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The parametric curve runs from $t=0$ to $t=1$, with ${\mathbf{r}}^{\prime }=(2,3t^2,6t)$. Substitution into the two line integrals givesHenceThe first is unchanged because the field is conservative. The two different answers for the second exhibit its path dependence, consistent with its nonzero curl.

From the preceding gradient, ${\partial }_x^2(r^{-1})=-r^{-3}+3x^2{r}^{-5}$. Summing the three Cartesian second partial derivatives givesThus the reciprocal radius is harmonic away from the origin. Its negative gradient isThe curl vanishes because $E$ is a gradient field and mixed second derivatives commute. The exclusion of the origin is essential: the potential and field are singular there.

The shorter circular arc lies in the $x$-$y$ plane and can be written $\mathbf{r}(\theta )=(\cos \theta ,\sin \theta ,0)$, $0\le \theta \le \pi /2$. The first field is $(-\sin \theta ,\cos \theta ,-\cos \theta )$, whose dot product with ${\mathbf{r}}^{\prime }$ is one. HenceThe second field is radial while the circular tangent is perpendicular to the radius, so $\boxed{{\int }_{\mathrm{arc}}{\mathbf{F}}_2\cdot d\mathbf{r}=0}$. Thus the first field gives different values, $1$ and $\pi /2$, along the two paths, whereas the conservative second field gives the same endpoint difference.

As a check using Stokes theorem, the arc followed by the reversed segment encloses area $\pi /4-1/2$ in the plane. The constant curl has upward component two, giving circulation $2(\pi /4-1/2)=\pi /2-1$, exactly the difference above.

The first field is ${\mathbf{F}}_1=(z-y,x,-x)$, so direct curl calculation givesIt is not conservative because its curl is nonzero. The second is a radial gradient field:The scalar expression is a smooth function and single-valued on all of space, so ${\mathbf{F}}_2$ is a conservative vector field. Its potential of a conservative vector field is $\Phi =-(1+r^2{)}^{-1/2}$. Parts (a) and (b) check path dependence directly.

Inside the sphere, the electric field has the form $\mathbf{E}=\nabla [-k{r}^2/(2a^3)]$, including at the origin. Thus it is a conservative vector field. Outside, use the gradient of a radial function to obtainThis is also an explicit potential of a conservative vector field, single-valued throughout the exterior region. Equivalently, the curl vanishes in both regions: for a radial coefficient $h(r)$, $\nabla \times (h\mathbf{r})=\nabla h\times \mathbf{r}+h\nabla \times \mathbf{r}=0$ because $\nabla h$ is radial. The interior formula avoids any apparent $1/r$ issue at the origin. The vector-field potentials here have the opposite sign from the electric potential convention used in (b).

In Cartesian coordinates, calculate the divergence by differentiating each component with respect to its matching coordinate:For the curl, take the alternating cross-derivatives:

Assume the components of $\mathbf{F}$ have continuous second partial derivatives. Expanding the divergence of its curl givesEach positive term cancels a negative term because the corresponding mixed derivatives commute. Consequently

First calculate the curl:By Stokes theorem, use the positively oriented equator $\mathbf{r}(\varphi )=(a\cos \varphi ,a\sin \varphi ,0)$, $0\le \varphi \le 2\pi$. Its tangent is $a(-\sin \varphi ,\cos \varphi ,0)$, while the restricted field is $(0,3a^2\cos \varphi \sin \varphi -a\cos \varphi ,0)$. ThusThe first term integrates to zero over a full period and the second uses ${\int }_0^{2\pi }{\cos }^2\varphi d\varphi =\pi$.

One can also calculate directly on the curved surface. With spherical coordinates $0\le \theta \le \pi /2$, $0\le \varphi \le 2\pi$,Substitution gives the scalar integrand $a^3{\sin }^2\theta \cos \theta \sin \varphi -a^2\sin \theta \cos \theta$. Its azimuthal sine term vanishes, and the rest gives $-2\pi a^2{\int }_0^{\pi /2}\sin \theta \cos \theta d\theta =-\pi a^2$, confirming the orientation and the same result.

The first field has vanishing curl and is the gradient of a monomial:For the second field, direct component differentiation givesIt is not identically zero. Thus ${\mathbf{F}}_1$ is conservative and ${\mathbf{F}}_2$ is not on ${\mathbb{R}}^3$. The conditional path-integral requests therefore apply to ${\mathbf{F}}_1$.

Take the Cartesian partial derivatives component by component. The divergence isThe constant third component has zero derivatives. The curl consequently has only two nonzero components:

The curl gives the vorticity:Since $x\mathbf{i}+y\mathbf{j}=\rho \hat{\mathbf{\rho }}$, the requested form isAt the axis the radial unit vector is undefined, but its coefficient vanishes and the Cartesian expression remains smooth. The radial vorticity reflects the change in rotation rate with height.

For an oriented surface $S^{\prime }$ with compatible boundary direction, the Stokes theorem statesLet $H$ denote the removed patch and $S^{\prime }=S\setminus H$ the remaining cylinder. Keep the outward orientation inherited from the closed cylinder. Everywhere on the removed curved patch, the normal curl component is $-\alpha R$, so its flux is $-\alpha RA$, where $A$ is its actual curved area. Part (d) then givesConsequently the circulation around a hole in an oriented surface isThe positive direction here is induced by the remaining outward-oriented surface; locally it runs clockwise around the hole when viewed from outside. If the edge is instead traversed positively around the removed patch, the direction reverses and the answer is $-\alpha RA$. The question does not specify an edge direction, so the sign must be accompanied by this convention. The result depends only on the removed curved area, not on its shape. If the patch has several boundary components, use the sum of their induced line integrals. Since $[\alpha ]=1/(\text{length}\cdot \text{time})$, the result has the units of a velocity line integral, length squared per time.

The curl of the first vector field iswhich is not identically zero. Thus $\mathbf{F}$ is not conservative on ${\mathbb{R}}^3$ and cannot equal a negative gradient there.

For the second field, direct differentiation showsTherefore $\mathbf{G}$ is conservative, and the requested negative-gradient potential isIts curl vanishes, consistently with the curl of a gradient identity.

Direct calculation of the curl givesSince $\mathbf{a}\ne 0$, the first vector field cannot be a gradient field: the curl of a gradient is zero. The second is a smooth polynomial field on all of the simply connected space ${\mathbb{R}}^3$, so its vanishing curl makes it a conservative vector field. A potential is also constructed explicitly in the next part. Thus ${\mathbf{v}}_2$ is a conservative vector field and ${\mathbf{v}}_1$ is not. A vanishing divergence alone, as for ${\mathbf{v}}_1$, is a different property and does not establish conservativity.

Take the curl component by component:Its divergence is zero, as expected because the divergence of a curl is zero.

Yes. For any sufficiently smooth scalar $\chi$, the gauge transformationleaves its curl unchanged because $\nabla \times \nabla \chi =0$. This freedom is much larger than adding a constant vector: for example, $\chi =xy$ adds the nonconstant vector $(y,x,0)$. Two vector potentials for the same field differ by a curl-free field; on a simply connected domain that difference is a gradient, while nontrivial topology may allow additional global freedom.

On a connected domain, a vector field is a conservative vector field if and only if it is the gradient of a single-valued scalar potential, $\boxed{\mathbf{H}=\nabla \varphi }$. Equivalently, its line integral is path independent, or its integral around every closed curve is zero. For a continuously differentiable field on a simply connected domain, this is equivalent to $\nabla \times \mathbf{H}=0$. Without the domain hypothesis, vanishing curl alone is only a local test and is not the necessary-and-sufficient global statement.

The integrand field is exactly the curl computed in part (a), so use its polynomial vector potential $\mathbf{G}=(z^3,x^3,y^3)/3$. The upper cap meets the plane $z=0$ in an ellipse. Since the parameters are only assumed nonzero, set $a_0=|a|$ and $b_0=|b|$ to use positive semiaxes. Its correctly oriented boundary isOn that boundary, $G_x=0$ and $dz=0$, so only $G_{y}dy=x^{3}dy/3$ contributes. The Stokes theorem therefore givesThe last integral follows by expanding ${\cos }^{4}t=(3+4\cos 2t+\cos 4t)/8$. ThusThe result is independent of $c$. A sign check uses the divergence theorem: closing the cap with its base disk adds outward normal $-\hat{\mathbf{z}}$ there. Since $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{F}=0$, the cap flux equals ${\int }_{\mathrm{disk}}{x}^{2}dxdy>0$, consistent with the boxed expression and its absolute values.

For a twice continuously differentiable scalar potential, the curl of its gradient isEquality of mixed partial derivatives makes every component zero. ThusThis is the curl of a gradient identity.

Differentiate the components directly:Thus $\boxed{\nabla \times \mathbf{F}=0}$. The field is smooth on all of ${\mathbb{R}}^3$, a simply connected domain, so the zero-curl condition is sufficient for a conservative vector field. The domain condition matters: zero curl alone need not imply a global potential on a region with holes.