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Vector Fields As Differential Operators

This document discusses vector fields as differential operators. It defines vector fields and tangent vectors, and shows that vector fields can be represented as differential operators. Exercises are provided to prove properties of derivations and the Euler vector field.

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Spud Crowley
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67 views3 pages

Vector Fields As Differential Operators

This document discusses vector fields as differential operators. It defines vector fields and tangent vectors, and shows that vector fields can be represented as differential operators. Exercises are provided to prove properties of derivations and the Euler vector field.

Uploaded by

Spud Crowley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Appendix C

Vector Fields as
Differential Operators
Let 𝑉 = (𝑝, 𝑣) be a point of R𝑛 × R𝑛 . We are going to regard such a
pair asymmetrically as a “vector 𝑣 based at the point 𝑝”, and as such
we will refer to it as a tangent vector at 𝑝. If 𝜎 : 𝐼 → R𝑛 is a 𝐶 1
curve, then for each 𝑡0 in 𝐼, we get such a pair, (𝜎(𝑡0 ), 𝜎 ′ (𝑡0 )), which
˙ 0 ) and call the tangent vector to 𝜎 at time 𝑡0 .
we will denote by 𝜎(𝑡
Let 𝐶 ∞ (R𝑛 ) denote the algebra of smooth real-valued functions on
R𝑛 . If 𝑓 ∈ 𝐶 ∞ (R𝑛 ), then the directional derivative
(𝑑) of 𝑓 at 𝑝 = 𝜎(𝑡0 )
in the direction 𝑣 = 𝜎 ′ (𝑡0 ) is by definition 𝑑𝑡 𝑡=𝑡0
𝑓 (𝜎(𝑡)), which by
∑𝑛 ∂𝑓
the chain rule is equal to 𝑖=1 𝑣𝑖 ∂𝑥𝑖 (𝑝). An important consequence
of the latter formula is that the directional derivative depends only
on 𝜎(𝑡
˙ 0 ) = (𝑝, 𝑣) and not on the choice of curve 𝜎. (So we can for
example take 𝜎 to be the straight line 𝜎(𝑡) = 𝑝 + 𝑡𝑣.)
This justifies using 𝑉 𝑓 to denote the directional derivative and
regarding 𝑉 as a (clearly linear) map 𝑉 : 𝐶 ∞ (R𝑛 ) → R. Moreover,
since 𝑉 𝑥𝑖 = 𝑣𝑖 , this map determines 𝑉 , and it has become customary
to identify the tangent vector
( ) 𝑉 with this linear map and denote 𝑉
∑
alternatively by 𝑛𝑖=1 𝑣𝑖 ∂𝑥 ∂
𝑖
. In particular, taking 𝑣𝑖 = 1 for 𝑖 = 𝑘
𝑝
and 𝑣𝑖 = 0 for 𝑖 ∕= 𝑘 gives the tangent vector (
at 𝑝 in
) the direction of
∂
the 𝑥𝑘 coordinate curve, which we denote by ∂𝑥𝑘 .
𝑝
It is an immediate consequence of the product rule of differenti-
ation that the mapping 𝑉 satisfies the so-called Liebniz Identity:
𝑉 (𝑓 𝑔) = (𝑉 𝑓 )𝑔(𝑝) + 𝑓 (𝑝)(𝑉 𝑔).

243
244 C. Vector Fields as Differential Operators

Any linear map 𝐿 : 𝐶 ∞ (R𝑛 ) → R that satisfies this Leibniz Identity is


called a derivation at 𝑝. Note that such an 𝐿 vanishes on a product 𝑓 𝑔
if both 𝑓 and 𝑔 vanish at 𝑝 (and hence also on any linear combination
of such products).

⊳ Exercise C–1. Show that if 𝐿 is a derivation at 𝑝, then 𝐿𝑓 = 0


for any constant function. (Hint: It is enough to prove this for 𝑓 ≡ 1
[why?], but then 𝑓 2 = 𝑓 .)

⊳ Exercise C–2. Show that if 𝐿 is a derivation at 𝑝, then it is the


directional derivative operator defined by some tangent vector at 𝑝.
(Hint: Use Taylor’s Theorem with Integral Remainder to write any
𝑓 ∈ 𝐶 ∞ (R𝑛 ) as
∑𝑛
∂𝑓
𝑓 = 𝑓 (𝑝) + (𝑝)(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑝𝑖 ) + 𝑅,
𝑖=1
∂𝑥 𝑖

where 𝑅 is a linear combination of products of functions vanishing at


𝑝.)

Now let 𝑂 be open in R𝑛 . A vector field in 𝑂 is a function that


assigns to each 𝑝 in 𝑂 a tangent vector at 𝑝, (𝑝, 𝑉 (𝑝)). Usually one
simplifies the notation by dropping the redundant first component,
𝑝, and identifies the vector field with the mapping 𝑉 : 𝑂 → R𝑛 . If
𝑓 : 𝑂 → R is a smooth function on 𝑂, then 𝑉 𝑓 : 𝑂 → R is the
function whose value at 𝑝 is 𝑉 (𝑝)𝑓 , the directional derivative of 𝑓 at
𝑝 in the direction 𝑉 (𝑝). If both 𝑉 and 𝑓 are 𝐶 ∞ , then clearly so is
𝑉 𝑓 , so that we may regard 𝑉 as a linear operator on the vector space
𝐶 ∞ (𝑂) of smooth real-valued functions on 𝑂.

⊳ Exercise C–3. Suppose that 𝑉 : 𝑂 → R𝑛 is a 𝐶 ∞ vector field in


𝑂. Show that 𝑉 : 𝐶 ∞ (𝑂) → 𝐶 ∞ (𝑂) is a derivation of the algebra
𝐶 ∞ (𝑂), i.e., a linear map satisfying 𝑉 (𝑓 𝑔) = (𝑉 𝑓 )𝑔 + 𝑓 (𝑉 𝑔), and
show also that every derivation of 𝐶 ∞ (𝑂) arises in this way.

A vector field 𝑉 is often identified with (and denoted by) the differ-
∑
ential operator 𝑛𝑖=1 𝑉𝑖 ∂𝑥
∂
𝑖
.
There is an important special vector field 𝑅 in R𝑛 called the radial
vector field , or the Euler vector field. As a mapping 𝑅 : R𝑛 → R𝑛 ,
C. Vector Fields as Differential Operators 245

it is just the identity map, while as a differential operator it is given


∑𝑛
by 𝑅 := 𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 ∂𝑥 ∂
𝑖
. Recall that a function 𝑓 : R𝑘 → R is said to
be positively homogeneous of degree 𝑘 if 𝑓 (𝑡𝑥) = 𝑡𝑘 𝑓 (𝑥) for all 𝑡 > 0
and 𝑥 ∕= 0.
∑𝑛 ∂𝑓
⊳ Exercise C–4. Prove Euler’s Formula 𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 ∂𝑥 𝑖
= 𝑘𝑓 for a 𝐶 1
function 𝑓 : R𝑛 → R that is positively homogeneous of degree 𝑘.

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