Chapter 2

Preliminary Maths

Nature speaks in the language of mathematics.

2.1 Calculus
Q: What are the derivatives and integrals of 1, xn , sin(x), cos(x), ex , log(x)?
Q: What is the Leibniz rule?
Q: What is the chain rule?
Q: What is the integral of the derivative of a function f ?
Q: How is
Q: What is integration by parts? integration by
R
Q: How to express an integral dy f (y) as an integral of x via a change of variable parts related to
the Leibniz rule?
y = y(x)?
Q: What are the solutions of y(x) for the following differential equations?

1. y 0 (x) = sin(kx) for given constant k.

2. y 0 (x) = a sin(kx) + b cos(kx) for given constants a, b, k.

3. y 00 (x) = k 2 y(x) for given constant k 2 R.

4. y 00 (x) = k 2 y(x) for given constant k 2 R.

An n-th order linear differential equation typically has n independent solutions.

Q: How to approximately solve a differential equation on a computer?
If y1 (x) and
Exercise: superposition principle y2 (x) are
Prove that if both y = y1 (x) and y = y2 (x) satisfy the same linear differential equation independent
functions, the
A(x)y 00 (x) + B(x)y 0 (x) + C(x)y(x) = 0 for given functions A(x), B(x), C(x), then
most general
y = ay1 (x) + by2 (x) also satisfies the same equation for arbitrary constants a, b.
solution is
Exercise: Prove that if y = ys (x) is any given solution of the equation A(x)y 00 (x) + ay1 (x) + by2 (x).
B(x)y 0 (x) + C(x)y(x) = D(x) for given functions A(x), B(x), C(x), D(x), the most

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general solution to this equation is y = ys (x) + yh (x), where yh (x) is the most general
solution to the homogeneous equation A(x)y 00 (x) + B(x)y 0 (x) + C(x)y(x) = 0.
Exercise: What is the most general solution to y 0 (x) ky(x) = c for given constants
k and c?
Exercise: If a function can be expanded in powers of x as an approximation

f (x) = a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + a3 x3 + · · · . (2.1)

can you express a0 , a1 , a2 , · · · in terms of f (0), f 0 (0), f 00 (0), f 000 (0), · · · ?

Taylor expansion
The Taylor expansion of a function f (x) around a point x0 is
1
X f (n) (x0 )
f (x) = (x x0 ) n
n=0
n!
f 00 (x0 )
= f (x0 ) + f 0 (x0 )(x x0 ) + (x x0 ) 2 + · · · . (2.2)
2

When this series converges in a neighborhood of x0 , the function f (x) can be

approximated by its Taylor expansion
N
X f (n) (x0 )
f (x) ' (x x0 ) n (2.3)
n=0
n!

up to some finite order N .

2.2 Vector Analysis

Benson: “Almost all quantities we will encounter in this book are classified as either
scalar or vector.”
Benson: “Scalars obey the rules of ordinary algebra.”
Benson: “A vector is a quantity that is specified by both a magnitude and a direction
in space. Vectors obey the laws of vector algebra.”
notation
Incorrect
Except the null vector 0, a vector is always printed either in boldface as A, or notation can lead
with an arrow on top as A. ~ Its magnitude is denoted as |A| or A. to tragedies.
We abstract the notion of vectors as follows.
definition
A set V is a linear space if

1. it is closed under superposition, i.e. if v1 , v2 2 V, the superposition (av1 +bv2 )

also belongs to V for arbitrary numbers (or dimensionless scalars) a, b.

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 2. the definition of the product av and the summation v1 +v2 satisfy the following
algebraic properties:

• av + bv = (a + b)v.
• av1 + av2 = a(v1 + v2 ).
• a(bv) = (ab)v,

as long as v, v1 , v2 2 V and a, b are numbers or scalars.

In QM, we often
It is possible to choose a set of elements {ei } in V (called a basis) such that any
P consider linear
element v 2 V equals a certain superposition i vi ei of the basis. spaces of infinite
The dimension of V is the minimal number of elements in a basis. dimensions.

Q: Can the set of all 2⇥2 matrices be viewed as a linear space? What is its dimension?
If an element en
As an example, an element in a 3D linear space can be specified in at least 2 is a superposition
different ways: (The generalization to any dimension is obvious.) of other elements
0 1 in the basis, it is
v1 still a basis after
B C
1. (v1 , v2 , v3 ) or @ v2 A. en is removed.
v3
2. v = v1 e1 + v2 e2 + v3 e3 .

Benson uses the notation i, j, k instead of x̂, ŷ, ẑ or e1 , e2 , e3 . All of these notations
are acceptable.
Often linear
In physics, a vector space V is a linear space equipped with a set of linear trans- space and vector
formations. For instance, rotations for Euclidean spaces. space are not
A linear transformation on a linear space V is a map from V to V that satisfies distinguished in
definitions.
1. v 2 V ) F (v) 2 V

2. F (av + bw) = aF (v) + bF (w) (8v, w 2 V)

Q: Is (1, 2, 1/2) a vector?

We assume here that the physical space of the space-time is a 3D Euclidean space.
The physical notion of a vector in the 3D Euclidean space by default includes the
assumption that a vector transforms properly under rotations.
Scalars and vectors differ by how they transform under a spatial rotation.
Q: Is (A, B, C) a vector if A represents the number of apples, B bananas, and C
cantelopes?
Q: In a 1-dimensional space, is a vector also a scalar?
Q: How do we know that something is a vector or not? Is this a mathematical
question or a physical question?
Before introducing General Relativity, we assume in this course that
In Special
Relativity, 3D
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rotation
symmetry is part
of the 4D
Lorentz
symmetry for the
4D space-time.
 physical laws respect rotation symmetry.
Example:
All possible displacements from any given point a, all possible velocities of a
particle at a given point a, all possible momenta of a particle at a given point a.
Q: Are the 3 vector spaces mentioned above identical?
Q: Are r(t), v(t), a(t) and F(t) vectors?
One can define a norm (also called length or magnitude) on a vector space.
The 3D Euclidean space is further equipped with the notions of the inner product
and the cross product.

2.2.1 Inner Product

We have not yet defined the notion of “magnitude” or “norm” for linear spaces. Given
a linear space, one can either first define the inner product and then define the norm
from the inner product, or vise versa.
Let us first define the inner product. Given a linear space V, an inner product
is a map from V ⌦ V to numbers. For any v 2 V and w 2 V, their inner product is a
number denoted v · w. The inner product must satisfy the following properties

1. v · w = w · w

2. (a1 v1 + a2 v2 ) · w = a1 v1 · w + a2 v2 · w

We define the norm of a vector v via |v|2 = v · v.

The hats ˆ·
An orthonormal basis {êi } satisfies the following properties. indicate that the
vector is
1. It is a basis.
normalized.
2. êi · êj = ij ,

where the Kronecker delta ij equals 1 or 0 if i = j or i 6= j.

Q: What are the linear transformations under which an orthonormal basis transforms
to an orthonormal basis?
The Minkowski
A given inner product may or may not have an orthonormal basis. For real linear space has such
spaces with real inner products, there always exists a basis {êi } such that êi ·êj = ✏i ij bases with
with ✏i = 0, ±1 (8i). ✏0 = 1, ✏1 =
✏2 = ✏3 = 1.
Q: Can we define an inner product by v · w = 0 8v, w 2 V?
Example: Orthonormal bases for the Cartesian coordinates {x̂, ŷ, ẑ}, the cylindrical
⇢, ˆ, ẑ}, and the spherical coordinates {r̂, ✓,
coordinates {ˆ ˆ ˆ}.
In terms of an orthonormal basis {êi }, we have
X X
v1 · v2 = v1i ij v2j = v1i v2i , (2.4)
ij i

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 P P
where v1 = i v1i êi , and v2 = i v2i êi .
What is the
Assuming the existence of an orthonormal basis, show that the inner product of norm of
P i
v1 and v2 is v = i v êi in
v1 · v2 = |v1 ||v2 | cos ✓, (2.5) terms of v i ?

where ✓ is the angle between v1 and v2 .

Exercise: Given the norm |v|2 of all vectors, show that the inner product v · w can
be expressed in terms of |v|2 , |w|2 and |v + w|2 .
For the Euclidean space,
the inner product is invariant under rotations and parity transformations.
If a rotation changes v1 ! v10 and v2 ! v20 , we would have

v10 · v20 = v1 · v2 . (2.6)

Exercise: (Benson Chap.2 Prob. 9) Show that

r̂ = cos ✓x̂ + sin ✓ŷ, ✓ˆ = sin ✓x̂ + cos ✓ŷ. (2.7)

Exercise: (Benson Chap.2 Prob. 10) Show that for an arbitrary position vector,

cos2 ↵ + cos2 + cos2 = 1, (2.8)

where ↵, , and are the angles between the vector and the x, y, and z axes.
Exercise: Given a triangle defined by two vectors A and B, what is the length of
the 3rd side in terms of A, B and the angle ✓AB .
P P Convention: ✓ is
Exercise: Given v1 = i v1i êi , and v2 = i v2i êi , find v10 and v20 for the rotation defined such
around ê3 by an angle ✓, and then check that eq.(2.6) holds. that, for
✓ = ⇡/2, the
HW: (1-2) For a particle with the trajectory r(t) = x(t)x̂ + y(t)ŷ + z(t)ẑ where rotation brings
R t=1
x(t) = t, y(t) = t2 , z(t) = t, calculate t=0 F(r(t)) · dr(t), where F(r) = z ŷ yẑ. (1, 0, 0) to
(0, 1, 0).

2.2.2 Cross Product

The cross product is also called the vector product:

v1 ⇥ v2 = |v1 ||v2 | sin ✓ n̂, (2.9)

where n̂ is the unit vector determined by v1 and v2 using the right-hand rule.
The basis x̂, ŷ, ẑ is assumed to satisfy the right-hand rule. (If v1 = x̂ and v2 = ŷ,
we have n = ẑ.)
We will not
The cross product is defined in an orthonormal basis as distinguish
between êi and
v ⇥ w = (v 2 w3 v 3 w2 )ê1 + (v 3 w1 v 1 w3 )ê2 + (v 1 w2 v 2 w1 )ê3 . (2.10) êi .

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This can also be expressed as a determinant

ê1 ê2 ê3

v⇥w = v1 v2 v3 . (2.11)
w1 w2 w3

Alternatively, we can express the cross product as

3
X
v⇥w = ✏ijk v i wj êk , (2.12)
i,j,k=1

where ✏ijk is the totally antisymmetrized tensor defined by

The cyclic
8 permutations of
>
< 1, for (i, j, k) = (1, 2, 3) or its cyclic permutations,
(a, b, c) include
✏ijk = 1, for (i, j, k) = (2, 1, 3) or its cyclic permutations, (2.13) (b, c, a) and
>
:
0, otherwise. (c, a, b).

Exercise: Check that

v ⇥ v = 0 8v.

1. v1 ⇥ v2 = v2 ⇥ v1 .

2. (av1 + bv2 ) ⇥ v = av1 ⇥ v + bv2 ⇥ v.

The cross product is covariant under rotations.

That is, if v1 ⇥ v2 = v3 , and if a rotation changes v1 ! v10 , v2 ! v20 and v3 ! v30 ,
we would have
v10 ⇥ v20 = v30 . (2.14)

Exercise: Check that v1 · (v2 ⇥ v3 ) gives the volume of the parallelepiped.

HW: (1-3) Check the following identities.

1. v · (v ⇥ w) = 0.

2. v1 · (v2 ⇥ v3 ) = v2 · (v3 ⇥ v1 ).

3. A ⇥ (B ⇥ C) = B(A · C) C(A · B).

Q: Can you define an operation that is not covariant?

Q: Why are we not interested in other types of operations on vectors, e.g. v1 v2 =
v11 v21 ê2 + v12 v22 ê3 + v13 v23 ê1 ?
If all physical
There is a mathematical theorem: laws respect the
All invariant/covariant operations on vectors can be constructed out of the rotation
inner product and the crossed product. symmetry, the
inner product
and the cross
product are all
we need to know
15 about operations
on vectors.
 The inner product can be generalized to any dimension d as long as the norm is
defined:
1⇥ ⇤
v·w = |v + w|2 |v|2 |w|2 . (2.15)
2
In an orthonormal frame, it is
d
X
v·w = v i wi . (2.16)
i=1

The cross product can be generalized to another dimension d as a map from d 1

vectors to a vector:
d
X i
Cross [v1 , v2 , · · · , vd 1] = ✏i1 i2 ···id 1 id
v1i1 v2i2 · · · vdd 11 êid , (2.17)
i1 ,i2 ,··· ,id 1 ,id =1

where ✏i1 i2 ···id 1 id

is the totally anti-symmetrized tensor taking values in { 1, 0, 1}.

Q: How do we know that the physical space is a 3D Euclidean space?

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