In the theory of partial differential equations, a partial differential operator P{\displaystyle P} defined on an open subset
is called hypoelliptic if for every distribution u{\displaystyle u} defined on an open subset V⊂U{\displaystyle V\subset U} such that Pu{\displaystyle Pu} is C∞{\displaystyle C^{\infty }} (smooth), u{\displaystyle u} must also be C∞{\displaystyle C^{\infty }}.