List of Mathematical Symbols Rendered

List of mathematical symbols

This is a listing of common symbols found within all branches of mathematics. Each symbol is listed in both HTML,
which depends on appropriate fonts being installed, and in TeX, as an image.
This list is incomplete.
Symbols
SymbolSymbolName
in
in
HTML TeX
Explanation
Examples
Read as
Category
equality
is equal to; equals
x= y means x and y represent the same thing

or value.
2= 2
1+ 1= 2
everywhere
inequality
x y means that x and y do not represent the 2 + 2 5

same thing or value.
(The forms !=, /= or <> are generally used in
programming languages where ease of
everywhere
typing and use of ASCII text is preferred.)
<
>
strict inequality
is not equal to; does not

equal
is less than, is greater than
x< y means x is less than y.

x> y means x is greater than y.
3< 4
5> 4
H< G means H is a proper subgroup of G.
5Z< Z
A3 < S3
x y means x is much less than y.

x y means x is much greater than y.
0.003 1000000
order theory
proper subgroup
is a proper subgroup of
group theory
(very) strict inequality

is much less than, is much
greater than
order theory
asymptotic comparison
f g means the growth of f is

x ex
asymptotically
bounded
by
g.
is of smaller order than, is
(This is I. M. Vinogradov's notation. Another
of greater order than
notation is the Big O notation, which looks
analytic number theory
like f= O(g).)
inequality
x y means x is less than or equal to y.

x y means x is greater than or equal to y.
(The forms <= and >= are generally used in
programming languages where ease of
order theory
is less than or equal to, is

greater than or equal to
subgroup
34 and 55
54 and 55
H G means H is a subgroup of G.
Z Z
A3 S3
A B means the problem A can be reduced

to the problem B. Subscripts can be added to
the to indicate what kind of reduction.
If
is a subgroup of
group theory
reduction
is reducible to
computational complexity
theory
then
Karp reduction
L1 L2 means that the problem L1 is Karp

[1]
is Karp reducible to; is
reducible to L2.
polynomial-time many-one
reducible to
If L1 L2 and L2 P, then L1 P.
theory
proportionality
y x means that y = kx for some constant k.
if y = 2x, then y x.
A B means the problem A can be

polynomially reduced to the problem B.
If L1 L2 and L2 P, then L1 P.
4 + 6 means the sum of 4 and 6.
2+7=9
is proportional to; varies as

everywhere
[2]
Karp reduction
is Karp reducible to; is

polynomial-time many-one
reducible to
theory
addition
plus; add
arithmetic
disjoint union
A1 + A2 means the disjoint union of sets A1

the disjoint union of ... and and A2.
...
A1 = {3, 4, 5, 6} A2 = {7, 8, 9, 10}

A1 + A2 = {(3,1), (4,1), (5,1), (6,1), (7,2), (8,2), (9,2), (10,2)}
set theory
subtraction
9 4 means the subtraction of 4 from 9.
83=5
3 means the negative of the number 3.
(5) = 5
minus; take; subtract

arithmetic
negative sign
negative; minus; the
opposite of
arithmetic
set-theoretic complement
AB means the set that contains all the

elements of A that are not in B.
( can also be used for set-theoretic
set theory
complement as described below.)
minus; without
{1,2,4}{1,3,4}= {2}
multiplication
3
3 4 means the multiplication of 3 by 4.
(The symbol * is generally used in
programming languages, where ease of
arithmetic
7 8 = 56
times; multiplied by
Cartesian product
XY means the set of all ordered pairs with

{1,2} {3,4} = {(1,3),(1,4),(2,3),(2,4)}
the
first
element
of
each
pair
selected
from
X
the Cartesian product of ...
and ...; the direct product of and the second element selected from Y.
... and ...
set theory
cross product
u v means the cross product of vectors u

and v
cross
(1,2,5) (3,4,1) =
(22, 16, 2)
linear algebra
group of units
R consists of the set of units of the ring R,

the group of units of
along with the operation of multiplication.
ring theory This may also be written R* as described
below, or U(R).
multiplication
3 4 means the multiplication of 3 by 4.
7 8 = 56
u v means the dot product of vectors u and

v
(1,2,5) (3,4,1) = 6
6 3 or 6 3 means the division of 6 by 3.
2 4 = 0.5
12 4 = 3
arithmetic
dot product
dot
linear algebra
division (Obelus)
divided by; over
arithmetic
quotient group
G/H means the quotient of group G modulo {0, a, 2a, b, b+a, b+2a}/{0, b}= {{0, b}, {a, b+a}, {2a, b+2a}}
its subgroup H.
mod
group theory
quotient set
mod
A/~ means the set of all ~ equivalence

classes in A.
If we define ~ by x~y xy , then

/~= {x+n: n: x(0,1]}
6 3 means both 6 + 3 and 6 3.
The equation x = 5 4, has two solutions, x = 7 and x = 3.
10 2 or equivalently 10 20% means the

range from 10 2 to 10 + 2.
If a = 100 1 mm, then a 99 mm and a 101 mm.
6 (3 5) means both 6 + (3 5) and 6

(3 + 5).
cos(x y) = cos(x) cos(y) sin(x) sin(y).
set theory
plus-minus
plus or minus
arithmetic
plus-minus
plus or minus
measurement
minus-plus
minus or plus
arithmetic
square root
means the nonnegative number whose
the (principal) square root

of
square is
real numbers
complex square root
the (complex) square root
of
if
is represented in polar
coordinates with
, then
.
complex numbers
||
absolute value or modulus
|x| means the distance along the real line (or

absolute value of; modulus across the complex plane) between x and
zero.
of
numbers
Euclidean norm or
Euclidean length or
magnitude
|x| means the (Euclidean) length of vector x.
|3|= 3
|5|= |5|= 5
|i| = 1
|3 + 4i|= 5
For x= (3,-4)
Euclidean norm of
geometry
determinant
|A| means the determinant of the matrix A
determinant of
matrix theory
cardinality
|X| means the cardinality of the set X.

cardinality of; size of; order (# may be used instead as described below.)
of
|{3, 5, 7, 9}|= 4.
set theory
||||
norm
norm of; length of
||x|| means the norm of the element x of a

[3]
normed vector space.
||x + y|| ||x|| + ||y||
||x|| means the nearest integer to x.

(This may also be written [x], x, nint(x) or
Round(x).)
||1|| = 1, ||1.6|| = 2, ||2.4|| = 2, ||3.49|| = 3
linear algebra
nearest integer function
nearest integer to
numbers
divisor, divides
a|b means a divides b.

Since 15 = 35, it is true that 3|15 and 5|15.
ab means a does not divide b.
(This symbol can be difficult to type, and its
number theory
negation is rare, so a regular but slightly
shorter vertical bar | character can be used.)
divides
conditional probability
given
P(A|B) means the probability of the event a

occurring given that b occurs.
if X is a uniformly random day of the year P(X is May 25 | X is

in May) = 1/31
f|A means the function f restricted to the set

A, that is, it is the function with domain
Adom(f) that agrees with f.
The function f:RR defined by f(x)= x2 is not injective, but

f|R+ is injective.
| means such that, see ":" (described

below).
S = {(x,y) | 0 < y < f(x)}

The set of (x,y) such that y is greater than 0 and less than f(x).
probability
restriction
restriction of to ;
restricted to
set theory
such that
such that; so that
everywhere
||
parallel
x||y means x is parallel to y.
If l||m and mn then ln.
x||y means x is incomparable to y.
{1,2}||{2,3} under set containment.
pa||n means pa exactly divides n (i.e. pa

divides n but pa+1 does not).
23||360.
is parallel to
geometry
incomparability
is incomparable to
order theory
exact divisibility
exactly divides
number theory
cardinality
#X means the cardinality of the set X.

cardinality of; size of; order (|| may be used instead as described
above.)
of
#{4, 6, 8}= 3
set theory
connected sum
connected sum of; knot
sum of; knot composition
of
A#B is the connected sum of the manifolds A A#Sm is homeomorphic to A, for any manifold A, and the sphere
and B. If A and B are knots, then this denotes Sm.
the knot sum, which has a slightly stronger
condition.
topology, knot theory
aleph number
aleph
set theory
beth number
beth
set theory
cardinality of the
continuum
represents an infinite cardinality

(specifically, the -th one, where is an
ordinal).
represents an infinite cardinality (similar
to , but does not necessarily index all of
the numbers indexed by . ).
The cardinality of
cardinality of the
continuum; cardinality of
the real numbers; c;
|| = 0, which is called aleph-null.
is denoted by
or
by the symbol (a lowercase Fraktur letter

C).
set theory
such that
such that; so that
: means such that, and is used in proofs and n : n is even.

the set-builder notation (described below).
everywhere
field extension
extends; over
K : F means the field K extends the field F.

This may also be written as K F.
field theory
inner product of matrices
A : B means the Frobenius inner product of

the matrices A and B.
The general inner product is denoted by
linear algebra
u,v, u|v or (u|v), as described below.
For spatial vectors, the dot product notation,
xy is common. See also Bra-ket notation.
inner product of
index of a subgroup
The index of a subgroup H in a group G is

the "relative size" of H in G: equivalently,
index of subgroup
the number of "copies" (cosets) of H that fill
group theory
up G
factorial
n! means the product 1 2 ... n.
4! = 1 2 3 4 = 24
factorial
combinatorics
logical negation
The statement !A is true if and only if A is

false.
A slash placed through another operator is
propositional logic
the same as "!" placed in front.
(The symbol ! is primarily from computer
science. It is avoided in mathematical texts,
where the notation A is preferred.)
not
probability distribution
has distribution
X ~ D, means the random variable X has the

probability distribution D.
!(!A)A
xy !(x=y)
X ~ N(0,1), the standard normal distribution
statistics
row equivalence
is row equivalent to
A~B means that B can be generated by using

a series of elementary row operations on A
matrix theory
same order of magnitude
roughly similar; poorly
approximates
approximation theory
asymptotically equivalent
is asymptotically equivalent
to
m~n means the quantities m and n have the

same order of magnitude, or general size.
(Note that ~ is used for an approximation
that is poor, otherwise use .)
f~g means
2~5
89~ 100
but 2 10
x~x+1
asymptotic analysis
equivalence relation
are in the same equivalence
class
a~b means
(and equivalently
1~5 mod 4
).
everywhere
approximately equal
xy means x is approximately equal to y.
3.14159
is approximately equal to
everywhere
isomorphism
GH means that group G is isomorphic

(structurally identical) to group H.
is isomorphic to
( can also be used for isomorphic, as
group theory
described below.)
AH means the wreath product of the group

wreath product of by A by the group H.
This may also be written Awr H.
group theory
Q/{1,1} V,
where Q is the quaternion group and V is the Klein four-group.
wreath product
normal subgroup
is a normal subgroup of
is isomorphic to the automorphism group of the

complete bipartite graph on (n,n) vertices.
NG means that N is a normal subgroup of Z(G)G

group G.
group theory
ideal
IR means that I is an ideal of ring R.
(2)Z
is an ideal of
ring theory
antijoin
RS means the antijoin of the relations R

R
and S, the tuples in R for which there is not a
tuple in S that is equal on their common
relational algebra
attribute names.
the antijoin of
S=R-R
semidirect product
N H is the semidirect product of N (a

normal subgroup) and H (a subgroup), with
respect to . Also, if G= N H, then G is
group theory
said to split over N.
( may also be written the other way round,
as , or as .)
the semidirect product of
semijoin
R S is the semijoin of the relations R and S, R

the set of all tuples in R for which there is a
the semijoin of
tuple in S that is equal on their common
relational algebra
attribute names.
natural join
therefore
S=
1,..,an(R
S)
R S is the natural join of the relations R

and S, the set of all combinations of tuples in
R and S that are equal on their common
relational algebra
attribute names.
the natural join of
therefore; so; hence
Sometimes used in proofs before logical

consequences.
All humans are mortal. Socrates is a human. Socrates is

mortal.
Sometimes used in proofs before reasoning.
3331 is prime it has no positive integer factors other than itself

and one.
everywhere
because
because; since
everywhere
end of proof
material equivalence
QED; tombstone; Halmos

symbol
Used to mark the end of a proof.

(May also be written Q.E.D.)
everywhere
material implication
A B means if A is true then B is also true; x = 2 x2 = 4 is true, but x2 = 4 x = 2 is in general false

if A is false then nothing is said about B.
(since x could be 2).
propositional logic, ( may mean the same as , or it may have
Heyting algebra the meaning for functions given below.)
[4]
( may mean the same as , or it may
have the meaning for superset given below.)
implies; if then
if and only if; iff
A B means A is true if B is true and A is

false if B is false.
x+ 5= y+ 2 x+ 3= y
propositional logic
logical negation
The statement A is true if and only if A is

false.
not
A slash placed through another operator is
propositional logic
the same as "" placed in front.
(The symbol ~ has many other uses, so or
the slash notation is preferred. Computer
scientists will often use ! but this is avoided
in mathematical texts.)
(A) A
xy (x= y)
logical conjunction or meet The statement A B is true if A and B are

in a lattice
both true; else it is false.
For functions A(x) and B(x), A(x) B(x) is
and; min; meet
used to mean min(A(x), B(x)).
propositional logic, lattice
theory
n< 4 n>2 n= 3 when n is a natural number.
wedge product
u v means the wedge product of vectors u

and v. This generalizes the cross product to
higher dimensions.
3
linear algebra (For vectors in R , can also be used.)
wedge product; exterior

product
exponentiation
a ^ b means a raised to the power of b

(a ^ b is more commonly written ab. The
symbol ^ is generally used in programming
everywhere languages where ease of typing and use of
plain ASCII text is preferred.)
2^3 = 23 = 8
(raised) to the power of
logical disjunction or join

in a lattice
The statement A B is true if A or B (or

n 4 n 2 n 3 when n is a natural number.
both) are true; if both are false, the statement
is false.
or; max; join
For functions A(x) and B(x), A(x) B(x) is
propositional logic, lattice
used to mean max(A(x), B(x)).
theory
exclusive or
xor
propositional logic,
Boolean algebra
The statement A B is true when either A or (A) A is always true, A A is always false.
B, but not both, are true. A B means the
same.
direct sum
The direct sum is a special way of

Most commonly, for vector spaces U, V, and W, the following
combining
several
objects
into
one
general
consequence is used:
direct sum of
object.
U = V W (U = V + W) (V W = {0})
abstract algebra
(The bun symbol , or the coproduct symbol
, is used; is only for logic.)
universal quantification
x: P(x) means P(x) is true for all x.
n: n2 n.
x: P(x) means there is at least one x such

that P(x) is true.
n: n is even.
!x: P(x) means there is exactly one x such

that P(x) is true.
!n: n+ 5= 2n.
for all; for any; for each

predicate logic
existential quantification
there exists; there is; there
are
predicate logic
uniqueness quantification
there exists exactly one
predicate logic
=:
:=
definition
x:= y, y=: x or x y means x is defined to

be another name for y, under certain
assumptions taken in context.
(Some writers use to mean congruence).
everywhere
P: Q means P is defined to be logically
equivalent to Q.
is defined as; is equal by

definition to
congruence
is congruent to
geometry
isomorphic
ABC DEF means triangle ABC is

congruent to (has the same measurements as)
triangle DEF.
GH means that group G is isomorphic

(structurally identical) to group H.
( can also be used for isomorphic, as
abstract algebra
described above.)
is isomorphic to
congruence relation
a b (mod n) means a b is divisible by n
5 2 (mod 3)
{a,b,c} means the set consisting of a, b, and

[5]
c.
= {1, 2, 3, }
... is congruent to ...

modulo ...
modular arithmetic
{,}
set brackets
the set of
set theory
{:}
{|}
{}
set builder notation
{x: P(x)} means the set of all x for which

[5]
the set of such that
P(x) is true. {x| P(x)} is the same as {x:
set theory P(x)}.
[5]
empty set
the empty set
means the set with no elements.

means the same.
{}
{n: n2<20}= {1, 2, 3, 4}
{n: 1<n2<4}=
set theory
set membership
is an element of; is not an
element of
[5]
a S means a is an element of the set S;
[5]
a S means a is not an element of S.
(1/2)1
21
everywhere, set theory
subset
superset
set-theoretic union
(subset) AB means every element of A is

[6]
is a subset of
also an element of B.
set theory (proper subset) AB means AB but
AB.
(Some writers use the symbol as if it were
the same as .)
AB means every element of B is also an
element of A.
AB means AB but AB.
set theory
(Some writers use the symbol as if it were
the same as .)
is a superset of
the union of or ;
union
(AB)A
(AB)B
AB means the set of those elements which AB (AB)=B

[6]
are either in A, or in B, or in both.
set theory
set-theoretic intersection
intersected with; intersect
AB means the set that contains all those

[6]
elements that A and B have in common.
{x: x2= 1}= {1}
set theory
symmetric difference
A B means the set of elements in exactly

one of A or B.
symmetric difference
(Not to be confused with delta, , described
set theory
below.)
{1,5,6,8} {2,5,8} = {1,2,6}
10
set-theoretic complement
AB means the set that contains all those

[6]
elements of A that are not in B.
set theory ( can also be used for set-theoretic
complement as described above.)
{1,2,3,4}{3,4,5,6}= {1,2}
minus; without
function arrow
f:X Y means the function f maps the set X Let f:{0} be defined by f(x):= x2.
into the set Y.
from to
set theory, type theory
function arrow
maps to
f:a b means the function f maps the

element a to the element b.
Let f:xx+1 (the successor function).
fg is the function, such that (fg)(x) =

[7]
f(g(x)).
if f(x) := 2x, and g(x) := x + 3, then (fg)(x) = 2(x + 3).
set theory
function composition
composed with
set theory
Z
n
p
Zn
Zp
natural numbers
N means either {0, 1, 2, 3, ...} or {1, 2, 3,

= {|a|: a } or = {|a|>0: a }
...}.
N; the (set of) natural
The choice depends on the area of
numbers
mathematics being studied; e.g. number
numbers
theorists prefer the latter; analysts, set
theorists and computer scientists prefer the
former. To avoid confusion, always check an
author's definition of N.
Set theorists often use the notation (for
least infinite ordinal) to denote the set of
natural numbers (including zero), along with
the standard ordering relation .
integers
means {..., 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}. + or

> means {1, 2, 3, ...}. * or means {0, 1,
numbers 2, 3, ...}.
= {p,p: p {0} }
Z; the (set of) integers
integers mod n
n means {[0], [1], [2], ...[n1]} with

3= {[0], [1], [2]}
addition and multiplication modulo n.
Note that any letter may be used instead of n,
such as p. To avoid confusion with p-adic
numbers
numbers, use /p or /(p) instead.
Zn; the (set of) integers

modulo n
p-adic integers
the (set of) p-adic integers
Note that any letter may be used instead of p,

such as n or l.
numbers
projective space
means a space with a point at infinity.
P; the projective space, the

projective line, the
projective plane
topology
probability
(X) means the probability of the event X

If a fair coin is flipped, (Heads)= (Tails)= 0.5.
occurring.
the probability of
This may also be written as P(X), Pr(X), P[X]
probability theory
or Pr[X].
rational numbers
means {p/q: p, q}.
Q; the (set of) rational

numbers; the rationals
numbers
3.14000...

11
real numbers
means the set of real numbers.

(1)
means {a+bi: a,b}.
i= (1)
R; the (set of) real numbers;

the reals
numbers
complex numbers
C; the (set of) complex
numbers
numbers
quaternions or Hamiltonian
quaternions
means {a+bi+cj+dk: a,b,c,d}.
H; the (set of) quaternions

numbers
Big O notation
big-oh of
Computational complexity
theory
infinity
infinity
numbers
floor
floor; greatest integer;
entier
numbers
ceiling
ceiling
nearest integer to
degree of a field extension

the degree of
field theory
If f(x) = 6x4 2x3 + 5 and g(x) = x4 , then
is an element of the extended number line

that is greater than all real numbers; it often
occurs in limits.
x means the floor of x, i.e. the largest
integer less than or equal to x.
(This may also be written [x], floor(x) or
int(x).)
x means the ceiling of x, i.e. the smallest

integer greater than or equal to x.
(This may also be written ceil(x) or
numbers
ceiling(x).)
numbers
[:]
The Big O notation describes the limiting

behavior of a function, when the argument
tends towards a particular value or infinity.
x means the nearest integer to x.

(This may also be written [x], ||x||, nint(x) or
Round(x).)
4 = 4, 2.1 = 2, 2.9 = 2, 2.6 = 3
4 = 4, 2.1 = 3, 2.9 = 3, 2.6 = 2
2 = 2, 2.6 = 3, -3.4 = -3, 4.49 = 4
[K : F] means the degree of the extension K : [(2) : ] = 2

F.
[ : ] = 2
[ : ] =
[]
[,]
[,,]
12
equivalence class
[a] means the equivalence class of a, i.e. {x: Let a~ b be true iff a b(mod5). Then [2]= {, 8, 3, 2, 7,
x~ a}, where ~ is an equivalence relation.
}.
[a]R means the same, but with R as the
abstract algebra
equivalence relation.
the equivalence class of
floor
[x] means the floor of x, i.e. the largest

integer less than or equal to x.
floor; greatest integer;
(This may also be written x, floor(x) or
entier
int(x). Not to be confused with the nearest
numbers
integer function, as described below.)
[x] means the nearest integer to x.

(This may also be written x, ||x||, nint(x) or
Round(x). Not to be confused with the floor
numbers
function, as described above.)
[3] = 3, [3.5] = 3, [3.99] = 3, [3.7] = 4
[2] = 2, [2.6] = 3, [-3.4] = -3, [4.49] = 4
nearest integer to
Iverson bracket
1 if true, 0 otherwise
[S] maps a true statement S to 1 and a false

statement S to 0.
[0=5]=0, [7>0]=1, [2{2,3,4}]=1, [5{2,3,4}]=0
propositional logic
image
f[X] means { f(x): x X }, the image of the

function f under the set X dom(f).
image of under
(This may also be written as f(X) if there is
everywhere
no risk of confusing the image of f under X
with the function application f of X. Another
notation is Imf, the image of f under its
domain.)
closed interval
0 and 1/2 are in the interval [0,1].
closed interval
order theory
commutator
[g,h] = g1h1gh (or ghg1h1), if g, h G

(a group).
group theory, ring theory [a,b]= ab ba, if a, b R (a ring or
commutative algebra).
the commutator of
triple scalar product

the triple scalar product of
vector calculus
[a,b,c]= a b c, the scalar product of

ab with c.
xy = x[x,y] (group theory).

[AB,C] = A[B,C]+ [A,C]B (ring theory).
[a,b,c]= [b,c,a]= [c,a,b].
()
(,)
13
function application
of
f(x) means the value of the function f at the

element x.
If f(x):= x2, then f(3)= 32= 9.
set theory
image
f(X) means { f(x): x X }, the image of the

function f under the set X dom(f).
(This may also be written as f[X] if there is a
everywhere
risk of confusing the image of f under X with
the function application f of X. Another
notation is Imf, the image of f under its
domain.)
image of under
combinations
(from) n choose r
means the number of combinations of
combinatorics r elements drawn from a set of n elements.

(This may also be written as nCr.)
precedence grouping
parentheses
Perform the operations inside the

parentheses first.
(8/4)/2= 2/2= 1, but 8/(4/2)= 8/2= 4.
everywhere
tuple
An ordered list (or sequence, or horizontal

vector, or row vector) of values. (Note that
the notation (a,b) is ambiguous: it could be
an ordered pair or an open interval. Set
theorists and computer scientists often use
everywhere
angle brackets instead of parentheses.)
tuple; n-tuple; ordered

pair/triple/etc; row vector;
sequence
highest common factor

highest common factor;
greatest common divisor;
hcf; gcd
(a, b) means the highest common factor of a

and b.
(This may also be written hcf(a, b) or gcd(a,
b).)
(a, b) is an ordered pair (or 2-tuple).

(a, b, c) is an ordered triple (or 3-tuple).
( ) is the empty tuple (or 0-tuple).
(3, 7) = 1 (they are coprime); (15, 25) = 5.
number theory
(,)
],[
open interval
. (Note
4 is not in the interval (4, 18). (0, +) equals the set of positive
that the notation (a,b) is ambiguous: it could real numbers.
open interval
order theory be an ordered pair or an open interval. The
notation ]a,b[ can be used instead.)
(,]
],]
left-open interval
(1, 7] and (, 1]
[4, 18) and [1, +)
half-open interval;
left-open interval
order theory
[,)
[,[
right-open interval
half-open interval;
right-open interval
order theory
inner product
14
u,v means the inner product of u and v,

The standard inner product between two vectors x=(2,3) and
where u and v are members of an inner
y=(1,5) is:
product space.
x,y=21+35= 13
linear algebra
Note that the notation u, v may be
ambiguous: it could mean the inner product
or the linear span.
There are many variants of the notation,
such as u|v and (u|v), which are
described below. For spatial vectors, the dot
product notation, xy is common. For
matrices, the colon notation A:B may be
used. As and can be hard to type, the
more keyboard friendly forms < and > are
sometimes seen. These are avoided in
mathematical texts.
inner product of
average
let S be a subset of N for example,

average of
represents the average of all the element in

statistics S.
for a time series :g(t) (t = 1, 2,...) we can define the structure

functions Sq( ):
linear span
S means the span of S V. That is, it is the

intersection of all subspaces of V which
(linear) span of;
contain S.
linear hull of
u1,u2,is shorthand for {u1,u2,}.
linear algebra
Note that the notation u,v may be
ambiguous: it could mean the inner product
or the linear span.
The span of S may also be written as Sp(S).
subgroup generated by a set
means the smallest subgroup of G
In S3,
and
.
(where S G, a group) containing every

group theory element of S.
is shorthand for
the subgroup generated by
.
tuple
tuple; n-tuple; ordered
pair/triple/etc; row vector;
sequence
An ordered list (or sequence, or horizontal

vector, or row vector) of values. (The
notation (a,b) is often used as well.)
is an ordered pair (or 2-tuple).
is an ordered
triple (or 3-tuple).

is the empty tuple (or 0-tuple).
everywhere
|
(|)
inner product
u|v means the inner product of u and v,

where u and v are members of an inner
[8]
linear algebra product space. (u|v) means the same.
Another variant of the notation is u,v
which is described above. For spatial
vectors, the dot product notation, xy is
common. For matrices, the colon notation
A:B may be used. As and can be hard to
type, the more keyboard friendly forms <
and > are sometimes seen. These are
avoided in mathematical texts.
inner product of
ket vector
the ket ; the vector
| means the vector with label , which is

in a Hilbert space.
Dirac notation
bra vector
the bra ; the dual of
Dirac notation
| means the dual of the vector |, a linear

functional which maps a ket | onto the
inner product |.
A qubit's state can be represented as |0+ |1, where and

are complex numbers s.t. ||2+ ||2= 1.
15
summation
sum over from to
of
means a1+ a2+ + an.
= 12+ 22+ 32+ 42

= 1+ 4+ 9+ 16= 30
arithmetic
product
product over from to
of
means a1a2an.
= (1+2)(2+2)(3+2)(4+2)
= 3 4 5 6= 360
arithmetic
Cartesian product
the Cartesian product of;
the direct product of
means the set of all (n+1)-tuples

(y0, , yn).
set theory
coproduct
derivative
derivative
A general construction which subsumes the

disjoint union of sets and of topological
spaces, the free product of groups, and the
direct sum of modules and vector spaces.
category theory
The coproduct of a family of objects is
essentially the "least specific" object to
which each object in the family admits a
morphism.
coproduct over from

to of
f(x) means the derivative of the function f at If f(x):=x2, then f(x)=2x

the point x, i.e., the slope of the tangent to f
prime;
at x.
derivative of
(The single-quote character ' is sometimes
calculus
used instead, especially in ASCII text.)
means the derivative of x with respect to
dot;
time derivative of
time. That is
If x(t):=t2, then
calculus
indefinite integral or
antiderivative
f(x)dx means a function whose derivative

is f.
x2dx= x3/3 + C
indefinite integral of
the antiderivative of
calculus
definite integral
abf(x)dx means the signed area between

integral from to of the x-axis and the graph of the function f
with respect to
between x= a and x= b.
calculus
line integral
line/path/curve integral of
along
Cfds means the integral of f along the

curve C,
, where r is
a parametrization of C.
calculus (If the curve is closed, the symbol may be
used instead, as described below.)
abx2dx= b3/3 a3/3;
16
Contour integral or closed

line integral
Similar to the integral, but used to denote a

single integration over a closed curve or
loop. It is sometimes used in physics texts
contour integral of
involving equations regarding Gauss's Law,
calculus
and while these formulas involve a closed
surface integral, the representations describe
only the first integration of the volume over
the enclosing surface. Instances where the
latter requires simultaneous double
integration, the symbol would be more
appropriate. A third related symbol is the
closed volume integral, denoted by the
symbol . The contour integral can also
frequently be found with a subscript capital
letter C, C, denoting that a closed loop
integral is, in fact, around a contour C, or
sometimes dually appropriately, a circle C.
In representations of Gauss's Law, a
subscript capital S, S, is used to denote that
the integration is over a closed surface.
gradient
del, nabla, gradient of
f (x1, , xn) is the vector of partial

derivatives (f / x1, , f / xn).
If C is a Jordan curve about 0, then
If f (x,y,z) := 3xy + z, then f=(3y, 3x, 2z)
vector calculus
divergence
If
, then
If
, then
del dot, divergence of

vector calculus
curl
curl of
vector calculus
partial derivative
partial, d
calculus
boundary
f/xi means the partial derivative of f with

respect to xi, where f is a function on (x1, ,
xn).
If f(x,y) := x2y, then f/x = 2xy
M means the boundary of M
{x : ||x|| 2} = {x : ||x|| = 2}
f means the degree of the polynomial f.

(This may also be written deg f.)
(x2 1) = 2
boundary of
topology
degree of a polynomial
degree of
algebra
delta
x means a (non-infinitesimal) change in x.

(If the change becomes infinitesimal, and
even d are used instead. Not to be confused
calculus
with the symmetric difference, written ,
above.)
is the gradient of a straight line
delta; change in
Laplacian
Laplace operator
vector calculus
The Laplace operator is a second order

differential operator in n-dimensional
Euclidean space
If is a twice-differentiable real-valued function, then the

Laplacian of is defined by
17
Dirac delta function
(x)
Dirac delta of
hyperfunction
Kronecker delta
ij
Kronecker delta of
hyperfunction
projection
restricts
Projection of
to the
attribute set.
relational algebra
Pi
3.1415926_ or 227
selection
Used in various formulas involving circles;

is equivalent to the amount of area a circle
would take up in a square of equal width
with an area of 4 square units, roughly
3.14/4. It is also the ratio of the
circumference to the diameter of a circle.
The selection
tuples in
and the
relational algebra
Selection of
selects all those
for which holds between the

attribute. The selection
selects all those tuples in
for
which holds between the

the value .
<:
<
cover
A=R2=314.16R=10
attribute and
x<y means that x is covered by y.
{1,8}<{1,3,8} among the subsets of {1,2,,10} ordered by

containment.
T1<:T2 means that T1 is a subtype of T2.
If S<:T and T<:U then S<:U (transitivity).
is covered by
order theory
subtype
is a subtype of
type theory
conjugate transpose
A means the transpose of the complex

[9]
conjugate transpose;
conjugate of A.
Hermitian
This may also be written A*T, AT*, A*, AT or
adjoint/conjugate/transpose; AT.
adjoint
If A = (aij) then A = (aji).
matrix operations
transpose
top element
AT means A, but with its rows swapped for

columns.
' t
tr
matrix operations This may also be written A , A or A .
transpose
If A = (aij) then AT = (aji).
means the largest element of a lattice.
x: x=
means the top or universal type; every

type in the type system of interest is a
subtype of top.
types T, T <:
the top element

lattice theory
top type
the top type; top
type theory
18
perpendicular
is perpendicular to
xy means x is perpendicular to y; or more

generally x is orthogonal to y.
If lm and mn in the plane then l||n.
geometry
orthogonal complement
W means the orthogonal complement of W

(where W is a subspace of the inner product
space V), the set of all vectors in V
linear algebra orthogonal to every vector in W.
Within
orthogonal/perpendicular
complement of; perp
coprime
is coprime to
xy means x has no factor greater than 1 in

common with y.
34 55.
number theory
independent
is independent of
AB means A is an event whose probability If AB, then P(A|B) = P(A).

is independent of event B.
probability
bottom element
means the smallest element of a lattice.
x: x=
the bottom element

lattice theory
bottom type
the bottom type; bot
type theory
comparability
means the bottom type (a.k.a. the zero type types T, <: T
or empty type); bottom is the subtype of
every type in the type system.
x y means that x is comparable to y.
{e,}{1,2,e,3,} under set containment.
is comparable to
order theory
entailment
entails
model theory
inference
AB means the sentence A entails the

AAA
sentence B, that is in every model in which A
is true, B is also true.
xy means y is derivable from x.
AB BA.
infers; is derived from

propositional logic,
predicate logic
partition
pn means that p is a partition of n.
(4,3,1,1) 9,
is a partition of
number theory
tensor product, tensor

product of modules
tensor product of
linear algebra
[10]
U.
means the tensor product of V and

means the tensor product
of modules V and U over the ring R.
{1, 2, 3, 4}{1, 1, 2}=
multiplication
19
a*b means the product of a and b.
(Multiplication can also be denoted with
or , or even simple juxtaposition. * is
arithmetic
generally used where ease of typing and use
of ASCII text is preferred, such as
programming languages.)
4 * 3 means the product of 4 and 3, or 12.
convolution
f*g means the convolution of f and g.
convolution, convolved
with
functional analysis
complex conjugate
conjugate
complex numbers
group of units
z* means the complex conjugate of z.

( can also be used for the conjugate of z,
as described below.)
R* consists of the set of units of the ring R,

along with the operation of multiplication.
ring theory This may also be written R as described

above, or U(R).
the group of units of
hyperreal numbers
the (set of) hyperreals
*R means the set of hyperreal numbers.

Other sets can be used in place of R.
*N is the hypernatural numbers.
non-standard analysis
Hodge dual
*v means the Hodge dual of a vector v. If v is If

a k-vector within an n-dimensional oriented
inner product space, then *v is an
linear algebra
(nk)-vector.
are the standard basis vectors of
Hodge dual, Hodge star
Hadamard product
entrywise product
linear algebra
For two matrices (or vectors) of the same

dimensions
the Hadamard
product is a matrix of the same dimensions
with elements given by
. This is
often used in matrix based programming
such as MATLAB where the operation is
done by A.*B
mean
overbar, bar
(often read as x bar) is the mean

(average value of
).
statistics
complex conjugate
conjugate
complex numbers
algebraic closure
means the complex conjugate of z.

(z* can also be used for the conjugate of z,
as described above.)
is the algebraic closure of the field F.
The field of algebraic numbers is sometimes denoted as

because it is the algebraic closure of the rational numbers
algebraic closure of
field theory
topological closure
is the topological closure of the set S.
(topological) closure of
topology
This may also be denoted as cl(S) or Cl(S).
In the space of the real numbers,

are dense in the real numbers).
(the rational numbers
Variations
In mathematics written in Arabic, some symbols may be reversed to make right-to-left(boustrophedon) writing and
reading easier. [11]
References
[1] Rnyai, Lajos (1998), Algoritmusok(Algorithms), TYPOTEX, ISBN963-9132-16-0
[2] Berman, Kenneth A; Paul, Jerome L. (2005), Algorithms: Sequential, Parallel, and Distributed, Boston: Course Technology, p.822,
ISBN0-534-42057-5
[3] Nielsen, Michael A; Chuang, Isaac L (2000), Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, New York: Cambridge University Press,
p.66, ISBN0-521-63503-9, OCLC43641333
[4] Copi, Irving M.; Cohen, Carl (1990) [1953], "Chapter 8.3: Conditional Statements and Material Implication", Introduction to Logic (8th ed.),
New York: Macmillan, pp.268269, ISBN0023250356, LCCN89-37742
[5] Goldrei, Derek (1996), Classic Set Theory, London: Chapman and Hall, p.3, ISBN0-412-60610-0
p.62, ISBN0-521-63503-9, OCLC43641333
pp.6970, ISBN0-521-63503-9, OCLC43641333
pp.7172, ISBN0-521-63503-9, OCLC43641333
[11] M. Benatia, A. Lazrik, and K. Sami, " Arabic mathematical symbols in Unicode (http:/ / www. ucam. ac. ma/ fssm/ rydarab/ doc/ expose/
unicodeme. pdf)", 27th Internationalization and Unicode Conference, 2005.
External links
The complete set of mathematics Unicode characters (http://krestavilis.com/math.php)

Jeff Miller: Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols (http://jeff560.tripod.com/mathsym.html)
Numericana: Scientific Symbols and Icons (http://www.numericana.com/answer/symbol.htm)
TCAEP - Institute of Physics (http://www.tcaep.co.uk/science/symbols/maths.htm)
GIF and PNG Images for Math Symbols (http://us.metamath.org/symbols/symbols.html)
Mathematical Symbols in Unicode (http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/international/bylanguage/math.
html#browsers)
Using Greek and special characters from Symbol font in HTML (http://www.alanwood.net/demos/symbol.
html)
Unicode Math Symbols (http://www.vex.net/~trebla/symbols/select.html) - a quick form for using unicode
math symbols.
DeTeXify handwritten symbol recognition (http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.html) doodle a symbol in
the box, and the program will tell you what its name is
Some Unicode charts of mathematical operators:
Index of Unicode symbols (http://www.unicode.org/charts/#symbols)

Range 2100 214F: Letterlike Symbols (http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2100.pdf)
Range 2190 21FF: Arrows (http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2190.pdf)
Range 2200 22FF: Unicode Mathematical Operators (http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2200.pdf)
Some Unicode cross-references:

Short list of commonly used LaTeX symbols (http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Wiki/index.php/
LaTeX:Symbols) and Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List (http://mirrors.med.harvard.edu/ctan/info/
symbols/comprehensive/)
MathML Characters (http://www.robinlionheart.com/stds/html4/entities-mathml) - sorts out Unicode, HTML
and MathML/TeX names on one page
20

Unicode values and MathML names (http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-MathML/chap6/bycodes.html)
Unicode values and Postscript names (http://svn.ghostscript.com/ghostscript/branches/gs-db/Resource/
Decoding/Unicode) from the source code for Ghostscript
21
Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors

List of mathematical symbols Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=441263636 Contributors: 12jbooher, ABCD, AK Auto, Acroterion, Agent Foxtrot, Alan Liefting, Alex43223,
Alison22, Alksentrs, Alpharigel, Ancheta Wis, AndrewHowse, Anomalocaris, Anonymous Dissident, ArnoldReinhold, Ashleycocks, AugPi, Avraham, AxelBoldt, BAxelrod, Bart133,
Belovedfreak, BenFrantzDale, BenKovitz, Berteun, BiT, Bkell, Bkkbrad, Blokkendoos, Bonus Onus, Boud, Bryan Derksen, Btipling, Bwholm, CBM, CRGreathouse, Calrfa Wn, Camembert,
CanisRufus, Capitalist, Charles Matthews, Church of emacs, ColinHelvensteijn, Computer97, Corti, Courcelles, DA3N, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DRLB, Daniel Brockman, Dave R Barton, David
Shay, David spector, DavidHouse, Deagle AP, Decltype, Dicklyon, Dominus, DonkeyKong64, Dysprosia, EagleFan, Eclecticology, Efnar, Elano, Epbr123, Erik Postma, Estel, Fixblor, Flinx,
Fredrik, Furrykef, G716, Giftlite, Gowdasathish, Gregbard, Gremagor, Greswik, Gurch, H2g2bob, Hbent, Hekerui, Hoot, Hu12, Hult041956, HumbleGod, IMacWin95, Iceera88, IdLoveOne,
Ideyal, Imaginationac, Innotata, InverseHypercube, Itub, Jadony, Jan1nad, JanGB, Jaranda, Jbalint, Jbergquist, Jezmck, Jim.belk, Jkmaloo, Joc, JohnyDog, Jokes Free4Me, Josh Parris, Joshdick,
Jrw@pobox.com, Jshadias, Julian Mendez, Justin W Smith, KGasso, Karol Langner, Kauffner, Kevinb, KlaudiuMihaila, Knowandgive, Kraftlos, Kuru, Lagelspeil, LakeHMM, Lambiam, Leszek
Jaczuk, Letdinosaursdie, Lfiguero, Linas, LittleDan, Lohray, Loren.wilton, LutzL, MFNickster, MZMcBride, MagicalPhats, Makeemlighter, Makuabob, Markus Kuhn, MathMartin, Mathaxiom,
Maurice Carbonaro, Maxcyber10, Mckee, Melchoir, Mets501, Mfhall, MiNombreDeGuerra, Michael Hardy, Michael miceli, Michiel Helvensteijn, Mikael Hggstrm, Mikay, Mikez,
Mindmatrix, Mmortal03, Momojeng, Monedula, MovGP0, Mygerardromance, Myncknm, Mysdaao, N3rd4i, NJA, Navigatr85, Nerd42, Nikola Smolenski, Nilkanthvns, Nima Baghaei,
NocNokNeo, Noisy, Nosferattr, NuclearWarfare, Nutiketaiel, OlEnglish, Oleg Alexandrov, OliverTwist, Orz, P0mbal, Pak21, Paolo.dL, Pasixxxx, Patrick, Paul August, PaulTanenbaum,
Pfoifry, Phil Boswell, Pizza1512, Pooryorick, PrimeHunter, Pschemp, Psiphiorg, Psource, Psy guy, Puellanivis, Qmark42, QoppaGamma, Quief, Qwertyus, R.e.b., RDBury, RNLion, Rade Kutil,
Random user 8384993, Redacteur, Renata3, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, RobHar, Robinh, Ronhjones, Ryulong, SMP, Salix alba, Sam Derbyshire, Sam Korn, Sango123, Scientific29, Scott776,
Secretlondon, ShelfSkewed, Simonleyton, Skal, Sl, Sligocki, Smmurphy, Special+Utilizator+$, Spoon!, Srleffler, Stevertigo, Strange but untrue, Sunborn, Super-c-sharp, Sverdrup, Tanthanyes,
Tauwasser, TedPavlic, Tekhnofiend, Teo64x, Thallinger, Thehotelambush, Thezulu, Thr4wn, Tim Starling, Timothy Clemans, Tizio, Tkuvho, Toby Bartels, Tom Lougheed, Tom harrison,
Tresiden, Triwbe, Trovatore, Truthkeeper88, Tumble, Tyomitch, Ulf Karlsson, Vanish2, Voyajer, Wavelength, WhisperToMe, Wigie, WikHead, Wikipelli, Wile E. Heresiarch, WillowW, Writer
on wiki, Xantolus, YahoKa, Ybenharim, Yonideworst, Yunesj, Zero0000, Zundark, , 390 anonymous edits
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/
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