# Derivation (differential algebra)

In mathematics, a derivation is a function on an algebra that generalizes certain features of the derivative operator. Specifically, given an algebra A over a ring or a field K, a K-derivation is a K-linear map D : A → A that satisfies Leibniz's law:
    $D(ab)=aD(b)+D(a)b.$
More generally, if M is an A-bimodule, a K-linear map D : A → M that satisfies the Leibniz law is also called a derivation. The collection of all K-derivations of A to itself is denoted by Der$_K$(A). The collection of K-derivations of A into an A-module M is denoted by Der$_K$(A, M).
Derivations occur in many different contexts in diverse areas of mathematics. The partial derivative with respect to a variable is an R-derivation on the algebra of real-valued differentiable functions on R$^n$. The Lie derivative with respect to a vector field is an R-derivation on the algebra of differentiable functions on a differentiable manifold; more generally it is a derivation on the tensor algebra of a manifold. It follows that the adjoint representation of a Lie algebra is a derivation on that algebra. The Pincherle derivative is an example of a derivation in abstract algebra. If the algebra A is noncommutative, then the commutator with respect to an element of the algebra A defines a linear endomorphism of A to itself, which is a derivation over K. That is,
    $[FG,N]=[F,N]G+F[G,N],$
where $[\cdot ,N]$ is the commutator with respect to $N$. An algebra A equipped with a distinguished derivation d forms a differential algebra, and is itself a significant object of study in areas such as differential Galois theory.

## Properties

If A is a K-algebra, for K a ring, and D: A → A is a K-derivation, then
* If A has a unit 1, then D(1) = D(1$^2$) = 2D(1), so that D(1) = 0. Thus by K-linearity, D(k) = 0 for all k ∈ K.
* If A is commutative, D(x$^2$) = xD(x) + D(x)x = 2xD(x), and D(x$^n$) = nx$^{n−1}$D(x), by the Leibniz rule.
* More generally, for any x$_1$, x$_2$, …, x$_n$ ∈ A, it follows by induction that
    $D(x_{1}x_{2}\cdots x_{n})=\sum _{i}x_{1}\cdots x_{i-1}D(x_{i})x_{i+1}\cdots x_{n}$
    which is ∑$_i$D(x$_i$)∏$_{j≠i}$x$_j${\textstyle \sum _{i}D(x_{i})\prod _{j\neq i}x_{j}} if for all i, D(x$_i$) commutes with $x_{1},x_{2},\ldots ,x_{i-1}$.
* For n > 1, D$^n$ is not a derivation, instead satisfying a higher-order Leibniz rule:
       $D^{n}(uv)=\sum _{k=0}^{n}{\binom {n}{k}}\cdot D^{n-k}(u)\cdot D^{k}(v).$
    Moreover, if M is an A-bimodule, write
       $\operatorname {Der} _{K}(A,M)$
    for the set of K-derivations from A to M.
* Der$_K$(A, M) is a module over K.
* Der$_K$(A) is a Lie algebra with Lie bracket defined by the commutator:
       $[D_{1},D_{2}]=D_{1}\circ D_{2}-D_{2}\circ D_{1}.$
    since it is readily verified that the commutator of two derivations is again a derivation.
* There is an A-module Ω$_{A/K}$ (called the Kähler differentials) with a K-derivation d: A → Ω$_{A/K}$ through which any derivation D: A → M factors. That is, for any derivation D there is a A-module map φ with
       $D:A{\stackrel {d}{\longrightarrow }}\Omega _{A/K}{\stackrel {\varphi }{\longrightarrow }}M$
    The correspondence $D\leftrightarrow \varphi$ is an isomorphism of A-modules:
       $\operatorname {Der} _{K}(A,M)\simeq \operatorname {Hom} _{A}(\Omega _{A/K},M)$
* If k ⊂ K is a subring, then A inherits a k-algebra structure, so there is an inclusion
       $\operatorname {Der} _{K}(A,M)\subset \operatorname {Der} _{k}(A,M),$
    since any K-derivation is a fortiori a k-derivation.

## Graded derivations

Given a graded algebra A and a homogeneous linear map D of grade |D| on A, D is a homogeneous derivation if
    ${D(ab)=D(a)b+\varepsilon ^{|a||D|}aD(b)}$
for every homogeneous element a and every element b of A for a commutator factor ε = ±1. A graded derivation is sum of homogeneous derivations with the same ε.
If ε = 1, this definition reduces to the usual case. If ε = −1, however, then
    ${D(ab)=D(a)b+(-1)^{|a||D|}aD(b)}$
for odd |D|, and D is called an anti-derivation.
Examples of anti-derivations include the exterior derivative and the interior product acting on differential forms.
Graded derivations of superalgebras (i.e. Z$_2$-graded algebras) are often called superderivations.

## Related notions

Hasse–Schmidt derivations are K-algebra homomorphisms
    $A\to A[[t]].$
Composing further with the map that sends a formal power series $\sum a_{n}t^{n}$ to the coefficient $a_{1}$ gives a derivation.