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Differential operator used in vector calculus
A vector operator is a differential operator used in vector calculus. Vector operators include the gradient, divergence, and curl:
Gradient is a vector operator that operates on a scalar field, producing a vector field.
Divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field.
Curl is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a vector field.
Defined in terms of del:
The Laplacian operates on a scalar field, producing a scalar field:
Vector operators must always come right before the scalar field or vector field on which they operate, in order to produce a result. E.g.
yields the gradient of f, but
is just another vector operator, which is not operating on anything.
A vector operator can operate on another vector operator, to produce a compound vector operator, as seen above in the case of the Laplacian.
The vector Laplace operator, also denoted by ∇ 2 {\displaystyle \nabla ^{2}} , is a differential operator defined over a vector field. The vector Laplacian...
Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla...
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function f {\displaystyle f} of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued...
In vector calculus, divergence is a vectoroperator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's...
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transformation, vector space homomorphism, or in some contexts linear function) is a mapping V → W {\displaystyle V\to W} between two vector spaces that preserves...
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analysis and operator theory, a bounded linear operator is a linear transformation L : X → Y {\displaystyle L:X\to Y} between topological vector spaces (TVSs)...
a tensor operator generalizes the notion of operators which are scalars and vectors. A special class of these are spherical tensor operators which apply...
constant. The orbital angular momentum operator is a vectoroperator, meaning it can be written in terms of its vector components L = ( L x , L y , L z )...
continuous linear operator or continuous linear mapping is a continuous linear transformation between topological vector spaces. An operator between two normed...
the result of the Prewitt operator is either the corresponding gradient vector or the norm of this vector. The Prewitt operator is based on convolving the...
product vector. As the cross product operator depends on the orientation of the space, in general the cross product of two vectors is not a "true" vector, but...
of the Sobel–Feldman operator is either the corresponding gradient vector or the norm of this vector. The Sobel–Feldman operator is based on convolving...
between two vectors is the quotient of their dot product by the product of their lengths). The name "dot product" is derived from the dot operator " · " that...
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\mathbf {1} } is a constant vector with elements 1. The inverse matrix-to-vector diag {\displaystyle \operatorname {diag} } operator is sometimes denoted by...