tangents, gradients,normals

最新推荐文章于 2023-03-29 15:14:40 发布

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最新推荐文章于 2023-03-29 15:14:40 发布

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分类专栏： 00.Tensorflow2

本文链接：https://blog.csdn.net/apache/article/details/113977817

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tangents, gradients,normals all are Directional derivative.

tangents, 切向量

gradients,梯度向量 ∇f

normals，法向量

这是三个容易混淆的概念，a wishy washy argument.

Tangent vectors , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangent_space
Gradient https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradient
Normal (geometry), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_(geometry)

Directional derivative ,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_derivative

方向导数（directional derivative）与梯度，https://blog.csdn.net/win_in_action/article/details/52729075

Level set，https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_set#Level_sets_versus_the_gradient

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https://mathoverflow.net/questions/1977/why-is-the-gradient-normal

The gradient of a function is normal to the level sets because it is defined that way. The gradient of a function is not the natural derivative.

When you have a function, f, defined on some Euclidean space (more generally, a Riemannian manifold) then its derivative at a point, say x, is a function dxf on tangent vectors.

The intuitive way to think of it is that dxf(v) answers the question:

If I move infinitesimally in the direction v, what happens to f?

So dxf is not itself a tangent vector. However, as we have an inner product lying around, we can convert it into a tangent vector which we call ∇f. This represents the question:

What tangent vector u at x best represents dxf?

What we mean by "best represents" is that u should satisfy the condition:

<u,v> = dxf(v) for all tangent vectors v

Now we look at the level set of f through x. If v is a tangent vector at x which is tangent to the level set then dxf(v) = 0 since f doesn't change if we go (infinitesimally) in the direction of v.

Hence our vector ∇f (aka u in the question) must satisfy <∇f, v> = 0. That is, ∇f is normal to the set of tangent vectors at x which are tangent to the level set.

For a generic x and a generic f (i.e. most of the time), the set of tangent vectors at x which are tangent to the level set of f at x is codimension 1 so this specifies ∇f up to a scalar multiple.

The scalar multiple can be found by looking at a tangent vector v such that f does change in the v-direction. If no such v exists, then ∇f = 0, of course.