Implicitly defined function
A function specified indirectly by an equation involving its inputs and outputs
Let be a function on a subset of . A function , where , is implicitly defined by
on if for every .
Remarks
An equation need not determine uniquely or even determine it at all. The implicit function theorem gives local existence and uniqueness near a solution when is continuously differentiable and the derivative with respect to is invertible there.
Examples
- The equation implicitly defines near , and near .
- The equation implicitly defines as a function of on all of .