 Antiderivative

An antiderivative recovers a function from its local rate of change. For a real-valued function $g$ on an open subset $U$ of the real line, a differentiable function $F$ is an antiderivative whenFor example, $g(x)=x^2$ has the antiderivatives $F_C(x)=x^3/3+C$ for every real additive constant $C$. Their derivatives agree, while their values can differ. On an interval, the constant of integration describes the entire freedom in the answer. ^[ref]

The indefinite-integral notation $\int g(x)dx=F(x)+C$ records this family on an interval. For the illustrated family, the extra condition $F(1)=2$ selects $C=5/3$. Thus reversing differentiation requires both a rate and a reference value if a unique function is wanted.

The fundamental theorem of calculus supplies a construction when $g$ is continuous on an interval $I$. Choose $x_0\in I$ and set $F(x)={\int }_{x_0}^{x}g(t)dt$; then $F^{\prime }=g$. Integrability alone does not guarantee a classical antiderivative. The Heaviside step function is Riemann integrable on bounded intervals, but cannot be a derivative throughout an interval containing its jump: Darboux theorem for derivatives requires every intermediate value. ^[ref]