stationary point
Noun
Meaning
stationary point (plural stationary points)
(mathematics) A point on a curve where the gradient is zero. This point can be a maximum, a minimum, or a point of inflection.
Examples
A local (energy) minimum is a stationary point where all such displacements lead to an increase in energy.
A stationary point is a geometry such that the derivative of the energy with respect to all displacements of the nuclei is zero.
If more than one eigenvalue is negative, then the stationary point is a more complex one, and is usually of little interest.
The point (0,0) is a stationary point of the potential flow, with six streamlines meeting, and six equipotentials also meeting and bisecting the angles formed by the streamlines.
If the eigenvalues are all positive, then the frequencies are all real and the stationary point is a local minimum.
For theories obtained by quantization of a classical theory, each stationary point of the energy in the configuration space gives rise to a single vacuum.