Physics 221A

Fall 2011
Appendix D
Vector Calculus

1. Introduction
In the following we let f be a scalar field and A a vector field.
2. Differential Operators in Rectangular Coordinates
The components of A are given by
+ Az z.
+ Ay y
A = Ax x
Then

f
f
f
+
+
z,
x
y
x
y
z
 A
 A
 A
Ax 
Ay 
Az 
y
z
x
+
+
A =
x
y
z,

x
y
y
z
z
x
f =

(1)

(2)
(3)

A=

Ay
Az
Ax
+
+
,
x
y
z

(4)

2 f =

2f
2f
2f
+ 2 + 2.
2
x
y
z

(5)

and

3. Differential Operators in Cylindrical Coordinates

Cylindrical coordinates are (, , z), defined by
x = cos ,
y = sin ,

(6)

z = z.
The orthonormal frame of associated unit vectors is
= cos x
+ sin y
,

= sin x
+ cos y
,

(7)

z = z,
with
= z.

(8)

Appendix D: Vector Calculus

Define the components of A by

+ Az z.
+ A
A = A
Then
f =
A =

 1 A

1 f f
f
+
z,
+

 A
A 
Az  1 h
A i

z,
+

(A )
z
z

2 f =

(10)
(11)

1 A
Az
1
(A ) +
+
,


z

(12)

1  f 
1 2f
2f

+ 2 2 + 2.


z

(13)

A =
and

(9)

4. Differential Operators in Spherical Coordinates

Spherical coordinates are (r, , ), defined by
x = r sin cos ,
y = r sin sin ,

(14)

z = r cos .
The orthonormal frame of associated unit vectors is
r = sin cos x
+ sin sin y
+ cos z,
= cos cos x
+ cos sin y
sin z,

(15)

= sin x
+ cos y
,

with
= .

(16)

+ A .
A = Ar r + A

(17)

Define the components of A by

Then
f =

A =

1 f
1 f
f
r +
+
,
r
r
r sin

(18)

i
h
i
1 h
1 h 1 Ar
A i

+ 1 (rA ) Ar ,
(19)
r +
(A sin )

(rA )
r sin

r sin
r
r r

1
1 A
1 2
(r Ar ) +
(A sin ) +
,
r2 r
r sin
r sin

(20)


1
f 
1
2f
1  2 f 
.
r
+
sin

+
r2 r
r
r2 sin

r2 sin2 2

(21)

A=
and
2 f =

Appendix D: Vector Calculus

5. The Line Element

Let two nearby points have coordinates (x, y, z) and (x + dx, y + dy, z + dz), or (r, , ) and
(r + dr, + d, + d), etc, depending on the coordinates. Let ds be the distance between the two
points. Then, in the various coordinate systems, we have
ds2 = dx2 + dy 2 + dz 2 ,

(22a)

= d2 + 2 d2 + dz 2 ,
2

(22b)
2

= dr + r d + r sin d .

(22c)

Dividing this by dt2 , we get the square of the velocity, v 2 = v v, expressed in terms of the time
derivatives of the coordinates. This gives
v 2 = x 2 + y 2 + z 2 ,

(23a)

= 2 + 2 2 + z 2 ,
2

(23b)
2

= r + r + r sin .

(23c)

From the components of the line element one can read off the components of the metric tensor.
6. Vector Calculus in Two Dimensions
In two dimensions the usual coordinates are either rectangular, (x, y) or polar (, ). The
are obtained from Eq. (6) and
coordinate transformation and formulas for the unit vectors (
, )
. The formulas for f , A and 2 f can be
(7) simply by omitting the terms referring to z or z
obtained from those in Secs. 2 and 3 simply by omitting the terms that refer to z or Az . As for the
curl of a vector field, A, in two dimensions it can be regarded as a scalar that is identified with
the z-component of the corresponding three-dimensional formulas, (3) or (11). The line element in
two dimensions is given by Eq. (22b), omitting the term referring to z.