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In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of the outward flux of a vector field from an infinitesimal volume around a given point.
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, = + where is the directional derivative in the direction of multiplied by its magnitude.
In vector calculus, the divergence theorem, also known as Gauss's theorem or Ostrogradsky's theorem, [1] is a theorem relating the flux of a vector field through a closed surface to the divergence of the field in the volume enclosed.
An example of a solenoidal vector field, (,) = (,) In vector calculus a solenoidal vector field (also known as an incompressible vector field , a divergence-free vector field , or a transverse vector field ) is a vector field v with divergence zero at all points in the field: ∇ ⋅ v = 0. {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {v} =0.}
A vector field V defined on an open set S is called a gradient field or a conservative field if there exists a real-valued function (a scalar field) f on S such that = = (,,, …,). The associated flow is called the gradient flow , and is used in the method of gradient descent .
This identity is derived from the divergence theorem applied to the vector field F = ψ ∇φ while using an extension of the product rule that ∇ ⋅ (ψ X) = ∇ψ ⋅X + ψ ∇⋅X: Let φ and ψ be scalar functions defined on some region U ⊂ R d, and suppose that φ is twice continuously differentiable, and ψ is once continuously differentiable.
In other words, a vector field can be constructed with both a specified divergence and a specified curl, and if it also vanishes at infinity, it is uniquely specified by its divergence and curl. This theorem is of great importance in electrostatics , since Maxwell's equations for the electric and magnetic fields in the static case are of ...
When applied to a field (a function defined on a multi-dimensional domain), it may denote any one of three operations depending on the way it is applied: the gradient or (locally) steepest slope of a scalar field (or sometimes of a vector field, as in the Navier–Stokes equations); the divergence of a vector field; or the curl (rotation) of a ...