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author | Prefetch | 2021-02-21 19:28:33 +0100 |
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committer | Prefetch | 2021-02-21 19:28:33 +0100 |
commit | 61056d57fa2c4ece7377d7736c07e8b0f12bb2af (patch) | |
tree | 977266168287a7c4b4c5c23ba358d7cc172c9ad9 /latex/know/concept/legendre-transform | |
parent | c2327bcc3571ead88ba2b0ce40656211a888f640 (diff) |
Add "Legendre transform"
Diffstat (limited to 'latex/know/concept/legendre-transform')
-rw-r--r-- | latex/know/concept/legendre-transform/source.md | 79 |
1 files changed, 79 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/latex/know/concept/legendre-transform/source.md b/latex/know/concept/legendre-transform/source.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..954b6fc --- /dev/null +++ b/latex/know/concept/legendre-transform/source.md @@ -0,0 +1,79 @@ +% Legendre transform + + +# Legendre transform + +The **Legendre transform** of a function $f(x)$ is a new function $L(f')$, +which depends only on the derivative $f'(x)$ of $f(x)$, and from which +the original function $f(x)$ can be reconstructed. The point is, just +like other transforms (e.g. Fourier), that $L(f')$ contains the same +information as $f(x)$, just in a different form. + +Let us choose an arbitrary point $x_0 \in [a, b]$ in the domain of +$f(x)$. Consider a line $y(x)$ tangent to $f(x)$ at $x = x_0$, which has +a slope $f'(x_0)$ and intersects the $y$-axis at $-C$: + +$$\begin{aligned} + y(x) = f'(x_0) (x - x_0) + f(x_0) = f'(x_0) x - C +\end{aligned}$$ + +The Legendre transform $L(f')$ is defined such that $L(f'(x_0)) = C$ (or +sometimes $-C$ instead) for all $x_0 \in [a, b]$, where $C$ is the +constant corresponding to the tangent line at $x = x_0$. This yields: + +$$\begin{aligned} + L(f'(x)) = f'(x) \: x - f(x) +\end{aligned}$$ + +We want this function to depend only on the derivative $f'$, but +currently $x$ still appears here as a variable. We fix that problem in +the easiest possible way: by assuming that $f'(x)$ is invertible for all +$x \in [a, b]$. If $x(f')$ is the inverse of $f'(x)$, then $L(f')$ is +given by: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \boxed{ + L(f') = f' \: x(f') - f(x(f')) + } +\end{aligned}$$ + +The only requirement for the existence of the Legendre transform is thus +the invertibility of $f'(x)$ in the target interval $[a,b]$, which can +only be true if $f(x)$ is either convex or concave, i.e. its derivative +$f'(x)$ is monotonic. + +Crucially, the derivative of $L(f')$ with respect to $f'$ is simply +$x(f')$. In other words, the roles of $f'$ and $x$ are switched by the +transformation: the coordinate becomes the derivative and vice versa. +This is demonstrated here: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \boxed{ + \dv{L}{f'} = \dv{x}{f'} \: f' + x(f') - \dv{f}{x} \dv{x}{f'} = x(f') + } +\end{aligned}$$ + +Furthermore, Legendre transformation is an *involution*, meaning it is +its own inverse. Let $g(L')$ be the Legendre transform of $L(f')$: + +$$\begin{aligned} + g(L') = L' \: f'(L') - L(f'(L')) + = x(f') \: f' - f' \: x(f') + f(x(f')) = f(x) +\end{aligned}$$ + +Moreover, the inverse of a (forward) transform always exists, because +the Legendre transform of a convex function is itself convex. Convexity +of $f(x)$ means that $f''(x) > 0$ for all $x \in [a, b]$, which yields +the following proof: + +$$\begin{aligned} + L''(f') + = \dv{x(f')}{f'} + = \dv{x}{f'(x)} + = \frac{1}{f''(x)} + > 0 +\end{aligned}$$ + +Legendre transformation is important in physics, +since it connects Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics to each other. +It is also used to convert between thermodynamic potentials. |