Line integrals as circulation

Recall that a line integral ∫ CF ⋅ ds of a vector field F over an oriented curve C “adds up” the component of the vector field that is tangent to the curve. Hence, in some sense, the line integral measures how much the vector field is aligned with the curve. If the curve C is a closed curve, then the line integral indicates how much the vector field tends to circulate around the curve C. In fact, for oriented close curve C, we call the line integral the “circulation” of F around C:

∫ CF ⋅ ds = circulation of F around C.
Sometimes one might write the integral as
∮ CF ⋅ ds
to emphasize that the integral is around a closed curve, but we tend to omit the circle decoration on the integral sign since it is redundant.

Note that the circulation can be positive or negative, depending on the orientation of C compared to the flow of F. For example, if F(x,y) = (y,-x) and C is the ellipse

x2 --- 4 + y2 --- 9 = 1
oriented counterclockwise, then, as shown in the graph, we expect the circulation ∫ CF ⋅ ds to be negative.

PIC

The vector field appears to circulate in the clockwise direction so tends to point in the opposite direction of the orientation of the curve.

We can compute the circulation by parametrizing C by

c(t) = (2 cos t, 3 sin t)
for 0 ≤ t ≤ 2π. Then, since c'(t) = (-2 sin t, 3 cos t), the line integral is
∫ CF ⋅ ds = ∫ 02πF(c(t)) ⋅ c'(t)dt
= ∫ 02πF(2 cos t, 3 sin t) ⋅ (-2 sin t, 3 cos t)dt
= ∫ 02π(3 sin t,-2 cos t) ⋅ (-2 sin t, 3 cos t)dt
= ∫ 02π(-6 sin 2t - 6 cos 2t)dt = ∫ 02π - 6dt = -12π.

The circulation may not be so obvious in a picture. For example, let F(x,y) = (-y, 0) and let C be the counterclockwise oriented unit circle, as pictured below.

PIC

In this case, there is no obvious circulation of F. However, if you look closely at the alignment of the vector field, you will see that it tends to align with the orientation of the curve. The circulation of F around C is positive.

We verify this by calculating directly the circulation. Parametrizing the unit circle by c(t) = (cos t, sin t) for 0 ≤ t ≤ 2π, the circulation is

∫ CF ⋅ ds = ∫ 02πF(c(t)) ⋅ c'(t)dt
= ∫ 02πF(cos t, sin t) ⋅ (- sin t, cos t)dt
= ∫ 02π(- sin t, 0) ⋅ (- sin t, cos t)dt
= ∫ 02π sin 2tdt = ∫ 02π1 --cos2t- 2dt = π.

Circulation plays a big role in vector calculus. It is circulation defined by line integrals that is the “macroscopic circulation” in our discussion of the curl and its subtleties. Three of the four fundamental theorems of vector calculus involve circulation. The link between the “microscopic ciculation” of the curl and this circulation form the basis of Green’s theorem and Stokes’ theorem. Lack of circulation can be thought of as the defining proporty of conservative vector fields.