Proof for the Curl of a Curl of a Vector Field

curlmultivariable-calculusvector analysisVector Fields

For a vector field $\textbf{A}$, the curl of the curl is defined by
$$\nabla\times\left(\nabla\times\textbf{A}\right)=\nabla\left(\nabla\cdot\textbf{A}\right)-\nabla^2\textbf{A}$$
where $\nabla$ is the usual del operator and $\nabla^2$ is the vector Laplacian.

How can I prove this relation? I tried the ugly/unefficient/brute-force method, by getting an expression for the LHS and the RHS for an arbitrary vector field $$\textbf{A}=\left(a(x,y,z),b(x,y,z),c(x,y,z)\right)$$

It does work (duh), but is there a more elegant way of doing this? Using matrix notation maybe?


EDIT: I got very good answers, from various perspectives. I would say @Spencer's derivation is the one I was looking for, using Einstein notation – and as a physics student, this was very helpful. However, @Vectornaut's solution not only is short and elegant, but it also introduced me to a whole new range of mathematics – and as a theoretical physics student, I appreciate learning new mathematical theories and trying to see how we can use them in physics.

Best Answer

Yes, there's a more elegant way! It uses the language of differential forms, which has replaced the 19th-century language of gradients, divergences, and curls in modern geometry. You can appreciate the simplicity of this language even before learning how to read it:

For any 1-form $A$, $$\begin{align*} (\star d)(\star d)A & = (\star d \star)dA \\ \operatorname{curl} \operatorname{curl} A & = d^\dagger dA \end{align*}$$ Recalling that $\Delta = d d^\dagger + d^\dagger d$, we see that $$\begin{align*} \operatorname{curl} \operatorname{curl} A & = -d d^\dagger A + \Delta A \\ & = d(\star d \star)A + \Delta A \\ & = \operatorname{grad} \operatorname{div} A + \Delta A \end{align*}$$

This is the identity you wanted to prove, where $-\Delta$ is the vector Laplacian.


My favorite place to learn about differential forms is in Chapters 4 and 5 of Gauge Fields, Knots, and Gravity by John Baez and Javier Muniain.

Here's a rough glossary that should help you move between the language of differential forms and the old language of vector calculus. I'll start by telling you the various kinds of differential forms, and the basic operations on them.

  • In $n$-dimensional space, there are $n+1$ kinds of differential forms, from 0-forms to $n$-forms. You can think of a $k$-form as a $k$-dimensional density. A 0-form is a function, and a 1-form is a row-vector field (in coordinate-free language, a dual-vector field).
  • The exterior derivative is an operation $d$ that turns $k$-forms into $(k + 1)$-forms. As its name suggests, it generalizes the operation of differentiating a function.
  • The Hodge star is an operation $\star$ that turns $k$-forms in to $(n - k)$-forms. It comes from the dot product between column vectors. In fact, the Hodge star encodes the same geometric information as the dot product: if you know one, you can reconstruct the other.
  • The codifferential is an operation $d^\dagger$ that turns $k$-forms into $(k - 1)$-forms. In an odd-dimensional space, like ordinary 3-dimensional space, applying $d^\dagger$ to a $k$-form is the same as applying $(-1)^k \star d \star$. In an even-dimensional space, $d^\dagger$ always acts like $-\star d \star$.

If you keep in mind that a 0-form is a function and a 1-form is a row-vector field, all the familiar operations of vector calculus can be written in terms of the ones above.

  • The gradient of a function $f$ is the 1-form $df$.
  • The curl of a 1-form $A$ is the 1-form $\star dA$.
  • The divergence of a 1-form $A$ is the function $\star d \star A$.
  • The Laplacian of a function or 1-form $\omega$ is $-\Delta \omega$, where $\Delta = dd^\dagger + d^\dagger d$. The operator $\Delta$ is often called the Laplace-Beltrami operator.

With this glossary in hand, you should be able to follow the steps of the calculation above, which is mostly just translating back and forth between languages. The only tricky bit is getting the sign right when you rewrite $d^\dagger$ as $\pm \star d \star$: you have to figure out what kind of form $d^\dagger$ is being applied to.

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