Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2023 / ia / Paper 3 / 3B / Solution

A field is irrotational when $\nabla \times F=0$. In ${\mathbb{R}}^3$ definewhere $\gamma$ is any path from $x_0$ to $x$. The difference between two choices is the circulation around a closed loop. By the Stokes theorem it is the flux of $\nabla \times F$ through a spanning surface and hence zero. Thus $V$ is well-defined, $V(x_0)=0$, and differentiation gives $F=-\nabla V$.

If $\nabla \times A_0=B$, every solution isfor an arbitrary differentiable scalar $\chi$, since the difference is curl-free. A necessary condition is $\nabla \cdot B=0$, because the divergence of a curl vanishes.