Definition:Gradient Operator/Real Cartesian Space

Definition
Let $\R^n$ denote the real Cartesian space of $n$ dimensions.

Let $\map f {x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n}$ denote a real-valued function on $\R^n$.

Let $\tuple {\mathbf e_1, \mathbf e_2, \ldots, \mathbf e_n}$ be the standard ordered basis on $\R^n$.

Let $\mathbf u = u_1 \mathbf e_1 + u_2 \mathbf e_2 + \cdots + u_n \mathbf e_n = \displaystyle \sum_{k \mathop = 1}^n u_k \mathbf e_k$ be a vector in $\R^n$.

Let the partial derivative of $f$ with respect to $u_k$ exist for all $u_k$.

The gradient of $f$ (at $\mathbf u$) is defined as:

Cartesian $3$-Space
In $3$ dimensions this is usually rendered as follows:

Also see

 * Definition:Directional Derivative