If , then the tangent map associated to is a Vector Bundle Homeomorphism (i.e., a Map between the Tangent Bundles of and respectively). The
tangent map corresponds to Differentiation by the formula
|
(1) |
where (i.e., is a curve passing through the base point to in at time 0 with velocity ).
In this case, if and , then the Chain Rule is expressed as
|
(2) |
In other words, with this way of formalizing differentiation, the Chain Rule can be remembered by saying that
``the process of taking the tangent map of a map is functorial.'' To a topologist, the form
|
(3) |
for all , is more intuitive than the usual form of the Chain Rule.
See also Diffeomorphism
References
Gray, A. ``Tangent Maps.'' §9.3 in Modern Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces.
Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 168-171, 1993.
© 1996-9 Eric W. Weisstein
1999-05-26