, k* P# e* f. M, n- ?In mathematics, a functional is traditionally a map from a vector space to the field underlying the vector space, which is usually the real numbers. In other words, it is a function that takes a vector as its argument or input and returns a scalar. Its use goes back to the calculus of variations where one searches for a function which minimizes a certain functional. A particularly important application in physics is to search for a state of a system which minimizes the energy functional.( g* Q$ O$ }- ?8 f( J
In functional analysis, the functional is also used in a broader sense as a mapping from an arbitrary vector space into the underlying scalar field (usually, real or complex numbers). A special kind of such functionals, linear functionals, gives rise to the study of dual spaces.' f# _7 x% V3 ?4 s
Transformations of functions is a somewhat more general concept, see operator.