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\nabla is the inverted delta used for gradient, divergence and curl. The three operations are spelt with the same symbol plus a dot, a cross, or nothing. \operatorname{grad}, \operatorname{div} and \operatorname{curl} give the upright word forms.
All ways to write it
| Command | Use | Package | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
\nabla | nabla / del | none | |
\nabla f | gradient | none | |
\nabla \cdot \mathbf{F} | divergence | none | |
\nabla \times \mathbf{F} | curl | none | |
\nabla^2 | Laplacian | none | |
\operatorname{grad} f | upright word form | none |
Example
\nabla \cdot \mathbf{E} = \frac{\rho}{\varepsilon_0}Gauss's law, with divergence written as ∇·.
Questions
Is \nabla bold for vector fields?
Some physics styles bold it: \boldsymbol{\nabla}. Most mathematics writing leaves it upright and plain.
Related symbols
- Laplacian ∆
\Delta - Partial derivative ∂
\partial - Cross product ×
\times - Delta Δ
\delta
Using nabla (gradient) in Confluence
Confluence Cloud has no built-in LaTeX. With LaTeX Math for Confluence you add a math macro to any page, type \nabla and it renders inline or as a block, with a live preview while you edit. Every command on this page renders there without extra packages.