In
vector calculus a
conservative vector field is a
vector field that is the
gradient of some
function, known in this context as a
scalar potential.
[1] Conservative vector fields have the property that the
line integral is path independent, i.e. the choice of integration path between any point and another does not change the result. Path independence of a line integral is equivalent to the vector field being conservative. A conservative vector field is also
irrotational; in three dimensions this means that it has vanishing
curl. An irrotational vector field is necessarily conservative provided that the domain is
simply connected.
Conservative vector fields appear naturally in
mechanics: they are vector fields representing
forces of
physical systems in which
energy is
conserved.
[2] For a conservative system, the
work done in moving along a path in configuration space depends only on the endpoints of the path, so it is possible to define a
potential energy independently of the path taken.