[Tex/LaTex] Numbering of displayed math without using the equation environment

alignamsmathmath-modenumbering

I know about align and equation environments, and tend to use them most of the time, but sometimes I like to have more flexibility within an array of equations, like better control on justification and horizontal spacing.
In that case, I use an array environment.
The only downside of this method (that I know of) is the fixed vertical spacing, but for equation arrays wherein every line has the same height, it is usually ok.

For reference, here is my code :

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{amsfonts}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{mathtools}

\newcommand*{\defeq}{\vcentcolon=}
\newcommand*{\diff}{\mathrm{d}}

\newcommand*{\pd}[3][]{%
    \ensuremath%
    \frac{\partial^{#1}#2}{\partial #3^{#1}}
}

\newcommand*{\pdc}[4][]{%
    \ensuremath%
    \left(\pd[#1]{#2}{#3}\right)_{\!\!#4}
}

\newcommand{\td}[3][]{%
    \ensuremath%
    \frac{\diff^{#1}#2}{\diff #3^{#1}}
}

\newcommand{\earray}[3][2]{%
    \ensuremath%
    \everymath{\displaystyle}%
    \renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{#1}%
    \begin{array}{#2}
        #3
    \end{array}
}


\begin{document}
\[
    \earray{r@{\;}l@{\;}ll}{
        \diff J^\pm 
            & \defeq \diff u\pm \frac{1}{C}\diff p 
            & =\left(F\pm\frac{1}{C}G\pdc{p}{e}{V}\right)\diff t 
            & \text{ along a path defined by } \td{\xi}{t}=\pm C,\\
        \diff S
            & \defeq \diff p + C^2 \diff V
            & =G\pdc{p}{e}{V} \diff t 
            & \text{ along a path defined by } \td{\xi}{t}=0
    }
\]

 \begin{align*}
    \diff J^\pm 
        & \defeq \diff u\pm \frac{1}{C}\diff p 
        & =\left(F\pm\frac{1}{C}G\pdc{p}{e}{V}\right)\diff t 
        & \text{ along a path defined by } \td{\xi}{t}=\pm C,\\
    \diff S
        & \defeq \diff p + C^2 \diff V
        & =G\pdc{p}{e}{V} \diff t 
        & \text{ along a path defined by } \td{\xi}{t}=0.
 \end{align*}
 \end{document}

Here is what the code produces.

So, my question is : is there a way to manually add tags inside displayed math ? Alternatively, is there a better way to proceed, or a better environment, for such cases ?

Best Answer

An alignat* environment is more suitable here than align* or an array (within a display-math environment). See below.

For numbering lines, you can use the command \numberthis which I define below. That command takes one optional argument, which if not empty, is used to create a label for cross-referencing. (Thanks to wasteofspace for his/her comments.)

Also, see David Carlisle's recommendation regarding the (ab)use of \ensuremath.

enter image description here

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[landscape]{geometry}

\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{amsfonts}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{mathtools}

\newcommand\numberthis[1][]{%
    \refstepcounter{equation}%
    \ifx#1\empty\else\label{eq:#1}\fi%
    \tag{\theequation}%
}

\newcommand*{\defeq}{\vcentcolon=}
\newcommand*{\diff}{\mathrm{d}}

\newcommand*{\pd}[3][]{%
    \frac{\partial^{#1}#2}{\partial #3^{#1}}
}

\newcommand*{\pdc}[4][]{%
    \left(\pd[#1]{#2}{#3}\right)_{\!\!#4}
}

\newcommand{\td}[3][]{%
    \frac{\diff^{#1}#2}{\diff #3^{#1}}
}

\newcommand{\earray}[3][2]{%
    \everymath{\displaystyle}%
    \renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{#1}%
    \begin{array}{#2}
        #3
    \end{array}
}


\begin{document}
\begin{alignat*}{4}
        &\diff J^\pm 
            && \defeq \diff u\pm \frac{1}{C}\diff p 
            && =\left(F\pm\frac{1}{C}G\pdc{p}{e}{V}\right)\diff t 
            && \text{ along a path defined by } \td{\xi}{t}=\pm C,\\[1em]
        &\diff S
            && \defeq \diff p + C^2 \diff V
            && =G\pdc{p}{e}{V} \diff t 
            && \text{ along a path defined by } \td{\xi}{t}=0 \numberthis[ju]
\end{alignat*}
Equation \ref{eq:ju} is of interest for\ldots
 \end{document}
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