Saddle point equilibrium

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created: 2022-07-10 15:58:54
modified: 2022-07-10 16:05:41

A saddle point is an equilibrium point for which the second derivative of the potential energy vanishes:

Higher order derivatives have to be examined in this case to determine stability.

In multiple dimensions, this means that the expression

can be either positive or negative, depending on the directions .

There are some directions for which , vanishes.