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I have to solve the following problem which seems difficult:

Find $$ \iint_S \nabla \times F\ dS $$ where $S$ is given by

$$r(t,s)=\left( 9+(\cos t)(\sin s)\left(2+\frac{\sin (5s)}{2}\right), \ \ \ 9+(\cos t)(\cos s)\left(2+\frac{\sin (5s)}{2}\right), \ \ \ 9+\frac{\sin t}{3}\left(2+\frac{\sin (5s)}{2}\right) \right) $$

where $0\leq t\leq 2\pi$, $\ \ $ $0\leq s\leq \pi$, $\ \ \ $ and $F:=(z,0,y)$.

I'm not sure how to proceed, any help is appreciated.

Should I use Gauss divergence?

When I plotted $S$ in wolfram (not sure why is different from the answer below) https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%289%2B%28cos+t%29%28sin+s%29%282%2Bsin+%285s%29%2F%282%29%29%2C++9%2B%28cos+t%29%28cos+s%29%282%2Bsin+%285s%29%2F2%29%2C+9%2B%28%28sin+t%29%2F3%29%282%2Bsin+%285s%29%2F2%29+%29%2C+0%3C%3D+s%3C%3D+pi%2C+0%3C%3Dt%3C%3D+2pi

enter image description here

Valent
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    Concerning the difference between the plots: Wolfram Alpha is assuming that you want to create three surface plots, one for the $x$-coordinate as a function of $s$ and $t$, another one for the $y$-coordinate, and a third one for the $z$-coordinate. This is why it gives you three surface plots & three contour plots. I am not sure how (or if) Wolfram Alpha can be induced to create a parametric plot instead. – Michael Seifert Aug 04 '21 at 14:24
  • If you add 'ParametricPlot3D' at the beginning it plots the actual surface (the same command as in Mathematica) – rebo79 Aug 04 '21 at 19:23

2 Answers2

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As far as I can see the surface $S$ encloses a solid volume (I plotted it in mathematica) enter image description here Then if $V$ denotes the solid enclosed by $S$, you can apply Gauss's theorem to obtain \begin{align*} \iint_S (\nabla \times F)·dS &= \iiint_V \nabla·(\nabla \times F) dV = 0 \end{align*} since the divergence of the curl is zero.

PD: I can't figure it out how to prove analytically from the parametrization that $S$ is indeed closed. I'll keep thinking about it.

rebo79
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  • Then $F$ has no interaction here? I mean can $F$ be any $\mathbb{R}^3$ valued function, and the result reamains? – Valent Aug 04 '21 at 14:20
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    The parametrization given in the problem is quite strange. A range of coordinates of $s \in [0, 2\pi]$ and $t \in [-\pi/2, -\pi/2]$ would give a more reasonable parametrization, since then it's the surface $r = 2+ \sin(5 \phi)/2$ (with $s$ as the azimuthal angle and $t$ as the angle from the "equator", squashed by a factor of 3 in the $z$-direction and centered at $(9,9,9)$. The given parametrization makes me worry that there's some kind of orientability subtlety that's in play. – Michael Seifert Aug 04 '21 at 14:36
  • Yup, orientability has reared its ugly head. See my answer below. – Michael Seifert Aug 04 '21 at 15:57
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    @Valent usually the idea in this kind of problems is that the surface given is complicated as hell, then with the aid of Gauss's theorem you 'close' your surface with one more easy to handle and then you just have to compute the surface integral over that surface. The idea behind it is that the flux over each of the surfaces is the same. – rebo79 Aug 04 '21 at 19:27
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For future reference, we define $$ \vec{r}(t,s) \equiv \left( x(t,s), y(t,s), z(t,s) \right) $$

By Stokes' Theorem, the given integral is $$ \iint_S \nabla \times F\ dS = \oint_{\partial S} F \cdot d\ell $$ where $\partial S$ is the boundary of $S$. This boundary can be broken up into four separate parametric curves:

  1. $\vec{r}(t, 0)$, for $t$ running from 0 to 2π;
  2. $\vec{r}(2\pi, s)$, for $s$ running from 0 to π;
  3. $\vec{r}(t,\pi)$, for $t$ running from 2π to 0; and
  4. $\vec{r}(0,s)$, for $s$ running from π to 0.

The first integral is (setting $s = 0$ here) \begin{align*} I_1 &= \int_0^{2\pi} \left( F \cdot \frac{\partial \vec{r}}{\partial t}\right) dt \\ &= \int_0^{2 \pi} \left(z \frac{\partial x}{\partial t} + y \frac{\partial z}{\partial t} \right) dt \\ &= \int_0^{2 \pi} \left[ \left(9 + \frac{2}{3}\sin t \right)(0) + \left( 9 + 2 \cos t \right)\left( \frac{2}{3} \cos t \right) \right] \, dt \\ &= \frac{4}{3} \int_0^{2 \pi} \cos^2 t = \frac{4\pi}{3}. \end{align*} Meanwhile, the third integral is (setting $s = \pi$ here) \begin{align*} I_3 &= \int^0_{2\pi} \left( F \cdot \frac{\partial \vec{r}}{\partial t}\right) dt \\ &= \int^0_{2\pi} \left(z \frac{\partial x}{\partial t} + y \frac{\partial z}{\partial t} \right) dt \\ &= \int^0_{2\pi} \left[ \left(9 + \frac{2}{3}\sin t \right)(0) + \left( 9 - 2 \cos t \right)\left( \frac{2}{3} \cos t \right) \right] \, dt \\ &= -\frac{4}{3} \int^0_{2\pi} \cos^2 t = \frac{4\pi}{3}. \end{align*} Using similar techniques, one can show that the second and fourth integrals vanish. Thus, the total integral is $$ \boxed{ \iint_S \nabla \times F\ dS = \frac{8\pi}{3}.} $$

But wait! rebo79's answer seems to show that this is a closed surface, so why is this giving us a non-zero answer? The answer seems to be that the parametrization of the surface leads to an inconsistent orientation along the boundary curves. We can see this by calculating the surface normals $$ \hat{n} = \frac{\partial \vec{r}}{\partial t} \times \frac{\partial \vec{r}}{\partial s} $$ and plotting them at several points:

enter image description here

We can see that the surface orientation is not consistent, and thus we cannot apply Gauss's Law to get the integral over $S$: the normal of $S$, as parametrized, is not always the outwards-pointing normal to the region "bounded" by $S$. The problematic points seem to be when $t = \pi/2$ and $t = 3 \pi/2$; at these points, the surface intersects itself. It can also be shown that curves 1 & 3 are the same ellipse in the $yz$-plane traversed in the same direction, so their contributions to the boundary integral reinforce rather than cancel. Curves 2 & 4 are similarly the same arc traversed in the same direction, and so their contributions would reinforce rather than cancelling; but it happens that both contributions just happen to be zero for this particular choice of $F$.

Finally, note that if the parametrization of the curve had been $t \in [-\pi/2, \pi/2]$ and $s \in [0, 2 \pi]$, this problem would not have arisen. In this case, two of the "boundary curves" would have been closed loops running along line segments parallel to the $z$-axis (and so their integrals would have vanished), while the other two would have been curves running along a "line of latitude" in opposite directions (and so their integrals would have cancelled.) I suspect that there is either some kind of transcription error involved, or an instructor decided to tweak things around without thinking too carefully about the consequences; because this problem is quite devious as it stands.

  • Why is on the first integral $(9+2\cos t)$ while in the second $(9-2\cos t)$? – Valent Aug 04 '21 at 18:35
  • @Valent: Because $y = 9+(\cos t)(\cos s)\left(2+\frac{\sin (5s)}{2}\right)$, which becomes $9 + 2 \cos t$ when $s = 0$ and $9 - 2 \cos t$ when $s = \pi$. – Michael Seifert Aug 04 '21 at 18:37
  • Oh I see it now! – Valent Aug 04 '21 at 18:48
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    @MichaelSeifert I did't imagine that there were an orientation issue with the surface. Yesterday I tried to plot the boundaries but it seemed strange as well. Nice answer by the way! – rebo79 Aug 04 '21 at 19:31