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We Assume That D Is Open - Which Means That, For Every Point P in D, There Is A Disk With Center P That Lies Entirely in D

The document discusses conservative vector fields on an open and connected region D. It states that for a continuous vector field F on D, if the line integral of F along any path in D is independent of path, then F is a conservative vector field. This means there exists a potential function f such that the gradient of f is equal to F. It proves this by constructing f as the line integral of F between two points, which is well-defined since the integral is independent of path.

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46 views6 pages

We Assume That D Is Open - Which Means That, For Every Point P in D, There Is A Disk With Center P That Lies Entirely in D

The document discusses conservative vector fields on an open and connected region D. It states that for a continuous vector field F on D, if the line integral of F along any path in D is independent of path, then F is a conservative vector field. This means there exists a potential function f such that the gradient of f is equal to F. It proves this by constructing f as the line integral of F between two points, which is well-defined since the integral is independent of path.

Uploaded by

gthulasi787126
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INDEPENDENCE OF PATH

We assume that D is openwhich means


that, for every point P in D, there is a disk
with center P that lies entirely in D.

So, D doesnt contain any of its


boundary points.

INDEPENDENCE OF PATH

In addition, we assume that D is


connected.
This means that any two points in D
can be joined by a path that lies in D.

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELD

Theorem 4

Suppose F is a vector field that is continuous

on an open, connected region D.

If

F dr is independent of path in D, then

F is a conservative vector field on D.


That is, there exists a function f
such that f F

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELD

Proof

Let A(a, b) be a fixed point in D.

We construct the desired potential function f


by defining

f ( x, y )

x, y

a ,b

for any point in (x, y) in D.

F dr

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELD

As

Proof

F dr is independent of path, it does

not matter which path C from (a, b) to (x, y)


is used to evaluate f(x, y).

Since D is open, there exists a disk


contained in D with center (x, y).

CONSERVATIVE VECTOR FIELD

Proof

Choose any point (x1, y) in the disk with x1 < x.


Then, let C consist of any path C1 from (a, b)
to (x1, y) followed by
the horizontal line
segment C2 from
(x1, y) to (x, y).

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