Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2015 / Prelims / Mathematics V / 7 / a / ii

The space ${\mathbb{R}}^3$ is simply connected, and the electric field has zero curl. Hence it is a conservative vector field. More explicitly, Stokes theorem gives zero circulation around any closed loop, since such a loop bounds a spanning surface in ${\mathbb{R}}^3$. Therefore the line integral between two fixed endpoints is independent of the chosen path.

Fix a reference point ${\mathbf{r}}_0$ and define the electric potentialTaking a short straight terminal segment in each coordinate direction shows ${\partial }_j\phi =-E_j$. ConsequentlyThe electric potential is determined up to an additive constant; the later condition at infinity fixes that constant for the finite charge distribution in part (b).