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Let $\overline{\mathbf{r}}=a^2\mathbf{r}/r^2$ and $\hat{\mathbf{r}}=\mathbf{r}/r$. Its Jacobian isThe chain rule therefore yieldsTaking its cross product with $\mathbf{r}$ kills the radial term and proves that spherical inversion preserves angular derivatives:This is also the invariance of the differential expression underlying the angular momentum operator.

A scalar spherical harmonic $Y$ depends only on direction, so $Y(\hat{\mathbf{r}})=Y(\widehat{\overline{\mathbf{r}}})$ and its gradient is tangential. Thus $\hat{\mathbf{r}}\cdot {\nabla }_{\overline{\mathbf{r}}}Y=0$, andEach of the three normalized vector spherical harmonic families is consequently unchanged as an angular basis function:The normalization requires $n\ge 1$ for $\mathbf{B}$ and $\mathbf{C}$; at $n=0$ the gradient vanishes and only $\mathbf{P}$ remains.

This substitution into the basis functions is distinct from the pushforward of a vector field of a physical vector field by inversion. Under that Jacobian map the radial vector picks up $-a^2/r^2$ and the two tangential vectors pick up $+a^2/r^2$. Likewise, the weighted Kelvin transform of a scalar includes the extra factor $a/r$. Neither operation changes the angular differential identity just proved.

Count scalar additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions for the specific triangle-triangle intersection algorithm above; comparisons and index selection are separate. Computing one plane normal vector uses two vector differences, costing six subtractions, and one cross product, costing six multiplications and three subtractions. The three vertex-to-plane evaluations use nine further coordinate subtractions and three dot products, each with three multiplications and two additions. The first rejection test therefore costsFor randomly located triangles of characteristic size $a$ in a box of size $H\gg a$, a second triangle straddles the first triangle's plane only when its position is in a slab of relative thickness $O(a/H)$. Consequently the first plane test rejects almost every pair: the expected arithmetic count for this implementation is $39+O(a/H)$, with the constant in the remainder determined by the subsequent branches. This is an average count, rather than the assertion that every input needs 39 operations.

For a generic surviving noncoplanar pair, the symmetric plane test costs another 39 operations, the cross product $N_A\times N_B$ costs nine, and each of the four slice endpoints needs five scalar operations in the selected coordinate: one subtraction and division for the interpolation fraction, then one subtraction, multiplication and addition for the coordinate. Thus this branch usesA fully executed coplanar test can use six planar edge directions. Each needs two subtractions to form its perpendicular and six two-dimensional dot products, costing $2+6(3)=20$ operations. Including both plane tests and the parallelism cross product gives an upper count $78+9+120=207$ before any early exit. Contact and degeneracy can shorten or change these counts. Precomputed normal vectors or a preliminary axis-aligned bounding box test also change the answer: the latter uses only comparisons after its coordinate extrema are available. The relevant small-triangle average is 39 operations for the specified plane-first implementation; a generic complete test uses 107.

At $X=P(u,v)$, orient the unit normal vector $n=(P_u\times P_v)/\Vert P_u\times P_v\Vert$ towards the eye. Define the unit directions from the reflecting point to the source and eye byThe incident propagation direction is $-a$. The law of specular reflection is $b=-a+2(a\cdot n)n$, so $a+b$ is normal to the surface. Conversely, if the tangential components of $a+b$ vanish and $a\cdot n,b\cdot n>0$, its unit-length summands have equal positive normal components and obey the reflection law. Therefore solve the two scalar equationsThe stated orientation condition gives $b\cdot n>0$. It removes the back-facing ambiguity, but not multiple images or caustics. Exclude $Q(t)=P(u,v)$ and $E=P(u,v)$, where these directions are undefined.

At a root where the $2\times 3$ Jacobian matrix $DF$ has rank two, the implicit function theorem makes the solution set a local curve in parameter space. Compute a unit tangent $w$ in its nullspace; equivalently take the normalized cross product of the two rows of $DF$. A continuation method predicts $x_p=x+hw$, where $x=(u,v,t)$, then corrects with the Newton method applied to the three equationsThe last equation fixes a transverse section and allows tracing through a turning point of $t$, where solving only for $(u,v)$ at successive fixed source parameters would fail. The corresponding space point is $R=P(u,v)$, with derivative $R^{\prime }=P_u{u}^{\prime }+P_v{v}^{\prime }$ along the traced parameter-space curve.

Find initial roots by subdividing the parameter cube, using interval arithmetic bounds on $F$ to discard impossible boxes and validated local solves in the remaining boxes. Trace in both directions, stop at the boundary or a recognized closed loop, and retain a record of traced boxes to avoid duplicates. Search the remaining boxes as well: starting from just one seed would miss disconnected closed reflection curves. Where $DF$ loses rank, reduce the step and subdivide locally to find the outgoing branches instead of continuing a single guessed tangent. If physical visibility is required, discard roots for which either open segment $XE$ or $XQ(t)$ is occluded; test these segments against the surface or any supplied scene geometry.

Control the geometric approximation rather than just the parameter step. For any regular traced arc $R(s)$ with a bound $\Vert R^{\prime \prime }(s)\Vert \le M$, the chord error bound gives an arc-to-chord Hausdorff distance at most $M(\Delta s{)}^2/8$. Budget, for example, half of $ϵ$ for corrected-vertex error and half for chord error; accept a segment only whenBound the vertex error through the inverse transverse Jacobian matrix and a bound on $DP$, or use validated root enclosures. If analytic second-derivative bounds are unavailable, recursively subdivide and enclose each arc in a geometric tube of radius at most the remaining tolerance around its chord. A midpoint test alone is a useful heuristic but cannot certify the requested error for an arbitrary oscillatory curve.

The returned vertices $P(u_k,v_k)$ and their ordered connecting segments give the reflection curve to the prescribed tolerance on every resolved branch. Finite certified termination requires regular evaluable patches, derivative or enclosure bounds, and finitely resolvable branches; eye-facing normals alone do not guarantee these properties. Singular components or an identically vanishing reflection constraint must be handled as such rather than silently reported as an ordinary curve.

For a regular parametric surface $P(u,v)$, form $N=P_u\times P_v$, $n=N/\Vert N\Vert$ and define the offset evaluatorIt is already a parametric surface with the same parameter domain, even if its coordinates no longer belong to the original polynomial or rational patch family. Point interrogation requires evaluations of $P,P_u,P_v$ and one normalization. For tangent or normal vector interrogation, differentiate the evaluator. For example,and similarly for $v$. The offset normal vector is the normalized cross product $(P_d{)}_u\times (P_d{)}_v$ wherever it is nonzero. These derivatives also support intersection, projection and curvature calculations by the usual methods for parametric surfaces. For a variable normal offset, add $d_{u}n$ and $d_{v}n$ to the corresponding tangent derivatives.

With shape operator $W=-Dn$, the constant-distance offset differential is $D{P}_d=(I-dW)DP$. Along a principal direction its factor is $1-d{\kappa }_i$, where ${\kappa }_i$ is a principal curvature. Consequently regular interrogation fails at $d{\kappa }_i=1$; on regular pieces the offset principal curvatures are ${\kappa }_i/(1-d{\kappa }_i)$ with the continued normal orientation. Global self-intersections can occur even when both local factors are nonzero. Evaluate and differentiate the base surface and its normalized normal; an exact conversion back to the original patch type is unnecessary.

Use suffix notation, summing repeated indices from one to three. The contraction identity for the Levi-Civita symbol givesHere $a\cdot a=1$ because $a$ is a unit vector. For the second cross product identity, use ${ϵ}_{ijk}{ϵ}_{j\ell m}={\delta }_{im}{\delta }_{k\ell }-{\delta }_{i\ell }{\delta }_{km}$:The first term vanishes because $a_{\ell }{a}_n$ is symmetric while the Levi-Civita symbol is antisymmetric in those indices. The last equality uses cyclicity and antisymmetry of the scalar triple product.

On the unit sphere, a great circle has radius one, so the spherical distance is its shorter arc length, equal to its central angle in $[0,\pi ]$. The dot product of its endpoint unit vectors is the cosine of that angle. HenceFor the angular formulas, take the ordinary nondegenerate convex minor spherical triangle: no pair of vertices is antipodal and the three vertices do not lie on one great circle. These are needed for the displayed denominators and interior angles to be defined. Merely requiring three distinct points, as the PDF does, does not exclude degeneracy.

Put $p=\delta (A,B)$, $q=\delta (A,C)$ and $r=\delta (B,C)$. The outgoing unit tangent vectors at $A$ areTheir dot product is $\cos \alpha$. Equivalently, they are obtained from the normalized plane normals $a\times b$ and $a\times c$ by the same right-angle rotation in the tangent plane: $u=(a\times b)\times a/|a\times b|$, and similarly for $v$. Rotation preserves the dot product, givingSince $|a\times b|=\sin p$ and $|a\times c|=\sin q$, the first proved identity becomes the spherical law of cosines:For the spherical law of sines, take norms in the second proved identity. Writing $\tau =a\cdot (b\times c)$, and using $0<\alpha <\pi$, givesCyclic permutation gives the corresponding formulas at $B$ and $C$. Dividing each by the positive product $\sin p\sin q\sin r$ provesFinally, if all sides equal $s$, the spherical law of cosines givesbecause $0<s<\pi$ makes $1+\cos s>0$ and $\cos s<1$. Cosine is strictly decreasing on $(0,\pi )$, so every angle of a nondegenerate equilateral spherical triangle is greater than $\pi /3$.

The divergence of this axisymmetric velocity field is $r^{-1}{\partial }_r(-\alpha r^2)+{\partial }_z(2\alpha z)=-2\alpha +2\alpha =0$. Thus it satisfies incompressibility. The apparent axis singularity in the azimuthal component is removable, since $u_{\theta }\sim \gamma \beta r$ as $r\to 0$.

Only the axial vorticity component is nonzero:The cross product is $\mathbf{u}\times \mathbf{\omega }=(u_{\theta }w,\alpha rw,0)$. Its components are independent of $z$ and $\theta$, so its curl also has only an axial component:Meanwhile $w^{\prime }=-2\beta rw$ and $w^{\prime \prime }=(-2\beta +4{\beta }^2{r}^2)w$, givingThus the required steady vorticity equation holds with $\nu =\alpha /(2\beta )$. This is the balance between vortex stretching and viscous diffusion in a Burgers vortex.

In an oriented orthonormal coordinate system, the dot product and cross product areThe scalar triple product is $a\cdot (b\times c)$; equivalently it is the determinant of the matrix whose columns are $a,b,c$. The three vectors have linear independence when

Let $U=(a_1{a}_2{a}_3)$ and $V=(b_1{b}_2{b}_3)$ be column matrices. Since $(U^{T}V{)}_{ij}=a_i\cdot b_j$, we have $S=U^{T}V$. Multiplicativity of the determinant and its invariance under matrix transpose yieldA square matrix has maximal matrix rank exactly when its determinant is nonzero, equivalently when its columns have linear independence. A product of two real numbers is nonzero exactly when both factors are nonzero. Hence $\boxed{\mathrm{rank}S=3⟺(a_i{)}_{i=1}^3\text{ and }(b_j{)}_{j=1}^3\text{ are both independent}}$.

The same argument works in every dimension. Set $U_n=(c_1\cdots c_n)$ and $V_n=(d_1\cdots d_n)$. Thenso $\boxed{\mathrm{rank}T=n⟺(c_i{)}_{i=1}^n\text{ and }(d_j{)}_{j=1}^n\text{ are both independent}}$.

For the last construction, choose two standard basis vectors $e_1,e_2$ in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ and take $c_j=e_1+j{e}_2$ for $j=1,\dots ,n$. If $\alpha c_i+\beta c_j=0$ with $i\ne j$, its first two coordinates give $\alpha +\beta =0$ and $i\alpha +j\beta =0$, hence $\alpha =\beta =0$. Every pair therefore has linear independence. Every triple lies in the two-dimensional linear span of $e_1,e_2$ and has linear dependence. More explicitly, for distinct $i,j,k$,a nontrivial dependence. Thus $\boxed{c_j=e_1+j{e}_2(1\le j\le n)\text{ works for every }n>2}$.

Work in an inertial frame, take all masses to be constant, and assume the internal forces obey the pairwise relation from Newton's third law $F_{ij}=-F_{ji}$. For the angular momentum result, also assume these pair forces are central, so $F_{ij}$ is parallel to $r_i-r_j$ and its pair torque vanishes. The equations from Newton's second law areSumming them and pairing the internal forces gives

About a fixed point $a$, define the total angular momentum and external torque byDifferentiation produces no velocity term because ${\dot{r}}_i\times m_i{\dot{r}}_i=0$. Grouping internal terms into pairs givesEach final cross product is zero by centrality, proving $\boxed{d{L}_a/dt=G_a}$. Equal and opposite internal forces give momentum conservation when the total external force is zero, but do not in general make their internal torques cancel; the central-force assumption supplies that extra step.

Let $M={\sum }_i{m}_i$ and let the centre of mass be $R=M^{-1}{\sum }_i{m}_i{r}_i$, so $P=M\dot{R}$. For an arbitrary moving reference point $a(t)$, the same differentiation givesTaking $a=R$, the extra term is $-\dot{R}\times M\dot{R}=0$. Therefore the corresponding angular momentum about the centre of mass satisfiesIts definition using velocities relative to $\dot{R}$ agrees with the one above, since ${\sum }_i{m}_i(r_i-R)=0$ makes ${\sum }_i(r_i-R)\times m_i\dot{R}=0$. Thus this result remains true even when the centre of mass accelerates.

Finally take the common mass to be $m$ and $F_i=-k{\dot{r}}_i$, with constant $k$. About either a fixed point or the centre of mass,The angular-momentum equation becomes $\dot{L}=-(k/m)L$. Multiplying by the integrating factor $e^{kt/m}$ gives $\frac{d}{dt}(e^{kt/m}L)=0$, hence the angular momentum decay under uniform linear drag isThe common mass and common drag coefficient ensure that the same decay factor applies to every term.

In the parametric description, $a$ is a point of the straight line and the nonzero vector $b$ gives its direction. The real parameter runs through every point of that line. For the cross product description, take another cross product with $c$ and use the vector triple product identity:Hence every solution has the representationHere $a\cdot b=0$ and $|b|=|c|$, as required. Conversely,Thus the perpendicularity assumption is sufficient, and the solutions form a straight line parallel to $c$. When $d\ne 0$, the vector $d$ is perpendicular both to $c$ and to every position vector on the line; it is the normal to the plane through the origin containing that line. The point $a=c\times d/|c{|}^2$ is the perpendicular foot from the origin. Its distance from the origin is $|d|/|c|$, since $c\cdot d=0$.

For a general parametric straight line, minimize the squared Euclidean distanceThis strictly convex quadratic function has its unique minimum at $\lambda =b\cdot (y-a)/|b{|}^2$, giving the orthogonal projectionFor the cross product description, $a\cdot c=0$, so this becomes

For the two planes, put $s=m\cdot n$ and $c=m\times n$. Nonparallel unit normals give $|s|<1$ and $|c{|}^2=1-s^2$. Seek the perpendicular foot in their span, $a=um+vn$. Its two dot products impose $u+sv=\mu$ and $su+v=\nu$. Solving gives both requested descriptions of the intersection:andIndeed the vector triple product identity gives $x\times (m\times n)=m(x\cdot n)-n(x\cdot m)$. Conversely, since $m,n$ are linearly independent, equality to $\nu m-\mu n$ forces both plane equations. Thus neither description introduces extra points.

Take the scalar product of Newton's second law with the velocity $\dot{\mathbf{r}}$. The cross product is perpendicular to its first factor, soConsequentlyThis is conservation of energy: the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy stays fixed. The magnetic-type Lorentz force $\dot{\mathbf{r}}\times \mathbf{B}$ does no work, because it is perpendicular to the instantaneous velocity. It may turn the trajectory but cannot directly change its speed, regardless of the spatial variation of $\mathbf{B}$.

Use the Einstein summation convention and the contraction of two Levi-Civita symbols. For the first cross product term,The last term cancels $(F\cdot \nabla )G_i$. Interchanging $F,G$ gives the analogous cancellation with $(G\cdot \nabla )F_i$. The surviving terms are $F_j{\partial }_i{G}_j+G_j{\partial }_i{F}_j={\partial }_i(F_j{G}_j)$ by the product rule. This proves the dot-product gradient identityThe proof only requires continuously differentiable vector fields; neither field needs to be an irrotational vector field.

For $a=(a_1,a_2,a_3)$ the map has the explicit formIts diagonal entries sum to zero and its conjugate transpose is its negative, because the three coordinates are real. Hence it is traceless and a skew-Hermitian matrix.

Direct multiplication of the given basis matrices yieldsThe reverse products give the negative commutators, and equal-index commutators vanish. Bilinearity then givesThus the cross product is represented by the commutator:This realizes the cross-product model of su(2) with exactly the normalization and cyclic orientation used here.

Use the positive graph $z=g(x,y)=\sqrt{1+x^2+y^2}$. The printed PDF bounds are $\sqrt{2}\le z\le \sqrt{5}$, so its projection is the annulus $1\le r\le 2$. The surface is the corresponding band of the upper sheet of a two-sheeted hyperboloid, bounded by circles of radii $1$ and $2$ at heights $\sqrt{2}$ and $\sqrt{5}$.

For the parametrization $\mathbf{R}(x,y)=(x,y,g(x,y))$, its tangent vectors are $(1,0,x/z)$ and $(0,1,y/z)$. Their cross product gives the upward vector surface element of a graph:Its magnitude gives the scalar surface area of a graph:Both formulas apply on $1\le \sqrt{x^2+y^2}\le 2$. Reversing the orientation changes only the sign of the vector element.

Let $R$ be rotation through $2\pi /3$ about $z$, and let $S$ be rotation through $\pi$ about $x$. These generate the order-six dihedral group with relationsnamely $\{I,R,R^2,S,RS,R^{2}S\}$. We specify its order explicitly because dihedral notation has two conventions. It is a proper finite subgroup of the full axial rotation group.

To see that it is sufficient, write a general matrix in blocks $T=\left(\begin{array}{cc}B& u\\ v^T& c\end{array}\right)$. Commutation with $R$ forces $u=v=0$, since a nontrivial planar $120$-degree rotation fixes no nonzero planar vector. Its planar part is $\cos (2\pi /3)I+\sin (2\pi /3)J$, with nonzero sine, so $B$ must commute with $J$ and has the form $aI+bJ$. Commutation with $S$ again kills $b$. Hence this six-element subgroup has precisely the required invariant tensors.

It is also smallest by order. Groups of orders $2,3,5$ are cyclic: a nonidentity element has order dividing the prime group order by Lagrange theorem. For a cyclic rotation subgroup, the nonzero antisymmetric tensor representing cross product with its rotation-axis direction is invariant, so it cannot force the symmetric form above. The trivial subgroup plainly imposes no constraint. A group of order four is either cyclic or has three nonidentity elements of order two; in the latter case they commute, since $(AB{)}^{-1}=AB$ and also equals $BA$. Commuting distinct half-turns in three dimensions have perpendicular axes: conjugation by one half-turn must preserve the other's axis, and a distinct preserved axis lies in its perpendicular plane. In the specified axial group, their three axes are consequently $z$ and two perpendicular horizontal directions. In coordinates along them every diagonal matrix is invariant, including one with unequal horizontal entries. Such a group again does not force the required form.

Thus the smallest subgroup has six elements, generated by the axial $120$-degree rotation and one horizontal half-turn. It is the smallest axial rotation group forcing second-rank transverse isotropy; conjugating the horizontal axis gives equally valid choices.

For a Lie bracket over $\mathbb{R}$ or $\mathbb{C}$, antisymmetry of a Lie bracket means $[x,y]=-[y,x]$. In particular $[x,x]=0$ in these characteristic-zero fields. The Jacobi identity isIt expresses compatibility of the bracket with its own adjoint action. Bilinearity must hold over the chosen base field, and the bracket must take its values in the same vector space.

For the matrix commutator, bilinearity and antisymmetry follow directly from distributivity. Associativity of matrix multiplication givesadding the two cyclic permutations cancels every monomial. Thus the Jacobi identity holds in the entire matrix algebra. For a specified linear subspace, the only additional bracket condition is closure: $AB-BA$ must belong to the subspace whenever $A,B$ do. It is unnecessary to require closure under the separate products $AB$ and $BA$.

To determine the special unitary Lie algebra, let $g(t)$ be a differentiable curve in the special unitary group with $g(0)=I$ and $A=g^{\prime }(0)$. Differentiating $g(t{)}^{†}g(t)=I$ gives $A^{†}+A=0$. Differentiating $\det g(t)=1$ at the identity gives $\mathrm{tr}A=0$. Conversely a traceless skew-Hermitian matrix has $e^{tA}$ unitary and $\det e^{tA}=e^{t\mathrm{tr}A}=1$, so it really is a tangent vector. ThereforeThis is a real Lie algebra of complex matrices: multiplication by $i$ generally leaves this real subspace. Its complexification is ${\mathfrak{sl}}_n(\mathbb{C})$, not the compact algebra itself. For $A,B\in \mathfrak{su}(n)$,Thus closure holds, and the already verified commutator identities establish all the Lie algebra axioms.

The cross-product Lie algebra on ${\mathbb{R}}^3$ is bilinear, antisymmetric and closed because the cross product has those properties. Its Jacobi identity follows from the vector triple-product identity:In the cyclic sum, the coefficients cancel by symmetry of the scalar product.

For the explicit relation to the SU(2) Lie algebra, take the three Pauli matrices and defineThese matrices are traceless and Skew-Hermitian, and the three images of the standard basis form a real basis of $\mathfrak{su}(2)$. Using the Pauli matrix commutator identity,Hence $F$ is a real Lie algebra isomorphism. The factor and sign $-i/2$ are essential for preserving the unscaled cross-product bracket. At the group level there is an Adjoint double cover from SU(2) to SO(3); the isomorphism of their tangent algebras does not identify the two global groups.

Differentiate the unit tangent vector with $d/ds=v^{-1}d/du$ and $v^{\prime }=({\mathbf{x}}^{\prime }\cdot {\mathbf{x}}^{\prime \prime })/v$. This givesThe curvature of a space curve is $\kappa =|d\mathbf{t}/ds|$. Squaring the displayed expression and simplifying givesThe last equality is the cross product norm identity. Equivalently, the hinted vector triple product rewrites $d\mathbf{t}/ds=-{\mathbf{x}}^{\prime }\times ({\mathbf{x}}^{\prime }\times {\mathbf{x}}^{\prime \prime })/v^4$.

For a differentiable curve $R(t)$ in the SO(3) group with $R(0)=I$, differentiating $R(t{)}^{T}R(t)=I$ gives $X^T+X=0$, where $X=R^{\prime }(0)$. Conversely, if $X$ is a real skew-symmetric matrix, $e^{tX}$ is an orthogonal matrix and has determinant $e^{t\mathrm{tr}X}=1$. HenceThe displayed generators of the SO(3) Lie algebra areThey are linearly independent and span the three independent entries of a real skew-symmetric matrix. Equivalently, $T_a\mathbf{v}={\mathbf{e}}_a\times \mathbf{v}$. The vector triple-product identity then givesThus the structure constants of a Lie algebra in this basis are

Use a real, antisymmetric convention throughout the SO(3) vector Higgs model. With gauge coupling $g$, the gauge covariant derivative and gauge field strength areThere is no factor of $i$ in these formulas because $T_a$ are real antisymmetric generators. For a local non-Abelian gauge transformation ${\Phi }^{\prime }=R\Phi$, with $R(x)$ in the SO(3) group, the compatible transformation of the gauge potential isIt gives $D_{\mu }^{\prime }{\Phi }^{\prime }=R{D}_{\mu }\Phi$ and $F_{\mu \nu }^{\prime }=R{F}_{\mu \nu }{R}^{-1}$. These covariance laws fix the relative signs in the gauge covariant derivative and gauge field strength.

An SO(3) invariant quartic scalar potential isSince $(R\Phi {)}^T(R\Phi )={\Phi }^T\Phi$, this scalar potential is gauge-invariant. Its minimum is the sphere ${\Phi }^T\Phi =v^2$, rather than a preferred direction in the internal vector space.

Writing ${\mathbf{A}}_{\mu }=(A_{\mu 1},A_{\mu 2},A_{\mu 3})$, the cross product form of the gauge covariant derivative is $D_{\mu }\Phi ={\partial }_{\mu }\Phi +g{\mathbf{A}}_{\mu }\times \Phi$. In components this isCorrespondingly, the gauge field strength has components