Multivariable Dirac Delta Functions

In summary, the conversation is about integrating a function with a delta function as the argument, and the difficulty in determining what to divide by due to the argument being a function of x and y. The conversation also mentions the possibility of there being multiple nonzero points depending on the values of a and b, and suggests using a multivariable analogue of the Dirac Delta function to solve the problem.
  • #1
freechus9
9
0
Hello all. So I am trying to integrate a function of this form:

[tex]\int[/tex][tex]\int[/tex]F(x,y)[tex]\delta[/tex][a(Cos[x]-1)+b(Cos[y]+1)]dxdy

The limits of integration for x and y are both [0,2Pi). I know that this integral is only nonzero for x=0, y=Pi. So this should really only sample one point of F(x,y), namely F(0,Pi). However, I am having trouble figuring out what I need to divide by due to the fact that the delta function argument is a function of x and y, not x and y themselves. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks!
 
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  • #2
Are you sure that the only nonzero point is [tex](0,\pi)[/tex]? Depending on the values of [tex]a[/tex] and [tex]b[/tex] (e.g. if one of them is negative) the function [tex]g(x,y)=a(cos(x)-1)+b(cos(y)+1)[/tex] could have a number of roots between the limits of integration.

Given the following identity for a single variable Dirac Delta function:
[tex]\delta[g(x)]=\sum_{i}\frac{\delta(x-x_{i})}{|g'(x_{i})|}[/tex]
where [tex]x_{i}[/tex] are the roots of [tex]g(x)[/tex], I think the multivariable analogue will be
[tex]\delta[g(x,y)]=\sum_{i}\frac{\delta(x-x_{i})\delta(y-y_{i})}{|\nabla g(x_{i},y_{i})|}[/tex]
where [tex](x_{i},y_{i})[/tex] are the roots of [tex]g(x,y)[/tex].
 

1. What is a multivariable Dirac delta function?

A multivariable Dirac delta function is a mathematical function that is used to represent a point mass or point charge at a specific location in a multi-dimensional space. It is typically denoted as δ(x,y,z) or δ(r), where r represents a vector in three-dimensional space.

2. How is a multivariable Dirac delta function different from a single-variable Dirac delta function?

A single-variable Dirac delta function represents a point mass or point charge in one-dimensional space, while a multivariable Dirac delta function represents a point mass or point charge in multi-dimensional space. Additionally, a multivariable Dirac delta function has different properties and can be defined in various coordinate systems, unlike the single-variable version.

3. What are the properties of a multivariable Dirac delta function?

Some properties of a multivariable Dirac delta function include: it is zero everywhere except at the point of interest, its integral over any region containing the point of interest is equal to 1, and it follows the sifting property, which allows it to be integrated with other functions.

4. How is a multivariable Dirac delta function used in physics and engineering?

A multivariable Dirac delta function is commonly used in physics and engineering to represent point sources of mass or charge in a multi-dimensional space. It is also used in the analysis of electromagnetic fields, signal processing, and solving partial differential equations.

5. What are some examples of applications that involve multivariable Dirac delta functions?

Some examples of applications that involve multivariable Dirac delta functions include: calculating the electric potential and field of a point charge, representing the mass distribution of an object in three-dimensional space, solving the diffusion equation in fluid mechanics, and modeling point sources in antenna arrays for wireless communication systems.

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