What does spherical harmonics mean?

Definitions for spherical harmonics
spher·i·cal harmon·ics

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word spherical harmonics.

Wiktionary

  1. spherical harmonicsnoun

    The solutions to Laplace's equation using spherical coordinates

Wikipedia

  1. Spherical harmonics

    In mathematics and physical science, spherical harmonics are special functions defined on the surface of a sphere. They are often employed in solving partial differential equations in many scientific fields. Since the spherical harmonics form a complete set of orthogonal functions and thus an orthonormal basis, each function defined on the surface of a sphere can be written as a sum of these spherical harmonics. This is similar to periodic functions defined on a circle that can be expressed as a sum of circular functions (sines and cosines) via Fourier series. Like the sines and cosines in Fourier series, the spherical harmonics may be organized by (spatial) angular frequency, as seen in the rows of functions in the illustration on the right. Further, spherical harmonics are basis functions for irreducible representations of SO(3), the group of rotations in three dimensions, and thus play a central role in the group theoretic discussion of SO(3). Spherical harmonics originate from solving Laplace's equation in the spherical domains. Functions that are solutions to Laplace's equation are called harmonics. Despite their name, spherical harmonics take their simplest form in Cartesian coordinates, where they can be defined as homogeneous polynomials of degree ℓ {\displaystyle \ell } in ( x , y , z ) {\displaystyle (x,y,z)} that obey Laplace's equation. The connection with spherical coordinates arises immediately if one uses the homogeneity to extract a factor of radial dependence r ℓ {\displaystyle r^{\ell }} from the above-mentioned polynomial of degree ℓ {\displaystyle \ell } ; the remaining factor can be regarded as a function of the spherical angular coordinates θ {\displaystyle \theta } and φ {\displaystyle \varphi } only, or equivalently of the orientational unit vector r {\displaystyle \mathbf {r} } specified by these angles. In this setting, they may be viewed as the angular portion of a set of solutions to Laplace's equation in three dimensions, and this viewpoint is often taken as an alternative definition. Notice, however, that spherical harmonics are not functions on the sphere which are harmonic with respect to the Laplace-Beltrami operator for the standard round metric on the sphere: the only harmonic functions in this sense on the sphere are the constants, since harmonic functions satisfy the Maximum principle. Spherical harmonics, as functions on the sphere, are eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operator (see the section Higher dimensions below). A specific set of spherical harmonics, denoted Y ℓ m ( θ , φ ) {\displaystyle Y_{\ell }^{m}(\theta ,\varphi )} or Y ℓ m ( r ) {\displaystyle Y_{\ell }^{m}({\mathbf {r} })} , are known as Laplace's spherical harmonics, as they were first introduced by Pierre Simon de Laplace in 1782. These functions form an orthogonal system, and are thus basic to the expansion of a general function on the sphere as alluded to above. Spherical harmonics are important in many theoretical and practical applications, including the representation of multipole electrostatic and electromagnetic fields, electron configurations, gravitational fields, geoids, the magnetic fields of planetary bodies and stars, and the cosmic microwave background radiation. In 3D computer graphics, spherical harmonics play a role in a wide variety of topics including indirect lighting (ambient occlusion, global illumination, precomputed radiance transfer, etc.) and modelling of 3D shapes.

Wikidata

  1. Spherical harmonics

    In mathematics, spherical harmonics are the angular portion of a set of solutions to Laplace's equation. Represented in a system of spherical coordinates, Laplace's spherical harmonics are a specific set of spherical harmonics that forms an orthogonal system, first introduced by Pierre Simon de Laplace in 1782. Spherical harmonics are important in many theoretical and practical applications, particularly in the computation of atomic orbital electron configurations, representation of gravitational fields, geoids, and the magnetic fields of planetary bodies and stars, and characterization of the cosmic microwave background radiation. In 3D computer graphics, spherical harmonics play a special role in a wide variety of topics including indirect lighting and recognition of 3D shapes.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of spherical harmonics in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of spherical harmonics in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

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"spherical harmonics." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/spherical+harmonics>.

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