The exterior derivative and the mean value equality in $\mathbb{R}^n$
Abstract
This survey revisits classical results in vector calculus and analysis by exploring a generalised perspective on the exterior derivative, interpreting it as a measure of "infinitesimal flux". This viewpoint leads to a higher-dimensional analogue of the Mean Value Theorem, valid for differential -forms, and provides a natural formulation of Stokes' theorem that mirrors the exact hypotheses of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus -- without requiring full smoothness of the differential form. As a numerical application, we propose an algorithm for exterior differentiation in that relies solely on black-box access to the differential form, offering a practical tool for computation without the need for mesh discretization or explicit symbolic expressions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.00999,
title = {The exterior derivative and the mean value equality in $\mathbb{R}^n$},
author = {Daniel Fadel and Henrique N. Sá Earp and Tomás S. R. Silva},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.00999},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
27 pages. Accepted for publication in the S\~ao Paulo Journal of Mathematical Sciences. Final version, incorporating minor revisions and expository improvements