In mathematics, the Hessian matrix or Hessian is a square matrix of second-order partial derivatives of a scalar-valued function, or scalar field. It describes the local curvature of a function of many variables. The Hessian matrix was developed in the 19th century by the German mathematician Ludwig Otto Hesse and later named after him. Hesse originally used the term 'functional determinants'. In mathematics, the Hessian matrix or Hessian is a square matrix of second-order partial derivatives of a scalar-valued function, or scalar field. It describes the local curvature of a function of many variables. The Hessian matrix was developed in the 19th century by the German mathematician Ludwig Otto Hesse and later named after him. Hesse originally used the term 'functional determinants'. Suppose f : ℝn → ℝ is a function taking as input a vector x ∈ ℝn and outputting a scalar f(x) ∈ ℝ; if all second partial derivatives of f exist and are continuous over the domain of the function, then the Hessian matrix H of f is a square n×n matrix, usually defined and arranged as follows: