Universality of the Divergence

Lei Ni; Yijian Zhang

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arXiv · 2511.01341

Universality of the Divergence

Lei Ni·Yijian Zhang

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Abstract

Algebraists asked whether or not an operator on the module of smooth sections of the tangent bundle over the commutative ring of smooth functions of a smooth (orientable) manifold (can be any piece of a compact or a complete manifold) can be characterized by two axioms. In this note we confirm this for any smooth manifold M under the assumption that H^1(M, R) = {0}.

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Lei Ni, Yijian Zhang. 2025-11-03. Universality of the Divergence. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.01341

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