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In the mathematical field of differential calculus, a total derivative or full derivative of a function of several variables, e.g., , , , etc., with respect to an exogenous argument, e.g., , is the limiting ratio of the change in the function's value to the change in the exogenous argument's value (for arbitrarily small changes), taking into account the exogenous argument's direct effect as well as its indirect effects via the other arguments of the function. The total derivative of a function is different from its corresponding partial derivative (). Calculation of the total derivative of with respect to does not assume that the other arguments are constant while varies; instead, it allows the other arguments to depend on . The total derivative adds in these ''indirect dependencies'' to find the overall dependency of on 〔Chiang, Alpha C. ''Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics'', McGraw-Hill, third edition, 1984.〕 For example, the total derivative of with respect to is : which simplifies to : Consider multiplying both sides of the equation by the differential : : The result is the differential change in, or total differential of, the function . Because depends on , some of that change will be due to the partial derivative of with respect to . However, some of that change will also be due to the partial derivatives of with respect to the variables and . So, the differential is applied to the total derivatives of and to find differentials and , which can then be used to find the contribution to . "Total derivative" is sometimes also used as a synonym for the material derivative, in fluid mechanics. ==Differentiation with indirect dependencies== Suppose that ''f'' is a function of two variables, ''x'' and ''y''. Normally these variables are assumed to be independent. However, in some situations they may be dependent on each other. For example ''y'' could be a function of ''x'', constraining the domain of ''f'' to a curve in . In this case the partial derivative of ''f'' with respect to ''x'' does not give the true rate of change of ''f'' with respect to changing ''x'' because changing ''x'' necessarily changes ''y''. The total derivative takes such dependencies into account. For example, suppose :. The rate of change of ''f'' with respect to ''x'' is usually the partial derivative of ''f'' with respect to ''x''; in this case, :. However, if ''y'' depends on ''x'', the partial derivative does not give the true rate of change of ''f'' as ''x'' changes because it holds ''y'' fixed. Suppose we are constrained to the line : then :. In that case, the total derivative of ''f'' with respect to ''x'' is :. Instead of immediately substituting for ''y'' in terms of ''x'', this can be found equivalently using the chain rule: : Notice that this is not equal to the partial derivative: :. While one can often perform substitutions to eliminate indirect dependencies, the chain rule provides for a more efficient and general technique. Suppose ''M''(''t'', ''p''1, ..., ''pn'') is a function of time ''t'' and ''n'' variables which themselves depend on time. Then, the total time derivative of ''M'' is : The chain rule for differentiating a function of several variables implies that : This expression is often used in physics for a gauge transformation of the Lagrangian, as two Lagrangians that differ only by the total time derivative of a function of time and the ''n'' generalized coordinates lead to the same equations of motion. An interesting example concerns the resolution of causality concerning the Wheeler–Feynman time-symmetric theory. The operator in brackets (in the final expression) is also called the total derivative operator (with respect to ''t''). For example, the total derivative of ''f''(''x''(''t''), ''y''(''t'')) is : Here there is no ∂''f'' / ∂''t'' term since ''f'' itself does not depend on the independent variable ''t'' directly. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Total derivative」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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