
functions on the open set. If f (x, y, z) is a C 1 function on this set, then its total
differential is
∂f ∂f ∂f
df = dx + dy + dz
∂x ∂y ∂z
At this stage, it is worth pointing out that a differential form is very similar
to a vector field. In fact, we can set up a correspondence:

F i + Gj + Hk ↔ F dx + Gdy + Hdz

where i, j, k are the standard unit vectors along the x, y, z axes. Under this set
up, the gradient ∇f corresponds to df . Thus it might seem that all we are doing
is writing the previous concepts in a funny notation. However, the notation is
very suggestive and ultimately quite powerful. Suppose that that x, y, z depend
on some parameter t, and f depends on x, y, z, then the chain rule says
df ∂f dx ∂f dy ∂f dz
= + +
dt ∂x dt ∂y dt ∂z dt
Thus the formula for df can be obtained by canceling dt.

2
2 Exactness in R2
Suppose that F dx + Gdy is a differential on R2 with C 1 coefficients. We will
say that it is exact if one can find a C 2 function f (x, y) with df = F dx + Gdy
Most differential forms are not exact. To see why, note that the above equation
is equivalent to
∂f ∂f
F = , G= .
∂x ∂y
Therefore if f exists then
∂F ∂2f ∂2f ∂G
= = =
∂y ∂y∂x ∂x∂y ∂x
But this equation would fail for most examples such as ydx. We will call a
differential closed if ∂F ∂G
∂y and ∂x are equal. So we have just shown that if a
differential is to be exact, then it had better be closed.
Exactness is a very important concept. You’ve probably already encountered
it in the context of differential equations. Given an equation
dy F (x, y)
=
dx G(x, y)
we can rewrite it as
F dx − Gdy = 0
If F dx − Gdy is exact and equal to say, df , then the curves f (x, y) = c give
solutions to this equation.
These concepts arise in physics. For example given a vector field F =
F1 i + F2 j representing a force, one would like find a function P (x, y) called
the potential energy, such that F = −∇P . The force is called conservative (see
section 8) if it has a potential energy function. In terms of differential forms, F
is conservative precisely when F1 dx + F2 dy is exact.

3 Parametric curves
Before discussing line integrals, we have to say a few words about parametric
curves. A parametric curve in the plane is vector valued function C : [a, b] → R2 .
In other words, we let x and y depend on some parameter t running from a to
b. It is not just a set of points, but the trajectory of particle travelling along the
curve. To begin with, we will assume that C is C 1 . Then we can define the the
dy
velocity or tangent vector v = ( dx dt , dt ). We want to assume that the particle
travels without stopping, v 6= 0. Then v gives a direction to C, which we also
refer to as its orientation. If C is given by

x = f (t), y = g(t), a ≤ t ≤ b

then
x = f (−u), y = g(−u), −b ≤ u ≤ −a

3
will be called −C. This represents the same set of points, but traveled in the
opposite direction.
Suppose that C is given depending on some parameter t,

x = f (t), y = g(t)
dt
and that t depends in turn on a new parameter t = h(u) such that du 6= 0.
Then we can get a new parametric curve C 0

x = f (h(u)), y = g(h(u))
dt
It the derivative du is everywhere positive, we want to view the oriented curves
0
C and C as the equivalent. If this derivative is everywhere negative, then −C
and C 0 are equivalent. For example, the curves

C : x = cos θ, y = sin θ, 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π

C 0 : x = sin t, y = cos t, 0 ≤ t ≤ 2π
represent going once around the unit circle counterclockwise and clockwise re-
spectively. So C 0 should be equivalent to −C. We can see this rigorously by
making a change of variable θ = π/2 − t.
It will be convient to allow piecewise C 1 curves. We can treat these as unions
of C 1 curves, where one starts where the previous one ends. We can talk about
parametrized curves in R3 in pretty much the same way.

4 Line integrals
Now comes the real question. Given a differential F dx + Gdy, when is it exact?
Or equivalently, how can we tell whether a force is conservative or not? Checking
that it’s closed is easy, and as we’ve seen, if a differential is not closed, then
it can’t be exact. The amazing thing is that the converse statement is often
(although not always) true:

THEOREM 4.1 If F (x, y)dx + G(x, y)dy is a closed form on all of R2 with
C 1 coefficients, then it is exact.

To prove this, we would need solve the equation df = F dx + Gdy. In other

words, we need to undo the effect of d and this should clearly involve some kind
of integration process. To define this, we first have to choose a parametric C 1
curve C. Then we define:

DEFINITION 4.2
Z Z b
dx dy
F dx + Gdy = [F (x(t), y(t)) + G(x(t), y(t)) ]dt
C a dt dt

4
 If C is piecewise C 1 , then we simply add up the integrals over the C 1 pieces.
Although we’ve done everything at once, it is often easier, in practice, to do
this in steps. First change the variables from x and y to expresions in t, then
replace dx by dx dt dt etc. Then integrate with respect to t. For example, if we
parameterize the unit circle c by x = cos θ, y = sin θ, 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π, we see
y x
− dx + 2 dy = − sin θ(cos θ)0 dθ + cos θ(sin θ)0 dθ = dθ
x2 +y 2 x + y2
and therefore
Z Z 2π
y x
− dx + 2 dy = dθ = 2π
C x2 + y 2 x + y2 0

From the chain rule, we get

LEMMA 4.3 Z Z
F dx + Gdy = − F dx + Gdy
−C C

If C and C 0 are equivalent, then

Z Z
F dx + Gdy = F dx + Gdy
C C0

While we’re at it, we can also define a line integral in R3 . Suppose that
F dx + Gdy + Hdz is a differential form with C 1 coeffients. Let C : [a, b] → R3
be a piecewise C 1 parametric curve, then

DEFINITION 4.4 Z
F dx + Gdy + Hdz =
C
Z b
dx dy dz
[F (x(t), y(t), z(t)) + G(x(t), y(t), z(t)) + H(x(t), y(t), z(t)) ]dt
a dt dt dt
The notion of exactness extends to R3 automatically: a form is exact if it
equals df for a C 2 function. One of the most important properties of exactness
is its path independence:

PROPOSITION 4.5 If ω is exact and C1 and C2 are two parametrized curves

with the same endpoints (or more acurately the same starting point and ending
point), then Z Z
ω= ω
C1 C2

It’s quite easy to see why this works. If ω = df and C1 : [a, b] → R3 then
Z Z b
df
df = dt
C1 a dt

5
by the chain rule. Now the fundamental theorem of calculus shows that the
last integral equals f (C1 (b)) − f (C1 (a)), which is to say the value of f at the
endpoint minus its value at the starting point. A similar calculation shows that
the integral over C2 gives same answer. If the C is closed, which means that
the starting point is the endpoint, then this argument gives
R
COROLLARY 4.6 If ω is exact and Cis closed, then C ω = 0.
Now we can prove theorem 4.1. If F dx + Gdy is a closed form on R2 , set
Z
f (x, y) = F dx + Gdy
C

where the curve is indicated below:

(x,y)

(0,0) (x,0)

We parameterize both line segments seperately by x = t, y = 0 and x =

x(constant), y = t, and sum to get
Z x Z y
f (x, y) = F (t, 0)dt + G(x, t)dt
0 0

Then we claim that df = F dx + Gdy. To see this, we differentiate using the

fundamental theorem of calculus. The easy calcutation is
Z y
∂f ∂
= G(x, t)dt
∂y ∂y 0
= G(x, y)
Slightly trickier is
Z x Z y
∂f ∂ ∂
= F (x, 0)dt + G(x, t)dt
∂x ∂x 0 ∂x 0
Z y
∂G(x, t)
= F (x, 0) + dt
∂x
Z0 y
∂F (x, t)
= F (x, 0) + dt
0 ∂t
= F (x, 0) + F (x, y) − F (x, 0)
= F (x, y)

6
 The same proof works if if we replace R2 by an open rectangle. However, it
will fail for more general open sets. For example,
y x
− dx + 2 dy
x2 +y 2 x + y2

is C 1 1-form on the open set {(x, y) | (x, y) 6= (0, 0)} which is closed. But it is
not exact, since its integral along the unit circle is not 0.

5 Work
Line integrals have many important uses. One very direct application in physics
comes from the idea of work. If you pick up a rock off the ground, or perhaps
roll it up a ramp, it takes energy. The energy expended is called work. If you’re
moving the rock in straight line for a short distance, then the displacement can
be represented by a vector d = (∆x, ∆y, ∆z) and the force of gravity by a vector
F = (F1 , F2 , F3 ). Then the work done is simply

−F · d = −(F1 ∆x + F2 ∆y + F3 ∆z).

On the other hand, if you decide to shoot a rocket up into space, then you would
have to take into account that the trajectory c may not be straight nor can the
force F be assumed to be constant (it’s a vector field). However as the notation
suggests, for the work we would now need to calculate the integral
Z
− F1 dx + F2 dy + F3 dz
c

One often writes this as Z

− F · ds
c

(think of ds as the “vector” (dx, dy, dz).)

6 2-forms
The cross product of vectors u × v is a very useful operation in 3 dimensional
geometry. Its length gives the area of the parallelogram spanned by u, v, and it
determines the plane containing this parallelogram. There is no direct analogue
of the cross product in higher dimensions. However, there are certain features
which do generalize. The essential idea is to define new objects called 2-vectors
which are to planes what ordinary vectors are to lines. A vector in the usual
sense is a directed line segment. It is determined by its length, the line it lies
on, and a choice of one of two possible directions along the line. The basic
building block of a 2-vector is an oriented parallelogram (we usually omit the
modifier ”oriented”). It has three attributes: its area, the plane on which it
lies, and the orientation which is a choice of direction for walking around its

7
perimeter. Two oriented parallelograms are considered equal if the areas are
equal, the planes are parallel, and the orientations match. A parallelogram is
equal to zero precisely when its area is, in which case the other attributes can
be arbitrary. Given a parallelogram P and a number c, we define cP to be a
parallelogram with the same plane, and area given by |c| · area(P ) and the same
orientation if c > 0 and the opposite orientation if c < 0. Given two vectors
u, v we define the parallelogram u ∧ v to be given as follows.

u
Evidently
v ∧ u = −u ∧ v
u∧u=0
and
c(u ∧ v) = (cu) ∧ v = u ∧ (cv)
The sum of vectors can be defined geometrically using the parallelogram law.
Unfortunately there is no simple geometric rule for adding parallelograms, so
we just add them formally without worrying about the meaning. A 2-vector is a
finite sum of oriented parallelograms. The set of 2-vectors with these operations
form a vector space. In other words, all the expected rules for + and · apply. In
addition, we have a distributive law:
u ∧ (v + w) = u ∧ v + u ∧ w
We want to emphasize that the formalism of 2-vectors works in any dimension.
In R3 , we can identify 2-vectors with vectors via u ∧ v → u × v. However, we
will usually refrain from doing this.
A 2-form is like a 2-vector but built using forms. On R3 , this would be an
expression:
F (x, y, z)dx ∧ dy + G(x, y, z)dy ∧ dz + H(x, y, z)dz ∧ dx
where F, G and H are functions defined on an open subset of R3 . Any wedge
product of two 1-forms can be put in this format. For example, using the above
rules, we can see that
(3dx + dy) ∧ (dx + 2dy) = 6dx ∧ dy + dy ∧ dx = 5dx ∧ dy
The real significance of 2-forms will come later when we do surface integrals.
A 2-form will be an expression that can be integrated over a surface in the same
way that a 1-form can be integrated over a curve.

8
 In order to make the comparison with traditional vector calculus, we note
that we can convert vector fields to 2-forms and back

F1 i + F2 j + F3 k ↔ F1 dy ∧ dz + F2 dz ∧ dx + F3 dx ∧ dy,

Earler, we learned how to convert a vector field to a 1-form:

F1 i + F2 j + F3 k ↔ F1 dx + F2 dy + F3 dz

To complete the triangle, we can interchange 1-forms and 2-forms using the so
called Hodge star operator.

∗(F1 dx + F2 dy + F3 dz) = F1 dy ∧ dz + F2 dz ∧ dx + F3 dx ∧ dy

∗(F1 dy ∧ dz + F2 dz ∧ dx + F3 dx ∧ dy) = F1 dx + F2 dy + F3 dz

7 “d” of a 1-form and the curl

Given a 1-form F (x, y, z)dx + G(x, y, z)dy + H(x, y, z)dz. We want to define its
derivative dω which will be a 2-form. The rules we use to evaluate it are:

d(α + β) = dα + dβ
d(f α) = (df ) ∧ α + f dα
d(dx) = d(dy) = d(dz) = 0
where α and β are 1-forms and f is a function. Putting these together yields a
formula

d(F dx + Gdy + Hdz) = (Gx − Fy )dx ∧ dy + (Hy − Gz )dy ∧ dz + (Fz − Hx )dz ∧ dx

where Fx = ∂F∂x and so on.

A 2-form can be converted to a vector field by replacing dx ∧ dy by k = i × j,
dy ∧ dz by i = j × k and dz ∧ dx by j = k × i. If we start with a vector field
V = F i + Gj + Hk, replace it by a 1-form F dx + Gdy + Hdz, apply d, then
convert it back to a vector field, we end up with the curl of V

∇ × V = (Hy − Gz )i + (Gx − Fy )k + (Fz − Hx )j

(In practice, one often writes this as a determinant

 
 i j k 
 ∂ ∂ ∂ 
∇ × V =  ∂x ∂y ∂z  .
 F G H 

9
8 Exactness in R3 and conservation of energy
A C 1 1-form ω = F dx + Gdy + Hdz is called exact if there is a C 2 function
(called a potential) such that ω = df . ω is called closed if dω = 0, or equivalently
if
Fy = Gx , Fz = Hx , Gz = Hy
Then exact 1-forms are closed.

THEOREM 8.1 If ω = F dx + Gdy + Hdz is a closedR form on R3 with C 1

coefficients, then ω is exact. In fact if f (x0 , yo , z0 ) = C ω, where C is any
piecewise C 1 curve connecting (0, 0, 0) to (x0 , y0 , z0 ), then df = ω.

This can be rephrased in the language of vector fields. If F = F i + Gj + Hk

is C 1 vector field representing a force, then it is called conservative if there is a
C 2 real valued function P , called potential energy, such that F = −∇P . The
theorem implies that a force F, which is C 1 on all of R3 , is conservative if and
only if ∇ × F = 0. P (x, y, z) is just the work done by moving a particle of unit
mass along a path connecting (0, 0, 0) to (x, y, z).
To appreciate the importance of this concept, recall from physics that the
kinetic energy of a particle of constant mass m and velocity
dx dy dz
v=( , , )
dt dt dt
is
1 1
K= m||v||2 = mv · v.
2 2
Also one of Newton’s laws says
dv
m =F
dt
If F is conservative, then we can replace it by −∇P above, move it to the other
side, and then dot both sides by v to obtain
dv
mv · + v · ∇P = 0
dt
which simplifies1 to
d
(K + P ) = 0.
dt
This implies that the total energy K + P is constant.
1 This takes a bit of work that I’m leaving as an exercise. It’s probably easier to work

backwards. You’ll need the product rule for dot products and the chain rule.

10
9 “d” of a 2-form and divergence
A 3-form is simply an expression

f (x, y, z)dx ∧ dy ∧ dz = −f (x, y, z)dy ∧ dx ∧ dz = f (x, y, z)dy ∧ dz ∧ dx = . . .

These are things that will eventually get integrated over solid regions. The
important thing for the present is an operation which takes 2-forms to 3-forms
once again denoted by “d”.

d(F dy ∧ dz + Gdz ∧ dx + Hdx ∧ dy) = (Fx + Gy + Hz )dx ∧ dy ∧ dz

It’s probably easier to understand the pattern after converting the above 2-
form to the vector field V = F i + Gj + Hk. Then the coeffiecient of dx ∧ dy ∧ dz
is the divergence
∇ · V = Fx + Gy + Hz
So far we’ve applied d to functions to obtain 1-forms, and then to 1-forms to
get 2-forms, and finally to 2-forms. The real power of this notation is contained
in the following simple-looking formula

PROPOSITION 9.1 d2 = 0

What this means is that given a C 2 real valued function defined on an open
subset of R3 , then d(df ) = 0, and given a 1-form ω = F dx + Gdy + Hdz with
C 2 coefficents defined on an open subset of R3 , d(dω) = 0. Both of these are
quite easy to check:

d(df ) = (fyx − fxy )dx ∧ dy + (fzy − fyz )dy ∧ dz + (fxz − fzx )dz ∧ dx = 0

d(dω) = [Gxz − Fyz + Hyx − Gzx + Fzy − Hxy ]dx ∧ dy ∧ dz = 0

In terms of standard vector notation this is equivalent to

∇ × (∇f ) = 0

∇ · (∇ × V) = 0
The analogue of theorem 8.1 holds:

THEOREM 9.2 If ω is a 2-form on R3 such that dω = 0, then there exists a

1-form ξ such that dξ = ω.

10 Parameterized Surfaces
Recall that a parameterized curve is a C 1 function from a interval [a, b] ⊂ R1 to
R3 . If we replace the interval by subset of the plane R2 , we get a parameterized
surface. Let’s look at a few of examples

11
 1) The upper half sphere of radius 1 centered at the origin can be parame-
terized using cartesian coordinates


 x=u
y=√ v


 z = 1 − u2 − v 2
 2
u + v2 ≤ 1

2) The upper half sphere can be parameterized using spherical coordinates


 x = sin(φ) cos(θ)

y = sin(φ) sin(θ)

 z = cos(φ)

0 ≤ φ ≤ π/2, 0 ≤ θ < 2π


3) The upper half sphere can be parameterized using cylindrical coordinates



 x = r cos(θ)
y=√ r sin(θ)


 z = 1 − r2
0 ≤ r ≤ 1, 0 ≤ θ < 2π


An orientation on a curve is a choice of a direction for the curve. For a

surface an orientation is a choice of “up” or “down”. The easist way to make
this precise is to view an orientation as a choice of (an upward or outward
pointing) unit normal vector field n on S. A parameterized surface S


 x = f (u, v)
y = g(u, v)

 z = h(u, v)

(u, v) ∈ D


is called smooth provided that f, g, h are C 1 , the function that they define from
D → R3 is one to one, and the tangent vector fields
∂x ∂y ∂z
Tu = ( , , )
∂u ∂u ∂u
∂x ∂y ∂z
Tv = ( , , )
∂v ∂v ∂v
are linearly independent. In this case, once we pick an ordering of the variables
(say u first, v second) an orientation is determined by the normal

Tu × Tv
n=
||Tu × Tv ||

12
 n

Tv

T
u

u=constant
v=constant

FIGURE 1

If we look at the examples given earlier. (1) is smooth. However there is

a slight problem with our examples (2) and (3). Here Tθ = 0, when φ = 0 in
example (2) and when r = 0 in example (3). To deal with scenario, we will
consider a surface smooth if there is at least one smooth parameterization for
it.
Let C be a closed C 1 curve in R2 and D be the interior of C. D is an example
of a surface with a boundary C. In this case the surface lies flat in the plane,
but more general examples can be constructed by letting S be a parameterized
surface 

 x = f (u, v)
y = g(u, v)


 z = h(u, v)
(u, v) ∈ D ⊂ R2


then the image of C in R3 will be the boundary of S. For example, the boundary
of the upper half sphere S


 x = sin(φ) cos(θ)
y = sin(φ) sin(θ)


 z = cos(φ)
0 ≤ φ ≤ π/2, 0 ≤ θ < 2π


13
is the circle C given by

x = cos(θ), y = sin(θ), z = 0, 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π

In what follows, we will need to match up the orientation of S and its boundary
curve. This will be done by the right hand rule: if the fingers of the right hand
point in the direction of C, then the direction of the thumb should be “up”.
n

FIGURE 2

11 Surface Integrals
Let S be a smooth parameterized surface


 x = f (u, v)
y = g(u, v)


 z = h(u, v)
(u, v) ∈ D


with orientation corresponding to the ordering u, v. The symbols dx etc. can

be converted to the new coordinates as follows
∂x ∂x
dx = du + dv
∂u ∂v
∂y ∂y
dy = du + dv
∂u ∂v

14
 ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y
dx ∧ dy = (
du + dv) ∧ ( du + dv)
∂u ∂v ∂u ∂v
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y
= ( − )du ∧ dv
∂u ∂v ∂v ∂u
∂(x, y)
= du ∧ dv
∂(u, v)
In this way, it is possible to convert any 2-form ω to uv-coordinates.
DEFINITION 11.1 The integral of a 2-form on S is given by
Z Z Z Z
∂(x, y) ∂(y, z) ∂(z, x)
F dx∧dy+Gdy∧dz+Hdz∧dx = [F +G +H ]dudv
S D ∂(u, v) ∂(u, v) ∂(u, v)
In practice, the integral of a 2-form can be calculated
RR by first converting it
to the form f (u, v)du ∧ dv, and then evaluating D f (u, v) dudv.
Let S be the upper half sphere of radius 1 oriented with the upward normal
parameterized using spherical coordinates, we get
∂(x, y)
dx ∧ dy = dφ ∧ dθ = cos(φ) sin(φ)dφ ∧ dθ
∂(φ, θ)
So Z Z Z 2π Z π/2
dx ∧ dy = cos(φ) sin(φ)dφdθ = π
S 0 0
On the other hand if use the same surface parameterized using cylindrical
coordinates
∂(x, y)
dx ∧ dy = dr ∧ dθ = rdr ∧ dθ
∂(r, θ)
Then Z Z Z 2π Z 1
dx ∧ dy = rdrdθ = π
S 0 0
which leads to the same answer as one would hope. The general result is:
THEOREM 11.2 Suppose that a oriented surface S has two different smooth
C 1 parameterizations, then for any 2-form ω, the expression for the integrals of
ω calculated with respect to both parameterizations agree.
(This theorem needs to be applied to the half sphere with the point (0, 0, 1)
removed in the above examples.)

12 Surface integrals (continued)

Complicated surfaces may be divided up into nonoverlapping patches which can
be parameterized separately. The simplest scheme for doing this is to triangulate
the surface, which means that we divide it up into triangular patches as depicted
below. Each triangle on the surface can be parameterized by a triangle on the
plane.

15
 boundary

We will insist that if any two triangles touch, they either meet only at a
vertex, or they share an entire edge. We define the boundary of a surface to be
the union of all edges which are not shared. The surface is called closed if the
boundary is empty.
Given a surface which has been divided up into patches, we can integrate a
2-form on it by summing up the integrals over each patch. However, we require
that the orientations match up, which is possible if the surface has “two sides”.
Below is a picture of a one sided, or nonorientable, surface called the Mobius
strip.

Once we have pick and orientation of S, we get one for the boundary using
the right hand rule.
In many situations arising in physics, one needs to integrate a vector field
F = F1 i + F2 j + F3 k over a surface. The resulting quantity is often called a

16
 RR
flux.
R RWe will simply define this integral, which is usually written as S
F · dS
or S F · n dS, to mean
Z Z
F1 dy ∧ dz + F2 dz ∧ dx + F3 dx ∧ dy
S

It is probally easier to view this as a two step process, first convert F to a 2-form
as follows:
F1 i + F2 j + F3 k ↔ F1 dy ∧ dz + F2 dz ∧ dx + F3 dx ∧ dy,
then integrate. As a typical example, consider a fluid such as air or water.
Associated to this, there is a scalar field ρ(x, y, z) which measures the density,
and a vector field v which measures the velocity of the flow (e.g. the wind
velocity). Then the Rrate
R at which the fluid passes through a surface S is given
by the flux integral S ρv · dS

13 Length and Area

It is important to realize some line and surface integrals are not expressible as
integrals of differential forms in general. Two notable examples are the arclength
and area integrals.
DEFINITION 13.1 The arclength of C : [a, b] → R3 is given by
s
dx 2 dy 2 dz 2
Z Z b
ds = + + dt
C a dt dt dt
The symbol ds is not a 1-form in spite of the notation. For example
Z Z
ds = ds
−C C

whereas for 1-forms the integral would change sign. Nevertheless, ds (or more
accurately its square) is a sort of generalization of a differential form called a
tensor. To get a sense what this means, let us calculate the arclength of a curve
lying on a surface. Suppose that S is a parameterized surface given by


 x = f (u, v)
y = g(u, v)


 z = h(u, v)
(u, v) ∈ D


and suppose that C lies on S. This means that there are functions k, ` : [a, b] →
R such that x = f (k(t), `(t)), . . . determines C. We can calculate the arclength
of C by applying the chain to the above integral all at once. Instead, we want
to break this down into a series of steps.
∂x ∂x
dx = du + dv
∂u ∂v

17
 ∂y ∂y
dy = du + dv
∂u ∂v
∂z ∂z
dz = du + dv
∂u ∂v
For the next step, we introduce a new product (indicated by juxtaposition)
which is distributive and unlike the wedge product is commutative. We square
the previous formulas and add them up. (The objects that we are getting are
tensors.)
 2  2
∂x ∂x ∂x ∂x
dx2 = du2 + 2 dudv + dv 2
∂u ∂u ∂v ∂v
 2  2
∂y ∂y ∂y ∂y
dy 2 = du2 + 2 dudv + dv 2
∂u ∂u ∂v ∂v
 2  2
2 ∂z 2 ∂z ∂z ∂z
dz = du + 2 dudv + dv 2
∂u ∂u ∂v ∂v
dx2 + dy 2 + dz 2 = Edu2 + 2F dudv + Gdv 2 (1)
where
E = ||Tu ||2 , F = Tu · Tv , G = ||Tv ||2
in the notation of section 10. The expression in (1) is called the metric tensor
of the surface. We can easily deduce a formula for arclength in terms of it:
s
du 2 dv 2
Z Z b
du dv
ds = E + 2F +G dt
C a dt dt dt dt
The area of S can also be expressed in terms of the metric tensor. First
recall that

DEFINITION 13.2 The area of S is given by

Z Z Z Z
dS = ||Tu × Tv ||dudv
S D

THEOREM 13.3 The area is given by

Z Z Z Z p
dS = EG − F 2 dudv
S D

The proof is as follows

||Tu × Tv ||2 = ||Tu ||2 ||Tv ||2 sin2 θ

= ||Tu ||2 ||Tv ||2 (1 − cos2 θ)

= ||Tu ||2 ||Tv ||2 − (Tu · Tv )2
= EG − F 2

18
 If S is sphere of radius 1 parameterized by spherical coordinates, a straight
forward calculation gives the metric tensor as

sin2 φ dθ2 + dφ2

which yields Z 2π Z π
area(S) = sin φ dφdθ = 4π
0 0
as expected.

14 Green’s and Stokes’ Theorems

Stoke’s theorem is really the fundamental theorem of calculus of surface inte-
grals. We assume that surfaces can triangulated.

THEOREM 14.1 (Stokes’ theorem) Let S be an oriented smooth surface

with smooth boundary curve C. If C is oriented using the right hand rule, then
for any C 1 1-form ω on an open set of R3 containing S,
Z Z Z
dω = ω
S C

If the surface lies in the plane, it is possible make this very explicit:

THEOREM 14.2 (Green’s theorem) Let C be a closed C 1 curve in R2 ori-

ented counterclockwise and D be the interior of C. If P (x, y) and Q(x, y) are
both C 1 functions then
Z Z Z
∂Q ∂P
P dx + Qdy = ( − )dxdy
C D ∂x ∂y
As an application, Green’s theorem shows that the area of D can be com-
puted as line integral on the boundary
Z Z Z
dxdy = ydx
D C

If S is a closed oriented surface in R3 , such as the surface of a sphere, Stoke’s

theorem show that any exact 2-form integrates to 0. To see this write S as the
union of two surfaces S1 and S2 with common boundary curve C. Orient C
using the right hand rule with respect to S1 , then orientation comming from S2
goes in the opposite direction. Therefore
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
dω = dω + dω = ω− ω=0
S S1 S2 C C

In vector notation, Stokes’ theorem is written as

Z Z Z
∇ × F · n dS = F · ds
S C

19
where F is a C 1 -vector field.
In physics, there a two fundamental vector fields, the electric field E and the
magnetic field B. They’re governed by Maxwell’s equations, one of which is
∂B
∇×E=−
∂t
where t is time. If we integrate both sides over S, apply Stokes’ theorem and
simplify, we obtain Faraday’s law of induction:
Z Z Z
∂
E · ds = − B · n dS
C ∂t S

To get a sense of what this says, imagine that C is wire loop and that we are
dragging a magnet through it. This action will induce an electric current; the
left hand integral is precisely the induced voltage and the right side is related to
the strength of the magnet and the rate at which it is being dragged through.
Stokes’ theorem works even if the boundary has several components. How-
ever, the inner an outer components would have opposite directions.

C
2

C
1
THEOREM 14.3 (Stokes’ theorem II) Let S be an oriented smooth sur-
face with smooth boundary curves C1 , C2 . . .. If Ci is oriented using the right
hand rule, then for any C 1 1-form ω on an open set of R3 containing S,
Z Z Z Z
dω = ω+ ω + ...
S C1 C2

15 Cauchy’s theorem
√ that a complex number is an expression z = a + bi where a, b ∈ R and
Recall
i = −1, so that i2 = −1. The components a and b are called the real and
imaginary parts of z. We can identify the set of complex numbers C with the
plane R2 = {(a, b) | a, b ∈ R}. Addition and subtraction of complex numbers
correspond to the usual vector operations:

(a + bi) ± (c + di) = (a ± c) + (b ± d)i

20
However, we can do more, such as multiplication and division:

(a + bi)(c + di) = (ac − bd) + (ad + bc)i

a + bi (a + bi)(c − di) ac + bd bc − ad
= = 2 + 2 i
c + di (c + di)(c − di) c + d2 c + d2
The next step is calculus. The power of complex numbers is evident in the
beautiful formula of Euler

eiθ = cos(θ) + i sin(θ)

which unifies the basic functions of calculus. Given a function f : C → C, we

can write it as
f (z) = f (x + yi) = u(x, y) + iv(x, y)
where x, y are real and imaginary parts of z ∈ C, and u, v are the real and
imaginary parts of f . f is continuous at z = a + bi if u and v are continuous
at (a, b) in the usual sense. So far there are no surprises. However, things get
more interesting when we define the complex derivative

f (z + h) − f (z)
f 0 (z) = lim
h→0 h
Notice that h is a complex number. For the limit to exist, we should get the
same value no matter how it approaches 0. If h = ∆x approaches along the
x-axis, we get

[u(x + ∆x, y) − u(x, y)] + i[v(x + ∆x, y) − v(x, y)]

f 0 (z) = lim
∆y→0 ∆x
∂u ∂v
= +i
∂x ∂x
If h = ∆y i approaches along the y-axis, then

[u(x, y + ∆y) − u(x, y)] + i[v(x, y + ∆y) − v(x, y)]

f 0 (z) = lim
∆y→0 i∆y
∂u ∂v
= −i +
∂y ∂y
Setting these equal leads to the Cauchy-Riemann equations
∂u ∂v ∂v ∂u
= , =−
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y

These equations have to hold when the complex derivative f 0 (z) exists, and in
fact f 0 (z) exists when they do. f is called analytic at z = a + bi when these
hold at that point. For example, z 2 = x2 + y 2 + 2xyi and

ez = ex cos(y) + iex sin(x)

21
are analytic everywhere. But f (z) = x is not analytic anywhere.
A complex differential form is an expression α+iβ where α, β are differential
forms in the usual sense. Complex 1-forms can be integrated by the rule
Z Z Z
α + iβ = α+i β
C C C

Suppose that f is analytic. Then expanding

f (z)dz = (u + iv)(dx + idy) = [udx − vdy] + i[vdx + udy]

Differentiating and applying the Cauchy-Riemann equations shows

∂u ∂v ∂u ∂v
d(f (z)dz) = −( + )dx ∧ dy + i( − )dx ∧ dy = 0
∂y ∂x ∂x ∂y
Therefore Stokes’ theorem implies what may be thought of as the fundamental
theorem of complex analysis:

THEOREM 15.1 (Cauchy’s theorem) If f (z) is analytic on a region with

boundary C then Z
f (z)dz = 0
C

Suppose we replace f (z) by g(z) = f (z)

z . This is analytic away from 0.
Therefore the theorem applies to the boundary of any region not containing 0.
If C is a closed positively curve whose interior U contains 0. Then applying
Cauchy’s theorem to a U − Dr ,where Dr is a disk of small radius r in U , shows
that Z Z
g(z)dz = g(z)dz (2)
C Cr

Here Cr is a circle of radius r around 0. We can parameterize this with the help
of Euler’s formula by

z = r cos(θ) + ri sin(θ) = reiθ , 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π

Then dz = rieiθ dθ, so that

2π 2π
f (reiθ ) iθ
Z Z Z
g(z)dz = ri e dθ = i f (reiθ )dθ
Cr 0 reiθ 0

As r → 0, f (reiθ ) → f (0), therefore the above integral approaches 2πr. Since

(2) holds for all small r, it follows that this equality holds on the nose. Therefore:

THEOREM 15.2 (Cauchy’s Integral Formula) If f (z) is analytic in the

interior of positively oriented closed curve C, then
Z
1 f (z)
f (0) = dz
2πi C z

22
 Using a change of variable z → z − a, we get a more general formula:
COROLLARY 15.3 (Cauchy’s Integral Formula II) With the same as-
sumptions, for any point a in the interior of C
Z
1 f (z)
f (a) = dz
2πi C z − a
This formula has many uses. Among other things, it can be used to evaluate
complicated definite integrals. This and more can be found in any book on
complex analysis.

16 Triple integrals and the divergence theorem

A 3-form is an expression f (x, y, z)dx ∧ dy ∧ dz. Given a solid region V ⊂ R3 ,
we define
Z Z Z Z Z Z
f (x, y, z)dx ∧ dy ∧ dz = f (x, y, z)dxdydz
V V

THEOREM 16.1 (Divergence theorem) Let V be the interior of a smooth

closed surface S oriented with the outward pointing normal. If ω is a C 1 2-form
on an open subset of R3 containing V , then
Z Z Z Z Z
dω = ω
V S

In standard vector notation, this reads

Z Z Z Z Z
∇ · F dV = F · n dS
V S
1
where F is a C vector field.
As an application, consider a fluid with density ρ and velocity v. If S is the
boundary
RR of a solid region V with outward pointing normal n, then the flux
S
ρv · n dS is the rate at which matter flows out of V . In other
R R Rwords, it is
minus the rate at which matter flows in, and this equals −∂/∂t V
ρdV . On
the
RRR other hand, by the divergence theorem, the above double integral equals
S
∇ · (ρv) dV . Setting these equal and subtracting yields
Z Z Z
∂ρ
[∇ · (ρv) + ] dV = 0.
V ∂t
The only way this can hold for all possible regions V is that the integrand
∂ρ
∇ · (ρv) + =0 (3)
∂t
This is one of the basic laws of fluid mechanics.
We can extend the divergence theorem to solids with disconnected boundary.
Suppose that S2 is a smooth closed oriented surface contained inside another
such surface S1 . We use the outward pointing normal S1 and the inner pointing
normal on S2 . Let V be region in between S1 and S2 . Then,

23
THEOREM 16.2 (Divergence theorem II) If ω is a C 1 2-form on an open
subset of R3 containing V , then
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
dω = ω+ ω
V S1 S2

17 Gravitational Flux
Place a “point particle” of mass m at the origin of R3 , then this generates a
force on any particle of unit mass at r = (x, y, z) given by
−mr
F=
r3
p
where r = ||r|| = x2 + y 2 + z 2 . This has singularity at 0, so it is a vector field
on R3 − {0}. The corresponding 2-form is given by

xdy ∧ dz + ydz ∧ dx + zdx ∧ dy

ω = −m
r3
Let BR be the ball of radius R around 0, and let SR be its boundary. Since the
outward unit normal to SR is just n = r/r. One might expect that the flux
Z Z Z Z
m
F · ndS = − 2 dS
SR R SR

m m
=− area(SR ) = − 2 (4πR2 )
R2 R
However, this is really just a proof by notation at this point. To justify it, we
work in spherical coordinates. SR is given by


 x = R sin(φ) cos(θ)
y = R sin(φ) sin(θ)


 z = R cos(φ)
0 ≤ φ ≤ π, 0 ≤ θ < 2π


Rewriting ω in these coordinates and simplifying:

ω = −mR3 sin(φ)dφ ∧ dθ

Therefore, Z Z Z Z
F · ndS = ω = −4πm
SR SR

as hoped. We claim that if S is any closed surface not containing 0

Z Z 
−4πm if 0 lies in the interior of S
ω=
S 0 otherwise

24
By direct calculation, we see that dω = 0. Therefore, the divergence theorem
yields Z Z Z Z Z
ω= dω = 0
S V
if the interior V does not contain 0. On the other hand, if V contains 0, let BR
be a small ball contained in V , and let V − BR denote part of V lying outside
of BR . We use the second form of the divergence theorem
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
ω− ω= ω=0
S SR V −BR

We are subtracting the second surface integral, since we are suppose to use the
inner normal for SR . Thus Z Z
ω = −4πm
S

Incidentally, this shows that ω is not exact. Thus theorem 9.2 fails for R3 − {0}.
From here, we can easily extract an expression for the flux for several par-
ticles or even a continuous distribution of matter. If F is the force of gravity
associated to some mass distribution, then for any closed surface S oriented by
the outer normal, then the flux
Z Z
F · ndS
S

is −4π times theR Rmass

R inside S. For a continuous distribution with density ρ,
this is given by ρdV . Applying the divergence theorem again, in this case,
yields Z Z Z
(∇ · F + 4πρ)dV = 0
V
for all regions V . Therefore
∇ · F = −4πρ (4)

18 Laplace’s equation
The Laplacian is a partial differential operator defined by
∂2f ∂2f ∂2f
∆f = 2
+ 2 + 2
∂x ∂y ∂z
This can expressed using previous operators as ∆f = ∇ · (∇f ). As an example
of where this arises, suppose that F is a gravitational force, this is known to
be conservative so that F = −∇P . Substituting into (4) yields the Poisson
equation
∆P = 4πρ
In a vacuum, this reduces to Laplace’s equation

∆P = 0

25
A solution to Laplace’s equation is called a harmonic function. These are of
fundamental
p importance both in pure and applied mathematics. If we write
r = x2 + y 2 + z 2 , then
m
P = − + Const.
r
is the potential energy associated to particle of mass m at 0. This is harmonic
away from the singularity 0.
We express ∆ in terms of forms as

∆f dx ∧ dy ∧ dz = d ∗ df

or simply
∆f = ∗d ∗ df
once we define ∗(gdx ∧ dy ∧ dz) = g. This last formula also works in the plane
provided we define
∗(f dx + gdy) = f dy − gdx
∗f dx ∧ dy = f
(The ∗-operator in n dimensions always takes p-forms to (n − p)-forms.)
As an exercise, let us work out the Laplace equation in polar coordinates,
and use this to determine the radially symmetric harmonic functions on the
plane. The key is the determination of the ∗-operator:
∂r ∂r x y
dr = dx + dy = dx + dy
∂x ∂y r r
Similarly
y x
dθ = − dx + 2 dy
r2 r
So that
x y
∗dr = dy − dx = rdθ
r r
y x 1
∗dθ = − 2 dy − 2 dx = − dr
r r r
1 1
∗dr ∧ dθ = ∗ dx ∧ dy =
r r
Thus
∂f ∂f
∆f = ∗d ∗ ( dr + dθ)
∂r ∂θ
∂f 1 ∂f
= ∗d(r dθ − dr)
∂r r ∂θ
1 ∂f ∂2f 1 ∂2f
= + 2 + 2 2
r ∂r ∂r r ∂θ
If f is radially symmetric, then it depends only on r so we obtain
d2 f
 
1 df 1 d df
+ 2 = r =0
r dr dr r dr dr

26
This differential equation can be solved using standard techniques to get

f (r) = C + D log r

for constants C, D. By a similar, but more involved, calculation we find that

D
f (r) = C +
r
are the only radially symmetric harmonic functions in R3 , where as above we
write r instead of ρ for the distance from the origin. These are precisely the
physical solutions written at the beginning of this section.

19 Beyond 3 dimensions
It is possible to do calculus in Rn with n > 3. Here the language of differential
forms comes into its own. While it would be impossible to talk about the curl
of a vector field in, say, R4 , the derivative of a 1-form or 2-form presents no
problems; we simply apply the rules we’ve already learned. For example, if
x, y, z, t are the coordinate of R4 , then a 1-form is a linear combination of the 4
basic 1-forms
dx, dy, dz, dt
a forms is a linear combination of the 6 basic 2-forms

dx ∧ dy = −dy ∧ dx

dx ∧ dz = −dz ∧ dx
...
dz ∧ dt = −dt ∧ dz
and a 3 form is a linear combination of

dx ∧ dy ∧ dz = −dy ∧ dx ∧ dz = −dx ∧ dz ∧ dy = dy ∧ dz ∧ dx = . . .

...
dy ∧ dz ∧ dt = −dz ∧ dy ∧ dt = . . .
The higher dimensional analogue of a surface is a k-manifold. A parameter-
ized k-manifold M in Rn is given by a collection of C 1 functions


 x1 = f1 (u1 , . . . uk )
 x2 = f2 (u1 , . . . uk )


...
xn = fn (u1 , . . . uk )




(u1 , . . . uk ) ∈ D ⊆ Rk open


27
 ∂x1
such that the map D → Rn is one to one and the tangent vectors ( ∂u 1
, . . . ∂x
∂u1 ), . . .
n

∂x1
( ∂uk
, . . . ∂x
∂uk ) are linearly independent for all values of the coordinates (u1 , . . . uk ).
n

Given a k-form α on Rn , we can express it as a linear combination of k-fold

wedges of dx1 . . . dxn , and then rewrite it as g(u1 , . . . uk )du1 ∧ . . . ∧ duk . The
“surface” integral is defined as
Z Z Z
α = ... g(u1 . . . uk )du1 . . . duk (5)
M D

Notice that number of integrations is usually suppressed in the notation on the

left, since it gets too cumbersome after a while. In practice, for computing inte-
grals, it’s convenient to relax the conditions a bit by allowing D to be nonopen
and allowing some degenerate points where the map D → Rn isn’t one to one.
More generally, a k-manifold M is obtained by gluing several parameterized
manifolds as we did for surfaces. To be more precise, a closed set M ⊂ Rn
is a k-manifold, if each point of M lies in the image of a parameterized k-
manifold called a chart. As with curves and surfaces, it is important to specify
orientations. Things are a little trickier since we can no longer rely on our
geometric intuition to tell us which way is “up” or “down”. Instead we can
think that an orientation is a rule for specifying whether a coordinate system
on a chart R is right or left handed. We’ll spell this out in an example below. The
integral M α can be defined by essentially summing up (5) over various non-
overlapping right handed charts (we can use left handed charts provided we use
the opposite sign). A k-manifold with boundary M is a closed set which can be
decomposed as a union of a (k − 1)-manifold ∂M , called the boundary, and a k-
manifold M −∂M . We orient this by the rule that a coordinate system u2 , . . . uk
of ∂M is right handed if it can be completed to right handed coordinate system
∂x1
u1 , u2 , . . . uk of M such that the tangent vector ( ∂u 1
, . . . ∂x
∂u1 ) “points out”.
n

Then the ultimate form of Stokes’ theorem is:

THEOREM 19.1 (Generalized Stokes’ theorem) If M is an oriented k
manifold with boundary ∂M and if α is a (k − 1)-form defined on (an open set
containing) M , then Z Z
dα = α
M ∂M

In order to get a feeling for how this works, let’s calculate the “volume” V
of the 4-dimensional ball B = {(x, y, z, t) | x2 + y 2 + z 2 + t2 ≤ R} of radius
R in R4 in two ways. This is a 4-manifold with boundary S = {(x, y, z, t) |
x2 + y 2 + z 2 + t2 = R}.
V can be expressed as the integral
Z Z Z Z Z
V = dxdydzdt = dx ∧ dy ∧ dz ∧ dt
B B

We use extended spherical coordinates σ, ρ, φ, θ, where σ measures the distance

of (x, y, z, t) to the origin in R4 , and ψ the angle to the t-axis. So that
t = σ cos ψ

28
and
ρ = σ sin ψ
is the distance from from the projection (x, y, z) to the origin. Then letting φ, θ
be the remaining spherical coordinates gives

x = ρ sin φ cos θ = σ sin ψ sin φ cos θ

y = ρ sin φ sin θ = σ sin ψ sin φ sin θ

z = ρ cos φ = σ sin ψ cos φ
t

ψ y

x
In these coordinate B is described as


 0≤ψ≤π
0≤φ≤π

 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π

0≤σ≤R


To simply computations, we note that form will get multiplied by the Jacobian
when we change coordinates:

∂(x, y, z, t)
dx ∧ dy ∧ dz ∧ dt = dσ ∧ dψ ∧ dθ ∧ dφ
∂(σ, ψ, θ, φ)

= σ 3 sin2 ψ sin φ dσ ∧ dψ ∧ dθ ∧ dφ
Note that the Jacobian is positive, and this what it means to say the coordinate
system σ, ψ, θ, φ is right handed or positively oriented. The volume is now easily

29
computed
Z R Z π Z 2π Z π
1 2 4
σ 3 dσ sin2 ψdψ dθ sin φdφ = π R
0 0 0 0 2
Alternatively, we can use Stokes’ theorem, to see that
Z Z
V = dx ∧ dy ∧ dz ∧ dt = − tdx ∧ dy ∧ dz
B S

The parameter x, y, z gives a left hand coordinate system on the upper hemi-
sphere U = S ∩ {t > 0}. It is left handed because t, x, y, z is left handed on R4 .
For similar reasons, x, y, z gives a right handed system on the lower hemisphere
L where t < 0. Therefore
Z Z
V = − tdx ∧ dy ∧ dz − tdx ∧ dy ∧ dz
Z UZ Z p
L

= 2 R2 − x2 − y 2 − z 2 dxdydz
x2 +y 2 +z 2 ≤R
Z R p Z π Z 2π
= 2 ρ2 R2 − ρ2 dρ sin φ dφ dθ
0 0 0
Z π/2
= 8π R4 sin2 α cos2 αdα
0
1 2 4
= π R
2

20 Maxwell’s equations in R4
As exotic as higher dimensional calculus sounds, there are many applications of
these ideas outside of mathematics. For example, in relativity theory one needs
to treat the electric E = E1 i+E2 j+E3 k and magnetic fields B = B1 i+B2 j+B3 k
as part of a single “field” on space-time. In mathematical terms, we can take
space-time to be R4 - with the fourth coordinate as time t. The electromagnetic
field can be represented by a 2-form

F = B3 dx ∧ dy + B1 dy ∧ dz + B2 dz ∧ dx + E1 dx ∧ dt + E2 dy ∧ dt + E3 dz ∧ dt

If we compute dF using the analogues of the rules we’ve learned:

∂B3 ∂B3 ∂B3 ∂B3
dF = ( dx + dy + dz + dt) ∧ dx ∧ dy + . . .
∂x ∂y ∂z ∂t
∂B1 ∂B2 ∂B3 ∂E2 ∂E1 ∂B3
=( + + )dx ∧ dy ∧ dz + ( − + )dx ∧ dy ∧ dt + . . .
∂x ∂y ∂z ∂x ∂y ∂t
Two of Maxwell’s equations
∂B
∇ · B = 0, ∇ × E = −
∂t

30
can be expressed very succintly in this language as dF = 0. The analogue of
theorem 9.2 holds for Rn , and shows that

F = d(A1 dx + A2 dy + A3 dy + A4 dt)

for some 1-form called the potential. Thus we’ve reduced the 6 quantites to just
4. In terms of vector analysis this amounts to the more complicated looking
equations
∂A1 ∂A2 ∂A3
B = ∇ × (A1 i + A2 j + A3 k), E = ∇A4 − i+ j+ k
∂t ∂t ∂t
There are two remaining Maxwell equations
∂E
∇ · E = 4πρ, ∇ × B = + 4πJ
∂t
where ρ is the electric charge density, and J is the electric current. The first
law is really an analog of (4) for the electric field. After applying the divergence
theorem, it implies that the electric flux through a closed surface equals (−4π)
times the electric charge inside it. These last two Maxwell equations can also
be replaced by the single equation d∗F = 4πJ of 3-forms. Here

∗F = E3 dx ∧ dy + E1 dy ∧ dz + E2 dz ∧ dx − B1 dx ∧ dt − B2 dy ∧ dt − B3 dz ∧ dt

and

J = ρdx ∧ dy ∧ dz − J3 dx ∧ dy ∧ dt − J1 dy ∧ dz ∧ dt − J2 dz ∧ dx ∧ dt

(We have been relying on explicit formulas to avoid technicalities about the
definition of the ∗-operator. In principle however, it involves a metric, and in
this case we use the so called Lorenz metric.)
Let’s see how the calculus of differential forms can be used to extract a
physically meaningful consequence of these laws. Proposition 9.1 (in extended
1 2
form) implies that dJ = 4π d ∗F = 0. Expanding this out yields
∂ρ ∂J3
dt ∧ dx ∧ dy ∧ dz − dz ∧ dx ∧ dy ∧ dt + . . . =
∂t ∂z
∂ρ
−( + ∇ · J)dx ∧ dy ∧ dz ∧ dt = 0
∂t
Thus the expression in brackets is zero. This really an analog of the equation
(3). To appreciate the meaning integrate ∂ρ
∂t over a solid region V with boundary
S. Then this equals
Z Z Z Z Z
− ∇ · JdV = − J · ndS
V S

In other words, the rate of change of the electric charge in V equals minus the
flux of the current accross the surface. This is the law of conservation of electric
charge.

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21 Further reading
For more information about differential forms, see the books [Fl, S]. All the
physics background can be found in [Fe]. A standard reference for complex
analysis is [A]

References
[A] L Ahlfors, Complex Analysis
[Fe] R. Feynman et. al., Lectures on Physics
[Fl] H. Flanders, Differential forms and applications to the physical sciences
[S] M. Spivak, Calculus on manifolds

A Essentials of multivariable calculus

To simplify the review, we’ll stick to two variables, but the corresponding state-
ments hold more generally. Let f (x, y) be a real valued function defined on open
subset of R2 . Recall that the limit

lim f (x, y) = L
(x,y)→(a,b)

means that f (x, y) is approximately L whenever (x, y) is close to (a, b). The
precise meaning is as follows. If we specified  > 0 (say  = 0.0005), then we
could pick a tolerance δ > 0 which would guarantee that |f (x, y) − L| <  (i.e.
f (x, y) agrees with L up to the first 3 digits) whenever the distance between
(x, y) and (a, b) is less than δ. A function f (x, y) is continuous at (a, b) if

lim f (x, y)
(x,y)→(a,b)

exists and equals f (a, b). It is continuous if it is so at each point of its domain.
We say that f is differentiable, if near any point p = (x0 , y0 , f (x0 , y0 )) the
graph z = f (x, y) can approximated by a plane passing through p. In other
words, there exists quantities A = A(x0 , y0 ), B = B(x0 , y0 ) such that we may
write
f (x, y) = f (x0 , y0 ) + A(x − x0 ) + B(y − y0 ) + remainder
with remainder → 0 as (x, y) → (x0 , y0 ). We can see that the coefficients are
nothing but the partial derivatives

∂f f (x + h, y) − f (x, y)
A(x, y) = = lim
∂x h→0 h
∂f f (x, y + h) − f (x, y)
B(x, y) = = lim
∂y h→0 h

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There is a stronger condition which is generally easier to check. f is called
continuously differentiable or C 1 if it and its partial derivatives exist and are
continuous. Consider the following example
( 3
x
2 2 if (x, y) 6= (0, 0)
f (x, y) = x +y
0 if (x, y) = (0, 0)

This is continuous, however

∂f 3x2 2x4
= 2 − 2
∂x x + y2 (x2 + y 2 )

has no limit as (x, y) → (0, 0). To see this, note that along the x-axis y = 0, we
have ∂f
∂x = 1. So the limit would have to be 1 if it existed. On the other hand,
along the y-axis x = 0, ∂f
∂x = 0, which shows that there is no limit. So f (x, y)
is not C 1 .

THEOREM A.1 (Chain Rule) If f, g, h : R2 → R are C 1 functions, then

f (g(u, v), h(u, v)) is also C 1 and if z = f (x, y), x = g(u, v), y = h(u, v) then

∂z ∂z ∂x ∂z ∂y
= +
∂u ∂x ∂u ∂y ∂u
∂z ∂z ∂x ∂z ∂y
= +
∂v ∂x ∂v ∂y ∂v

A function f (x, y) is twice continously differentiable or C 2 if is C 1 and if its

partial derivatives are also C 1 . We have the following basic fact:

THEOREM A.2 If f (x, y) is C 2 then the mixed partials

∂2f ∂ ∂f
=
∂y∂x ∂y ∂x

∂2f ∂ ∂f
=
∂x∂y ∂x ∂y
are equal.

Integrals can be defined using Riemann’s method. This has some limitations
but it’s the easiest to explain. Given a rectangle R = [a, b] × [c, d] ⊂ R2 , choose
integers m, n > 0 and let ∆x = b−a d−c
m ∆y = n . Choose a set of sample points
P = {(x1 , y1 ), . . . (xm , yn )} ⊂ R with

(xi , yj ) ∈ [a + (i − 1)∆x, a + i∆x] × [b + (j − 1)∆y, b + j∆y]

The Riemann sum X

S(m, n, P ) = f (xi , yj )∆x∆y
i,j

33
Then the double integral is
Z Z
f (x, y)dxdy = lim S(m, n, P )
R m,n→∞

Note that this equation is somewhat ambiguous since we need to choose P for
each pair m, n. For the integral to exist, we really have to require that the limit
exists for any choice of P , and that any two choices lead to the same answer.
So the integral of
(
1 if (x, y) has rational coordinates
f (x, y) =
0 otherwise

would be undefined from the present point of view. Although, in fact the integral
can be defined using the more powerful Lebesgue theory, in this case we get 0.
For more complicated regions D ⊂ R, set
Z Z Z Z
f (x, y)dxdy = f (x, y)χD (x, y)dxdy
D R

where χD = 1 inside D and 0 elsewhere. The key result is

THEOREM A.3 (Fubini) If D = {(x, y) | a ≤ x ≤ b, g(x) ≤ y ≤ h(x)} with

f, g, h continuous. Then the double integral exists and
!
Z Z Z Z b h(x)
f (x, y)dxdy = f (x, y)dy dx
D a g(x)

A similar statement holds with the roles of x and y interchanged.

34