What does this expression involving Partial Derivatives mean?

In summary: In that case, the only off-diagonal elements are those in the first row and the only on-diagonal elements are those in the first column. Therefore, the only term that needs to be found is the product of the two on-diagonal elements.In summary, the Homework Statement is asking for the product of the two on-diagonal elements of the matrix.
  • #1
physicss
25
4
Homework Statement
Hello, what does this expression mean?
Relevant Equations
(Picture)
I already solved w x x/|x|
For (w1,w2,w3) and (x1,x2,x3)
2E486A9A-524A-4515-AC6C-71F2B9313E92.jpeg
 
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  • #2
physicss said:
Homework Statement: Hello, what does this expression mean?
Relevant Equations: (Picture)

I already solved w x x/|x|
For (w1,w2,w3) and (x1,x2,x3) View attachment 327170
Then you just have to take the partial derivative wrt ##x_i## and again wrt ##x_j##.
 
  • #3
haruspex said:
Then you just have to take the partial derivative wrt ##x_i## and again wrt ##x_j##.
Thanks for the answer. Would xi and xj be x1 and x2 in this case?
 
  • #4
physicss said:
Thanks for the answer. Would xi and xj be x1 and x2 in this case?
No. Because the function is symmetric in the three parameters, you can replace them with ##x_i##, ##x_j##, ##x_k##, where it is understood that {i,j,k}={1,2,3}, but which is which is unspecified.
For example, suppose you had the function ##x_1x_2x_3## then its partial derivative wrt ##x_i## and ##x_j## would be ##x_k##.

Edit, you might also need to assume that i, j, k are in the same cyclic order as 1, 2, 3.

Edit 2: Just realised my posts may be off the mark. I need to solve it myself first.

Edit 3:
Rereading the question, I see it does not refer to indices 1, 2, 3. That is something you assumed. So my correct answer to your post #3 is:

Yes, they are using i, j, k as the indices, not 1, 2, 3.
 
  • #5
haruspex said:
No. Because the function is symmetric in the three parameters, you can replace them with ##x_i##, ##x_j##, ##x_k##, where it is understood that {i,j,k}={1,2,3}, but which is which is unspecified.
For example, suppose you had the function ##x_1x_2x_3## then its partial derivative wrt ##x_i## and ##x_j## would be ##x_k##.

Edit, you might also need to assume that i, j, k are in the same cyclic order as 1, 2, 3.

Edit 2: Just realised my posts may be off the mark. I need to solve it myself first.

Edit 3:
Rereading the question, I see it does not refer to indices 1, 2, 3. That is something you assumed. So my correct answer to your post #3 is:

Yes, they are using i, j, k as the indices, not 1, 2, 3.
Thank you
 
  • #6
Presumably ##\vec {\omega}## is constant and does not depend on the ##x_i##. I would try the brute force method which is always safe.
  1. Write ##\dfrac{\vec x}{|\vec x|}=\dfrac{x_1~\hat{x}_1+x_2~\hat{x}_2+x_3~\hat{x}_3}{\left[x_1^2+x_2^2+x_3^2 \right]^{1/2}}.##
  2. Find ##\dfrac{\partial^2}{\partial x_1\partial x_2}\left( \dfrac{x_1~\hat{x}_1+x_2~\hat{x}_2+x_3~\hat{x}_3}{\left[x_1^2+x_2^2+x_3^2 \right]^{1/2}} \right)##.
  3. Do a cyclic permutation of indices to find the other two terms.
  4. Take the cross product.
There might a simpler way to do this but I can't see what it is. I assume that in your original expression you have "off-diagonal" elements only, i.e. it is stipulated somewhere that ##i\neq j##.
 

FAQ: What does this expression involving Partial Derivatives mean?

What is a partial derivative?

A partial derivative of a function of several variables is its derivative with respect to one of those variables, with the others held constant. It measures how the function changes as that specific variable changes, providing insight into the function's behavior in multidimensional space.

How do you interpret the notation ∂f/∂x?

The notation ∂f/∂x represents the partial derivative of the function f with respect to the variable x. It indicates the rate at which f changes as x changes, while all other variables in the function are held constant.

What does the expression ∂²f/∂x² mean?

The expression ∂²f/∂x² denotes the second partial derivative of the function f with respect to the variable x. It measures how the first partial derivative ∂f/∂x changes as x changes, providing information about the curvature or concavity of the function in the direction of x.

What is the meaning of the mixed partial derivative ∂²f/∂x∂y?

The mixed partial derivative ∂²f/∂x∂y represents the second-order partial derivative of the function f, first with respect to y and then with respect to x. It measures how the partial derivative ∂f/∂y changes as x changes, giving insight into the interaction between the variables x and y in the function's behavior.

How do you interpret the gradient ∇f?

The gradient ∇f of a function f is a vector that consists of all its first-order partial derivatives. It points in the direction of the steepest ascent of the function and its magnitude indicates the rate of increase. Mathematically, for a function f(x, y, z), the gradient is given by ∇f = (∂f/∂x, ∂f/∂y, ∂f/∂z).

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