List of mathematical symbols

This is a list of symbols used in all branches of mathematics to

express a formula or to represent a constant.

A mathematical concept is independent of the symbol chosen to

represent it. For many of the symbols below, the symbol is usually
synonymous with the corresponding concept (ultimately an arbitrary
choice made as a result of the cumulative history of mathematics),
but in some situations, a different convention may be used. For
example, depending on context, the triple bar "≡" may represent
congruence or a definition. However, in mathematical logic,
numerical equality is sometimes represented by "≡" instead of "=",
with the latter representing equality of well-formed formulas. In
short, convention dictates the meaning.

Each symbol is shown both in HTML, whose display depends on the

browser's access to an appropriate font installed on the particular
device, and typeset as an image using TeX.

Guide
This list is organized by symbol type and is intended to facilitate
finding an unfamiliar symbol by its visual appearance. For a related
list organized by mathematical topic, see List of mathematical
symbols by subject. That list also includes LaTeX and HTML
markup, and Unicode code points for each symbol (note that this
article doesn't have the latter two, but they could certainly be
added).

There is a Wikibooks guide for using maths in LaTeX,[1] and a

comprehensive LaTeX symbol list.[2] It is also possible to check to
see if a Unicode code point is available as a LaTeX command, or
vice versa.[3] Also note that where there is no LaTeX command
natively available for a particular symbol (although there may be
options that require adding packages), the symbol could be added
via other options, such as setting the document up to support
Unicode,[4] and entering the character in a variety of ways (e.g.
copying and pasting, keyboard shortcuts, the
\unicode{<insertcodepoint>} command[5]) as well as
other options[6] and extensive additional information.[7][8]

Basic symbols: Symbols widely used in mathematics, roughly

through first-year calculus. More advanced meanings are included
with some symbols listed here.
Symbols based on equality "=": Symbols derived from or similar to
 the equal sign, including double-headed arrows. Not surprisingly
these symbols are often associated with an equivalence relation.
Symbols that point left or right: Symbols, such as < and >, that
appear to point to one side or another.
Brackets: Symbols that are placed on either side of a variable or
expression, such as |x|.
Other non-letter symbols: Symbols that do not fall in any of the
other categories.
Letter-based symbols: Many mathematical symbols are based
on, or closely resemble, a letter in some alphabet. This section
includes such symbols, including symbols that resemble upside-
down letters. Many letters have conventional meanings in various
branches of mathematics and physics. These are not listed here.
The See also section, below, has several lists of such usages.
Letter modifiers: Symbols that can be placed on or next to
any letter to modify the letter's meaning.
Symbols based on Latin letters, including those symbols that
resemble or contain an X
Symbols based on Hebrew or Greek letters e.g.
‫א‬, ‫ב‬, δ, Δ, π, Π, σ, Σ, Φ. Note: symbols resembling Λ are
grouped with "V" under Latin letters.
Variations: Usage in languages written right-to-left

Basic symbols
Basic symbols
Symbol Name
Symbol
in Read as Explanation Examples
in TeX
HTML Category

addition
plus; 2 + 7 means the sum of 2 and
2+7=9
add 7.
arithmetic
+   disjoint union
the disjoint
A1 + A2 means the disjoint A1 = {3, 4, 5, 6} ∧ A2 = {7, 8, 9, 10} ⇒
union of ...
union of sets A1 and A2. A1 + A2 = {(3, 1), (4, 1), (5, 1), (6, 1), (7, 2), (8, 2), (9, 2), (10, 2)}
and ...
set theory
subtraction
minus;
36 − 11 means the subtraction
take; 36 − 11 = 25
of 11 from 36.
subtract
arithmetic
negative sign
negative;
minus; −3 means the additive inverse
−(−5) = 5
the opposite of the number 3.
−  
of
arithmetic

A − B means the set that

set-theoretic contains all the elements of A
complement that are not in B.
minus; {1, 2, 4} − {1, 3, 4} = {2}
without ( can also be used for set-
set theory theoretic complement as
described below.)

plus-minus
6 ± 3 means both 6 + 3 and
plus or minus The equation x = 5 ± √4, has two solutions, x = 7 and x = 3.
6 − 3.
  arithmetic
± \pm plus-minus 10 ± 2 or equivalently 10 ± 20%
plus or minus means the range from 10 − 2 to If a = 100 ± 1 mm, then a ≥ 99 mm and a ≤ 101 mm.
measurement 10 + 2.
minus-plus
  6 ± (3 5) means 6 + (3 − 5)
minus or plus cos(x ± y) = cos(x) cos(y) sin(x) sin(y).
\mp and 6 − (3 + 5).
arithmetic
multiplication
times; 3 × 4 or 3 ⋅ 4 means the
7 ⋅ 8 = 56
multiplied by multiplication of 3 by 4.
arithmetic
dot product
scalar product
u ⋅ v means the dot product of
× dot (1, 2, 5) ⋅ (3, 4, −1) = 6
vectors u and v
  linear algebra

\times vector algebra

⋅ cross product
  vector product i j
u × v means the cross product
\cdot cross (1, 2, 5) × (3, 4, −1) = 1 2
of vectors u and v
· linear algebra 3 4

vector algebra

A · means a placeholder for an

placeholder argument of a function.
(silent) Indicates the functional nature
| · |
functional of an expression without
analysis assigning a specific symbol for
an argument.

division
(Obelus) 2 ÷ 4 = 0.5
6 ÷ 3 or 6 ⁄ 3 means the division
divided by;
of 6 by 3.
over 12 ⁄ 4 = 3
÷   arithmetic
\div quotient group G / H means the quotient of
mod group G modulo its subgroup {0, a, 2a, b, b + a, b + 2a} / {0, b} = {{0, b}, {a, b + a}, {2a, b + 2a}}
⁄  
group theory H.
quotient set
A/~ means the set of all ~ If we define ~ by x ~ y ⇔ x − y ∈ , then
mod
equivalence classes in A. /~ = {x + n : n ∈ , x ∈ [0,1)}.
set theory
square root
(radical
symbol) √x means the nonnegative
√4 = 2
the (principal) number whose square is x.

  square root of

\surd real numbers

√   complex
\sqrt{x} square root If z = r exp(iφ) is represented
the (complex) in polar coordinates with
√−1 = i
square root of −π < φ ≤ π, then
complex √z = √r exp(iφ/2).
numbers
summation
sum over ...   means
   
∑ from ... to ...
\sum
of   .
calculus
indefinite
integral or
antiderivative
indefinite
integral of ∫ f(x) dx means a function  
- OR - whose derivative is f.
the
antiderivative
of
calculus
   definite
b
∫ integral ∫ a f(x) dx means the signed
\int area between the x-axis and the b 2 b3 − a3
integral from ∫ a x dx = 3
graph of the function f between
... to ... of ...
with respect x = a and x = b.
to
calculus

∫ C f ds means the integral of f

line integral along the curve C, ∫ ba f(r(t)) |r'(
line/ path/ t)| dt, where r is a
curve/ integral parametrization of C. (If the
of ... along ... curve is closed, the symbol
∮
calculus may be used instead, as
described below.)

Similar to the integral, but used

to denote a single integration
over a closed curve or loop. It is
sometimes used in physics
texts involving equations
regarding Gauss's Law, 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
Contour latter requires simultaneous
integral; double integration, the symbol

  closed line would be more appropriate.

integral A third related symbol is the If C is a Jordan curve about 0, then ∮ C 1z dz = 2πi.
∮ closed volume integral, denoted
\oint contour
integral of by the symbol .
calculus 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.

…
 
\ldots
⋯
 
\cdots ellipsis
⋮ and so forth Indicates omitted values from a 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + ⋯ = 1
   everywhere pattern.
\vdots
⋰
 

\ddots
⋱

therefore
therefore;
  Sometimes used in proofs
∴ \therefore
so;
before logical consequences.
All humans are mortal. Socrates is a human. ∴ Socrates is mortal.
hence
everywhere
because
  because; Sometimes used in proofs 11 is prime ∵ it has no positive integer factors other than itself and
∵ \because since before reasoning. one.
everywhere
factorial
  means the product
factorial  
  .
combinatorics

The statement !A is true if and

only if A is false.

logical
!   A slash placed through another
negation operator is the same as "!"
!(!A) ⇔ A
not placed in front.
x ≠ y ⇔ !(x = y)
propositional
logic (The symbol ! is primarily from
computer science. It is avoided
in mathematical texts, where the
notation ¬A is preferred.)

The statement ¬A is true if and

only if A is false.

A slash placed through another

logical operator is the same as "¬"
¬   negation placed in front.
\neg ¬(¬A) ⇔ A
not
x ≠ y ⇔ ¬(x = y)
propositional (The symbol ~ has many other
˜  
logic uses, so ¬ or the slash notation
is preferred. Computer
scientists will often use ! but
this is avoided in mathematical
texts.)

proportionality
is proportional
  y ∝ x means that y = kx for
∝ \propto
to;
some constant k.
if y = 2x, then y ∝ x.
varies as
everywhere

infinity ∞ is an element of the extended

  number line that is greater than  
∞ \infty
infinity
all real numbers; it often occurs
 numbers in limits.

 
□ end of proof
\blacksquare
QED; Used to mark the end of a
  tombstone; proof.
\Box Halmos
finality symbol (May also be written Q.E.D.)
  everywhere
\blacktriangleright

Symbols based on equality

Symbol Name
Symbol
in Read as Explanation Examples
in TeX
HTML Category

equality
 
is equal to;   means   and   represent the same thing or
=  
equals value.
 
 
everywhere

  means that   and   do not represent the same

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

approximately
equal
x ≈ y means x is approximately equal to y.
is
π ≈ 3.14159
approximately
This may also be written , ≅, ~, ‫( ׻‬Libra Symbol), or ≒.
  equal to
≈ \approx everywhere
isomorphism G ≈ H means that group G is isomorphic (structurally
is isomorphic identical) to group H.
Q8 / C2 ≈ V
to
group theory (≅ can also be used for isomorphic, as described below.)
probability
X ~ N(0,1), the
distribution X ~ D, means the random variable X has the probability
standard normal
has distribution distribution D.
distribution
statistics
row
equivalence
A ~ B means that B can be generated by using a series  
is row
of elementary row operations on A
equivalent to
matrix theory
same order of
magnitude
roughly similar; m ~ n means the quantities m and n have the same 2~5
poorly order of magnitude, or general size.
approximates; 8 × 9 ~ 100
is on the order (Note that ~ is used for an approximation that is poor,
of otherwise use ≈ .) but π2 ≈ 10
approximation
 
~ \sim
theory
similarity
△ABC ~ △DEF means triangle ABC is similar to (has
is similar to[9]
the same shape) triangle DEF.
geometry
asymptotically
equivalent
is
asymptotically f ~ g means   .
x ~ x+1
equivalent to
 asymptotic
analysis

equivalence
relation
are in the same 1 ~ 5 mod 4
a ~ b means   (and equivalently   ).
equivalence
class
everywhere

=:  

 
:=
 
\equiv
≡ x := y, y =: x or x ≡ y means x is defined to be another
  definition
name for y, under certain assumptions taken in context.  
:\Leftrightarrow is defined as;
:⇔ is equal by
(Some writers use ≡ to mean congruence).
  definition to
 
\triangleq everywhere P ⇔ Q means P is defined to be logically equivalent to Q.

 
\overset{\underset{\mathrm{def}}
{}}{=}

 
\doteq

congruence
△ABC ≅ △DEF means triangle ABC is congruent to (has
is congruent to
the same measurements as) triangle DEF.
geometry
  isomorphic
≅ \cong G ≅ H means that group G is isomorphic (structurally
is isomorphic
identical) to group H.
to V ≅ C2 × C2
abstract (≈ can also be used for isomorphic, as described above.)
algebra
congruence
relation
  ... is congruent
≡ \equiv to ... modulo ...
a ≡ b (mod n) means a − b is divisible by n 5 ≡ 2 (mod 3)

modular
arithmetic

  material
\Leftrightarrow
⇔  
equivalence
if and only if; A ⇔ B means A is true if B is true and A is false if B is x+5=y+2⇔x+3=
\iff
iff false. y
↔   propositional
logic
\leftrightarrow

:= Assignment
  Let a := 3, then...
   is defined to be A := b means A is defined to have the value b. f(x) := x + 3

everywhere
=:

Symbols that point left or right

 Name
Symbol Symbol
Read as Explanation Examples
in HTML in TeX
Category

strict
inequality
  means x is less than y.  
is less than,
  means x is greater than y.  
is greater than
<   order theory

>   proper
subgroup
 
is a proper   means H is a proper subgroup of G.
 
subgroup of
group theory
significant
(strict)
inequality
is much less x ≪ y means x is much less than y.
0.003 ≪ 1000000
than, x ≫ y means x is much greater than y.
is much
greater than
order theory
asymptotic
comparison
 
is of smaller f ≪ g means the growth of f is asymptotically bounded
≪  
order than, by g.
x ≪ ex
≫ \ll
is of greater (This is I. M. Vinogradov's notation. Another notation is
\gg
order than the Big O notation, which looks like f = O(g).)
analytic
number theory
absolute
continuity
is absolutely   means that   is absolutely continuous with
If   is the counting measure on   and   is
continuous respect to   , i.e., whenever   , we have
the Lebesgue measure, then   .
with respect to   .
measure
theory

x ≤ y means x is less than or equal to y.

x ≥ y means x is greater than or equal to y.
inequality
(The forms <= and >= are generally used in
is less than or
programming languages, where ease of typing and use
equal to, 3 ≤ 4 and 5 ≤ 5
of ASCII text is preferred.)
is greater than 5 ≥ 4 and 5 ≥ 5
or equal to
(≦ and ≧ are also used by some writers to mean the
order theory
same thing as ≤ and ≥, but this usage seems to be less
  common.)
≤   subgroup
≥ \le
is a subgroup Z≤Z
\ge H ≤ G means H is a subgroup of G.
of A3 ≤ S 3
group theory
reduction
 is reducible to A ≤ B means the problem A can be reduced to the If

computational problem B. Subscripts can be added to the ≤ to  

complexity indicate what kind of reduction. then

theory
 

congruence
relation
... is less than
... is greater 10a ≡ 5 (mod 5) for 1 ≦ a ≦ 10
than ...
modular
  arithmetic
≦   x ≦ y means that each component of vector x is less
≧ \leqq vector than or equal to each corresponding component of
\geqq inequality vector y.
... is less than x ≧ y means that each component of vector x is
or equal... is greater than or equal to each corresponding
greater than or component of vector y.
equal... It is important to note that x ≦ y remains true if every
order theory element is equal. However, if the operator is changed,
x ≤ y is true if and only if x ≠ y is also true.

Karp reduction
is Karp
reducible to;
is polynomial-
L1 L2 means that the problem L1 is Karp reducible to
time many-one If L1 L2 and L2 ∈ P, then L1 ∈ P.
L2.[10]
reducible to

  computational
  complexity
\prec theory
\succ Nondominated
order
is
P Q means that the element P is nondominated by
nondominated If P1 Q2 then  
element Q.[11]
by
Multi-objective
optimization
normal
subgroup
is a normal N G means that N is a normal subgroup of group G. Z(G) G
subgroup of
group theory
 
  ideal
\triangleleft is an ideal of I R means that I is an ideal of ring R. (2) Z
&#x25C5;
\triangleright ring theory
&#x25BB;
antijoin
R S means the antijoin of the relations R and S, the
the antijoin of
tuples in R for which there is not a tuple in S that is  
relational equal on their common attribute names.
algebra
material
  A ⇒ B means if A is true then B is also true; if A is
⇒   implication false then nothing is said about B.
x = 6 ⇒ x2 − 5 = 36 − 5 = 31 is true, but
  implies; (→ may mean the same as ⇒, or it may have the
x2 − 5 = 36 −5 = 31 ⇒ x = 6 is in general false
→ \Rightarrow if ... then meaning for functions given below.)
(since x could be −6).
\rightarrow (⊃ may mean the same as ⇒,[12] or it may have the
⊃ propositional
\supset meaning for superset given below.)
logic, Heyting
algebra

(subset) A ⊆ B means every element of A is also an

  subset element of B.[13] (A ∩ B) ⊆ A
⊆  
is a subset of (proper subset) A ⊂ B means A ⊆ B but A ≠ B. ⊂
⊂ \subseteq
set theory (Some writers use the symbol ⊂ as if it were the same ⊂
\subset
as ⊆.)

A ⊇ B means every element of B is also an element of

  superset
⊇   is a superset
A.
(A ∪ B) ⊇ B
A ⊃ B means A ⊇ B but A ≠ B.
⊃
⊃ \supseteq of
(Some writers use the symbol ⊃ as if it were the same
\supset set theory
as ⊇.)

compact
embedding
A B means the closure of B is a compact subset of
  \Subset is compactly
A.
 
contained in
set theory
function arrow
  from ... to f: X → Y means the function f maps the set X into the
→ \to
Let f: → ∪ {0} be defined by f(x) := x2.
set theory, set Y.
type theory
function arrow
  f: a ↦ b means the function f maps the element a to
↦ \mapsto
maps to
the element b.
Let f: x ↦ x + 1 (the successor function).
set theory

Converse a ← b means that for the propositions a and b, if b

implication implies a, then a is the converse implication of b.a to

 
← \leftarrow .. if ..
the element b. This reads as "a if b", or "not b without
a". It is not to be confused with the assignment
logic
operator in computer science.

subtype
is a subtype of T1 <: T2 means that T1 is a subtype of T2. If S <: T and T <: U then S <: U (transitivity).
<:   type theory

<·   cover
{1, 8} <• {1, 3, 8} among the subsets of
is covered by x <• y means that x is covered by y.
{1, 2, ..., 10} ordered by containment.
order theory
entailment
  A B means the sentence A entails the sentence B,
entails A A ∨ ¬A
\vDash that is in every model in which A is true, B is also true.
model theory
inference
infers;
is derived
from x y means y is derivable from x. A→B ¬B → ¬A
propositional
  logic,
\vdash predicate logic
 partition
is a partition p (4,3,1,1) 9,  
n means that p is a partition of n.
of
number theory

bra vector
  the bra ...; ⟨φ| means the dual of the vector |φ⟩, a linear functional
| \langle the dual of ... which maps a ket |ψ⟩ onto the inner product ⟨φ|ψ⟩.
Dirac notation
ket vector
A qubit's state can be represented as α|0⟩+
  the ket ...; |φ⟩ means the vector with label φ, which is in a Hilbert
| \rangle the vector ... space.
β|1⟩, where α and β are complex numbers s.t.
|α|2 + |β|2 = 1.
Dirac notation

Brackets
Symbol Name
Symbol
in Read as Explanation
in TeX
HTML Category

 
combination;  
  binomial means (in the case of n = positive integer) the number of
  coefficient combinations of k elements drawn from a set of n elements.
 
{\ \choose\ } n choose k
n
combinatorics (This may also be written as C(n, k), C(n; k), nCk, Ck, or   .)

 
  multiset
coefficient
 
  \left(\!\!{\ u multichoose
\choose\ k (when u is positive integer)
}\!\!\right) combinatorics means reverse or rising binomial coefficient.

  means the function f(x) is defined as a if the

piecewise- condition p(x) holds, or as b if the condition q(x) holds.

defined
function; (The body of a piecewise-defined function can have any finite number
  pattern (not only just two) expression-condition pairs.)
matching;  
\left\{ Switch This symbol is also used in type theory for pattern matching the
  \begin{array}{lr} statement constructor of the value of an algebraic type. For example  
\ldots \\ \ldots is defined as   does pattern matching on the
\end{array}\right.... if ..., or as ...
if ...; function's arguments and means that g(x) is defined as a, and g(y) is
match ... with defined as b.
everywhere
(A pattern matching can have any finite number (not only just two)
pattern-expression pairs.)

absolute |3| = 3
value;
modulus |–5| = |5| = 5
|x| means the distance along the real line (or across the complex
absolute
plane) between x and zero.
value of; |i|=1
modulus of
numbers | 3 + 4i | = 5

Euclidean
norm or
Euclidean
length or For x = (3,−4)
|x| means the (Euclidean) length of vector x.  
magnitude
 
|...| | \ldots | \!\,
Euclidean
norm of
geometry
determinant
determinant  
|A| means the determinant of the matrix A
of
matrix theory
 cardinality
cardinality of; |X| means the cardinality of the set X.
size of; |{3, 5, 7, 9}| = 4.
order of (# may be used instead as described below.)
set theory
norm
norm of;
‖ x ‖ means the norm of the element x of a normed vector space.[14] ‖x+y‖≤‖x‖+‖y‖
length of
linear algebra
  nearest
‖...‖ \| \ldots \| \!\, integer
‖x‖ means the nearest integer to x.
function
‖1‖ = 1, ‖1.6‖ = 2, ‖−2.4‖ = −2, ‖3.49‖ = 3
nearest
(This may also be written [x], ⌊x⌉, nint(x) or Round(x).)
integer to
numbers
set brackets
 
{,} {\{\ ,\!\ \}} \!\,
the set of ... {a,b,c} means the set consisting of a, b, and c.[15] = { 1, 2, 3, ... }
set theory

 
{ : } \{\ :\ \} \!\, set builder
notation
  {x : P(x)} means the set of all x for which P(x) is true.[15] {x | P(x)} is the
{|} \{\ |\ \} \!\,
the set of ...
same as {x : P(x)}.
{n ∈  : n2 < 20} = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }
such that
set theory
 
{ ; } \{\ ;\ \} \!\,

floor
floor;
  ⌊x⌋ means the floor of x, i.e. the largest integer less than or equal to x.
greatest
⌊...⌋ \lfloor \ldots
integer;
⌊4⌋ = 4, ⌊2.1⌋ = 2, ⌊2.9⌋ = 2, ⌊−2.6⌋ = −3
\rfloor \!\, (This may also be written [x], floor(x) or int(x).)
entier
numbers

⌈x⌉ means the ceiling of x, i.e. the smallest integer greater than or
  ceiling
equal to x.
⌈...⌉ \lceil \ldots ceiling ⌈4⌉ = 4, ⌈2.1⌉ = 3, ⌈2.9⌉ = 3, ⌈−2.6⌉ = −2
\rceil \!\, numbers (This may also be written ceil(x) or ceiling(x).)

nearest
integer
  ⌊x⌉ means the nearest integer to x.
function
⌊...⌉ \lfloor \ldots
nearest
⌊2⌉ = 2, ⌊2.6⌉ = 3, ⌊−3.4⌉ = −3, ⌊4.49⌉ = 4
\rceil \!\, (This may also be written [x], ||x||, nint(x) or Round(x).)
integer to
numbers
degree of a [ (√2) : ] = 2
field
 
[ : ] [\ :\ ] \!\,
extension [K : F] means the degree of the extension K : F. [  : ] = 2
the degree of
field theory [  : ] = ∞

equivalence
class
[a] means the equivalence class of a, i.e. {x : x ~ a}, where ~ is an
the Let a ~ b be true iff a ≡ b (mod 5).
 equivalence equivalence relation. Then [2] = {..., −8, −3, 2, 7, ...}.
class of
abstract [a]R means the same, but with R as the equivalence relation.
algebra

floor
floor; [x] means the floor of x, i.e. the largest integer less than or equal to x.
greatest
[3] = 3, [3.5] = 3, [3.99] = 3, [−3.7] = −4
integer; (This may also be written ⌊x⌋, floor(x) or int(x). Not to be confused with
entier the nearest integer function, as described below.)
numbers
nearest
integer [x] means the nearest integer to x.
function
[2] = 2, [2.6] = 3, [−3.4] = −3, [4.49] = 4
nearest (This may also be written ⌊x⌉, ||x||, nint(x) or Round(x). Not to be
integer to confused with the floor function, as described above.)
numbers
Iverson
bracket
[]   1 if true, 0
[\ ] \!\, [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
otherwise
propositional
[,]  
logic
[\ ,\ ] \!\,
f[X] means { f(x) : x ∈ X }, the image of the function f under the set X ⊆
image dom(f).
[,,]  
image of ...
 
under ... (This may also be written as f(X) if there is no risk of confusing the
everywhere image of f under X with the function application f of X. Another
notation is Im f, the image of f under its domain.)

closed
interval
closed   . 0 and 1/2 are in the interval [0,1].
interval
order theory
commutator
the
[g, h] = g−1h−1gh (or ghg−1h−1), if g, h ∈ G (a group). xy = x[x, y] (group theory).
commutator
of
[a, b] = ab − ba, if a, b ∈ R (a ring or commutative algebra). [AB, C] = A[B, C] + [A, C]B (ring theory).
group theory,
ring theory
triple scalar
product
the triple
scalar product [a, b, c] = a × b · c, the scalar product of a × b with c. [a, b, c] = [b, c, a] = [c, a, b].
of
vector
calculus
function
application
f(x) means the value of the function f at the element x. If f(x) := x2 − 5, then f(6) = 62 − 5 = 36 − 5
of
set theory
 f(X) means { f(x) : x ∈ X }, the image of the function f under the set X ⊆
image dom(f).
image of ...
 
under ... (This may also be written as f[X] if there is a risk of confusing the
everywhere image of f under X with the function application f of X. Another
notation is Im f, the image of f under its domain.)

precedence
grouping
Perform the operations inside the parentheses first. (8/4)/2 = 2/2 = 1, but 8/(4/2) = 8/2 = 4.
parentheses
everywhere
 
() (\ ) \!\,
tuple
An ordered list (or sequence, or horizontal vector, or row vector) of
tuple; n-tuple; (a, b) is an ordered pair (or 2-tuple).
values.
ordered
  (a, b, c) is an ordered triple (or 3-tuple).
(,) (\ ,\ ) \!\,
pair/triple/etc; (Note that the notation (a,b) is ambiguous: it could be an ordered pair
row vector; or an open interval. Set theorists and computer scientists often use ( ) is the empty tuple (or 0-tuple).
sequence angle brackets ⟨ ⟩ instead of parentheses.)

everywhere
highest
common
factor
highest
common
(a, b) means the highest common factor of a and b.
factor;
(3, 7) = 1 (they are coprime); (15, 25) = 5.
greatest
(This may also be written hcf(a, b) or gcd(a, b).)
common
divisor; hcf;
gcd
number
theory

 
(,) (\ ,\ ) \!\,(\ ,\ open interval   .
4 is not in the interval (4, 18).
) \!\,
open interval (Note that the notation (a,b) is ambiguous: it could be an ordered pair
(0, +∞) equals the set of positive real num
or an open interval. The notation ]a,b[ can be used instead.)
order theory
],[  
]\ ,\ [ \!\,]

left-open
  interval
(,] (\ ,\ ] \!\, half-open
interval;   . (−1, 7] and (−∞, −1]
  left-open
],] \ ,\ ] \!\,] interval
order theory
right-open
  interval
[,) [\ ,\ ) \!\, half-open
interval;   . [4, 18) and [1, +∞)
  right-open
[,[ [\ ,\ [ \!\, interval
order theory

⟨u,v⟩ means the inner product of u and v, where u and v are members
of an inner product space.
 inner product
Note that the notation ⟨u, v⟩ may be ambiguous: it could mean the inner
inner product product or the linear span. The standard inner product between two
of ⟨x, y⟩ = 2 × −1 + 3 × 5 = 13
linear algebra 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, x · y 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.

average for a time series :g(t) (t = 1, 2,...)

let S be a subset of N for example,   represents the average of all
average of we can define the structure functions
the elements in S.
statistics  

expectation
value For a single discrete variable   of a function   , the expectation
value of   is defined as   , and for a
the

  expectation
single continuous variable the expectation value of   is defined as
\langle\ \rangle value of
  ; where   is the PDF of the variable   .[16]
\!\, probability
theory
  ⟨S⟩ means the span of S ⊆ V. That is, it is the intersection of all
, \langle\ ,\ subspaces of V which contain S.
\rangle \!\, linear span ⟨u1, u2, ...⟩ is shorthand for ⟨{u1, u2, ...}⟩.
(linear) span
  .
of;
Note that the notation ⟨u, v⟩ may be ambiguous: it could mean the inner
linear hull of
product or the linear span.
linear algebra
The span of S may also be written as Sp(S).

subgroup
generated by
  means the smallest subgroup of G (where S ⊆ G, a group)
a set
containing every element of S. In S3,   and
the subgroup
  is shorthand for   .
generated by
group theory
tuple
tuple; n-tuple;   is an ordered pair (or 2-tuple).
An ordered list (or sequence, or horizontal vector, or row vector) of
ordered
values.   is an ordered triple (or 3-tuple).
pair/triple/etc;
row vector; (The notation (a,b) is often used as well.)   is the empty tuple (or 0-tuple).
sequence
everywhere

⟨u | v⟩ means the inner product of u and v, where u and v are members

  of an inner product space.[17] (u | v) means the same.
| \langle\ |\ inner product
\rangle \!\, inner product Another variant of the notation is ⟨u, v⟩ which is described above. For
of spatial vectors, the dot product notation, x · y is common. For matrices,
(|)   linear algebra 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.

Other non-letter symbols

Other non-letter symbols
Symbol Name
Symbol
in Read as Explanation Examples
in TeX
HTML Category

convolution
convolution;
 
convolved with f ∗ g means the convolution of f and g.
functional
analysis
complex
z∗ means the complex conjugate of z.
conjugate
conjugate   .
(  can also be used for the conjugate of z, as
complex described below.)
numbers

R∗ consists of the set of units of the ring R, along

group of units
with the operation of multiplication.
the group of  
units of
This may also be written R× as described above, or
ring theory U(R).

hyperreal
*  
numbers
∗R
the (set of) means the set of hyperreal numbers. Other sets ∗N is the hypernatural numbers.
hyperreals can be used in place of R.
non-standard
analysis
Hodge star
operator ∗v means the Hodge dual of a vector v. If v is a k-
If   are the standard basis vectors of
Hodge star; vector within an n-dimensional oriented quadratic
  , 
Hodge dual space, then ∗v is an (n−k)-vector.
linear algebra
Kleene star Corresponds to the usage of * in regular
If ∑ = ('a', 'b', 'c') then ∑* includes '', 'a',
Kleene star expressions. If ∑ is a set of strings, then ∑* is the
'ab', 'aba', 'abac', etc. The full set cannot
computer set of all strings that can be created by be enumerated here since it is countably
science, concatenating members of ∑. The same string can infinite, but each individual string must
mathematical be used multiple times, and the empty string is have finite length.
logic also a member of ∑*.
proportionality
is proportional
to; y ∝ x means that y = kx for some constant k. if y = 2x, then y ∝ x.
varies as
everywhere
Karp
reduction[18]
 
∝ \propto \!\,
is Karp
reducible to;
is polynomial- A ∝ B means the problem A can be polynomially
time many-one reduced to the problem B. If L1 ∝ L2 and L2 ∈ P, then L1 ∈ P.
reducible to
computational
complexity
 theory
set-theoretic
complement A B means the set that contains all those
minus; elements of A that are not in B.[13]
 
without; {1,2,3,4} {3,4,5,6} = {1,2}
\setminus
throw out; (− can also be used for set-theoretic complement
not as described above.)
set theory
conditional
event P(A|B) means the probability of the event A if X is a uniformly random day of the year
given occurring given that B occurs. P(X is May 25 | X is in May) = 1/31
probability
restriction
restriction of ... f|A means the function f is restricted to the set A,
The function f : R → R defined by
|   to ...; that is, it is the function with domain A ∩ dom(f)
x2 is not injective, but f|R+ is injective.
restricted to that agrees with f.
set theory
such that
S = {(x,y) | 0 < y < f(x)}
such that;
| means "such that", see ":" (described below). The set of (x,y) such that y is greater
so that
than 0 and less than f(x).
everywhere

a ∣ b means a divides b.
 
∣ \mid divisor, divides a b means a does not divide b.
Since 15 = 3 × 5, it is true that 3 ∣ 15 and
divides
(The symbol ∣ can be difficult to type, and its 5 ∣ 15.
  number theory negation is rare, so a regular but slightly shorter
\nmid
vertical bar | character is often used instead.)

exact
  divisibility pa ∣∣ n means pa exactly divides n (i.e. pa divides n
∣∣ \mid\mid exactly divides but pa+1 does not).
23 ∣∣ 360.

number theory

x ∥ y means x is parallel to y.
x y means x is not parallel to y.
  parallel x y means x is equal and parallel to y.
∥ \| is parallel to If l ∥ m and m ⊥ n then l ⊥ n.
Requires the viewer to support
geometry (The symbol ∥ can be difficult to type, and its
Unicode: \unicode{x2225}, negation is rare, so two regular but slightly longer
\unicode{x2226}, and vertical bar || characters are often used instead.)
\unicode{x22D5}.
incomparability
\mathrel{\rlap{\,\parallel}}
is
requires
incomparable x ∥ y means x is incomparable to y. {1,2} ∥ {2,3} under set containment.
\setmathfont{MathJax}.[19]
to
order theory
cardinality
cardinality of; #X means the cardinality of the set X.
size of; #{4, 6, 8} = 3
order of (|...| may be used instead as described above.)
set theory
connected sum
connected sum
   of;
# \sharp knot sum of;
A#B is the connected sum of the manifolds A and
A#Sm is homeomorphic to A, for any
B. If A and B are knots, then this denotes the knot
knot manifold A, and the sphere Sm.
sum, which has a slightly stronger condition.
composition of
topology, knot
theory

primorial
n# is product of all prime numbers less than or
primorial 12# = 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 × 11 = 2310
equal to n.
number theory
such that
such that; : means "such that", and is used in proofs and the
∃ n ∈ : n is even.
so that set-builder notation (described below).
everywhere
field extension
K : F means the field K extends the field F.
extends;
 :
over
This may also be written as K ≥ F.
field theory

A : B means the Frobenius inner product of the

inner product matrices A and B.
of matrices
 
inner product The general inner product is denoted by ⟨u, v⟩, ⟨u | v⟩
:  
of or (u | v), as described below. For spatial vectors,
linear algebra the dot product notation, x·y is common. See also
bra–ket notation.

index of a
subgroup The index of a subgroup H in a group G is the
 
index of "relative size" of H in G: equivalently, the number of
subgroup "copies" (cosets) of H that fill up G
group theory
division
divided by A : B means the division of A with B (dividing A by
10 : 2 = 5
over B)
everywhere
vertical ellipsis Denotes that certain constants and terms are
 
⋮ vertical ellipsis missing out (e.g. for clarity) and that only the  
\vdots \!\,
everywhere important terms are being listed.
wreath product A H means the wreath product of the group A by
  is isomorphic to the
  wreath product the group H.
automorphism group of the complete
\wr \!\, of ... by ...
bipartite graph on (n,n) vertices.
group theory This may also be written A wr H.

\blitza
\lighting: requires
\usepackage{stmaryd}.[20]

\smashtimes requires
x+4=x−3※
\usepackage{unicode-math} and
\setmathfont{XITS Math} or
Statement: Every finite, non-empty,
another Open Type Math downwards
ordered set has a largest element.
↯ Font.[21] zigzag arrow
Otherwise, let's assume that   is a
[2] contradiction; Denotes that contradictory statements have been finite, non-empty, ordered set with no
 
 \Rightarrow\Leftarrow this inferred. For clarity, the exact point of largest element. Then, for some
contradicts contradiction can be appended. , there exists an   with  
 [2] that but then there's also an  
\bot   , and so on. Thus,
⇒⇐ everywhere
  are distinct elements in
 [2]
  .↯  is finite.
\nleftrightarrow

\textreferencemark[2]
Contradiction![2]

exclusive or
xor
The statement A ⊕ B is true when either A or B, but (¬A) ⊕ A is always true, A ⊕ A is always
propositional not both, are true. A B means the same.
  false.
⊕ \oplus \!\,
logic, Boolean
algebra

  The direct sum is a special way of combining

direct sum Most commonly, for vector spaces
\veebar \!\, several objects into one general object.
direct sum of and W, the following consequence is
abstract (The bun symbol ⊕, or the coproduct symbol , is used:
algebra used; is only for logic.) U = V ⊕ W ⇔ (U = V + W) ∧ (V ∩ W

Kulkarni–
Derived from the tensor product of two symmetric
Nomizu
type (0,2) tensors; it has the algebraic symmetries
product
  of the Riemann tensor.   has
Kulkarni–
{~\wedge\!\!\!\!\!\!\bigcirc~} components
Nomizu
 
product
.
tensor algebra

D'Alembertian; It is the generalisation of the Laplace operator in

wave operator the sense that it is the differential operator which
  is invariant under the isometry group of the  
□ \Box \!\
non-Euclidean
underlying space and it reduces to the Laplace
Laplacian
operator if restricted to time independent
vector calculus functions.

Letter-based symbols
Includes upside-down letters.

Letter modifiers

Also called diacritics.

Symbol Name
Symbol
in Read as Explanation Examples
HTML in TeX
Category

mean
overbar;   (often read as "x bar") is the mean
  .
... bar (average value of   ).
statistics
finite
sequence,
tuple
finite   means the finite sequence/tuple
  .
sequence,   .
tuple
model
theory
algebraic
 
a \bar{a}
closure The field of algebraic numbers is sometimes denoted
algebraic   is the algebraic closure of the field F. as   because it is the algebraic closure of the
closure of rational numbers   .
field theory
complex
  means the complex conjugate of z.
conjugate
conjugate   .
(z∗ can also be used for the conjugate of
complex z, as described above.)
numbers
topological
  is the topological closure of the set S.
closure
In the space of the real numbers,   (the
(topological)
This may also be denoted as cl(S) or rational numbers are dense in the real numbers).
closure of
Cl(S).
topology
vector
 
harpoon
  \overset{\rightharpoonup}
linear
{a}
algebra
unit vector
  (pronounced "a hat") is the normalized
hat
version of vector   , having length 1.
geometry
 
â \hat a
estimator
The estimator   produces a sample
estimator   is the estimator or the estimate for the
for parameter   .
estimate   for the mean   .
statistics

f ′(x) means the derivative of the function

f at the point x, i.e., the slope of the
derivative
tangent to f at x.
  ... prime;
′ ' derivative of
If f(x) := x2, then f ′(x) = 2x.
(The single-quote character ' is
calculus sometimes used instead, especially in

ASCII text.)

derivative
 ... dot;
  means the derivative of x with respect
•   time
to time. That is   . If x(t) := t2, then   .
\dot{\,} derivative of
calculus

Symbols based on Latin letters

 Name
Symbol Read as
Symbol
in Category Explanation Examples
in TeX
HTML

universal quantification
for all;
  for any;
∀ \forall for each;
∀ x, P(x) means P(x) is true for all x. ∀ n ∈ , n2 ≥ n.

for every
predicate logic

  boolean domain
\mathbb{B} B;
means either {0, 1}, {false, true}, {F, T},
the (set of) boolean values; (¬False) ∈
or   .
  the (set of) truth values;
B \mathbf{B} set theory, boolean algebra

  complex numbers
\mathbb{C}
C;
means {a + b i : a,b ∈ }. i = √−1 ∈
the (set of) complex numbers
 
C \mathbf{C} numbers

cardinality of the continuum

cardinality of the continuum; The cardinality of   is denoted by   or  
 
c; by the symbol   (a lowercase Fraktur
\mathfrak c
cardinality of the real numbers letter C).
set theory
partial derivative
∂f/∂xi means the partial derivative of f
partial;
with respect to xi, where f is a function on If f(x,y) := x2y, then ∂f/∂x = 2xy,
d
(x1, ..., xn).
calculus

  boundary
∂ \partial boundary of ∂M means the boundary of M ∂{x : ||x|| ≤ 2} = {x : ||x|| = 2}
topology
degree of a polynomial ∂f means the degree of the polynomial f.
degree of ∂(x2 − 1) = 2
algebra (This may also be written deg f.)

  the value of a random variable one would

\mathbb E expected value "expect" to find if one could repeat the
 
expected value random variable process an infinite
  probability theory number of times and take the average of
E \mathrm{E} the values obtained

existential quantification
there exists;
  ∃ x: P(x) means there is at least one x
∃ \exists
there is;
such that P(x) is true.
∃ n ∈ : n is even.
there are
predicate logic
uniqueness quantification
  there exists exactly one ∃! x: P(x) means there is exactly one x
∃! \exists!
∃! n ∈ : n + 5 = 2n.
predicate logic such that P(x) is true.
  
∈ \in
set membership
a ∈ S means a is an element of the set (1/2)−1 ∈
is an element of;
S;[15] a ∉ S means a is not an element of
is not an element of
  S.[15] 2−1 ∉
∉ \notin everywhere, set theory

set membership S ∌ e means the same thing as e ∉ S,

 
∌ \not\ni
does not contain as an element where S is a set and e is not an element
set theory of S.

often abbreviated as "s.t."; : and | are also

used to abbreviate "such that". The use
of ∋ goes back to early mathematical
such that symbol
logic and its usage in this sense is Choose   ∋ 2|  and 3|  . (Here | is used
such that
declining. The symbol   ("back epsilon") in the sense of "divides".)
  mathematical logic is sometimes specifically used for "such
∋ \ni that" to avoid confusion with set
membership.

set membership
S ∋ e means the same thing as e ∈ S,
contains as an element
where S is a set and e is an element of S.
set theory

  quaternions or Hamiltonian
\mathbb{H} quaternions
H; means {a + b i + c j + d k : a,b,c,d ∈ }.
  the (set of) quaternions
H \mathbf{H} numbers

N means either { 0, 1, 2, 3, ...} or { 1, 2, 3,

...}.

The choice depends on the area of

mathematics being studied; e.g. number
 
theorists prefer the latter; analysts, set
\mathbb{N} natural numbers
theorists and computer scientists prefer
the (set of) natural numbers = {|a| : a ∈ } or = {|a| > 0: a ∈ }
the former. To avoid confusion, always
  numbers check an author's definition of N.
N \mathbf{N}

Set theorists often use the notation ω (for

least infinite ordinal) to denote the set of
natural numbers (including zero), along
with the standard ordering relation ≤.

For two matrices (or vectors) of the

same dimensions   the
Hadamard product
  Hadamard product is a matrix of the  
○ \circ
entrywise product
same dimensions   with
linear algebra elements given by

  .

function composition
  f g is the function such that (f g)(x) = if f(x) := 2x, and g(x) := x + 3, then (f g)
composed with
\circ f(g(x)).[22] (x) = 2(x + 3).
set theory

The Big O notation describes the limiting

Big O notation
  behavior of a function, when the If f(x) = 6x4 − 2x3 + 5 and g(x) = x4, then
O O big-oh of argument tends towards a particular  
 Computational complexity theory value or infinity.

∅ \emptyset empty set

∅ means the set with no elements.[15] { }
  the empty set null set {n ∈  : 1 < n2 < 4} = ∅
means the same.
\varnothing set theory
{}  
\{\}

set of primes
P; is often used to denote the set of prime
 
the set of prime numbers numbers.
arithmetic
projective space
P;
the projective space;
means a space with a point at infinity.   , 
the projective line;
 
the projective plane
\mathbb{P}
topology

  (X) means the probability of the event X

P \mathbf{P} probability occurring.
If a fair coin is flipped, (Heads) =
the probability of
(Tails) = 0.5.
probability theory This may also be written as P(X), Pr(X),
P[X] or Pr[X].

Given a set S, the power set of S is the The power set P({0, 1, 2}) is the set of all
Power set set of all subsets of the set S. The power subsets of {0, 1, 2}. Hence,
the Power set of set of S0 is P({0, 1, 2}) = {∅, {0}, {1}, {2}, {0, 1}, {0, 2},
Powerset denoted by P(S). {1, 2}, {0, 1, 2} }.

  rational numbers 3.14000... ∈

\mathbb{Q} Q;
the (set of) rational numbers; means {p/q : p ∈ , q ∈ }. π∉
  the rationals
Q \mathbf{Q} numbers

  real numbers π∈
\mathbb{R} R;
the (set of) real numbers; means the set of real numbers. √(−1) ∉
  the reals
R \mathbf{R} numbers
conjugate transpose
A† means the transpose of the complex
conjugate transpose;
conjugate of A.[23]
†   adjoint;
If A = (aij) then A† = (aji).
{}^\dagger Hermitian
This may also be written A∗T, AT∗, A∗, AT
adjoint/conjugate/transpose/dagger
or AT.
matrix operations

AT means A, but with its rows swapped

transpose
T   for columns.
transpose If A = (aij) then AT = (aji).
{}^{\mathsf{T}}
matrix operations This may also be written A′, At or Atr.

top element
the top element means the largest element of a lattice. ∀x : x ∨ =
   lattice theory

\top top type means the top or universal type; every

the top type; top type in the type system of interest is a ∀ types T, T <:
type theory subtype of top.
perpendicular
x ⊥ y means x is perpendicular to y; or If l ⊥ m and m ⊥ n in the plane, then l ||
is perpendicular to
more generally x is orthogonal to y. n.
geometry
orthogonal complement
W⊥ means the orthogonal complement
orthogonal/ perpendicular
of W (where W is a subspace of the inner
complement of; Within   ,  .
product space V), the set of all vectors in
perp
V orthogonal to every vector in W.
linear algebra
coprime
x ⊥ y means x has no factor greater than
is coprime to 34 ⊥ 55
1 in common with y.
number theory

A ⊥ B means A is an event whose

probability is independent of event B. The
independent double perpendicular symbol (  ) is also
 
⊥ \bot is independent of commonly used for the purpose of If A ⊥ B, then P(A|B) = P(A).
probability denoting this, for instance:   (In
LaTeX, the command is: "A
\perp\!\!\!\perp B".)

bottom element
⊥ means the smallest element of a
the bottom element ∀x : x ∧ ⊥ = ⊥
lattice.
lattice theory
bottom type
⊥ means the bottom type (a.k.a. the zero
the bottom type;
type or empty type); bottom is the ∀ types T, ⊥ <: T
bot
subtype of every type in the type system.
type theory

comparability {e, π} ⊥ {1, 2, e, 3, π} under set

containment.
is comparable to x ⊥ y means that x is comparable to y.
order theory

all numbers being considered

  means "the set of all elements being
U;
\mathbb{U} considered." = { , } includes all numbers.
the universal set;
It may represent all numbers both real
the set of all numbers;
  and complex, or any subset of these— If instead, = { , }, then π ∉ .
U \mathbf{U}
all numbers considered
hence the term "universal".
set theory
set-theoretic union
  the union of ... or ...; A ∪ B means the set of those elements
∪ \cup union which are either in A, or in B, or in both.[13]
A ⊆ B ⇔ (A ∪ B) = B

set theory
set-theoretic intersection
A ∩ B means the set that contains all
  intersected with;
∩ \cap intersect
those elements that A and B have in {x ∈  : x2 = 1} ∩ = {1}
common.[13]
set theory

The statement A ∨ B is true if A or B (or

logical disjunction or join in a lattice
 or; both) are true; if both are false, the
  n ≥ 4 ∨ n ≤ 2 ⇔ n ≠ 3 when n is a natural
∨ \lor
max; statement is false.
number.
join
propositional logic, lattice theory For functions A(x) and B(x), A(x) ∨ B(x) is
used to mean max(A(x), B(x)).

logical conjunction or meet in a

The statement A ∧ B is true if A and B are
lattice
both true; else it is false.
and; n < 4 ∧ n > 2 ⇔ n = 3 when n is a natural
min; number.
For functions A(x) and B(x), A(x) ∧ B(x) is
meet
  used to mean min(A(x), B(x)).
∧ \land
propositional logic, lattice theory

u ∧ v means the wedge product of any

wedge product
multivectors u and v. In three-
wedge product;
dimensional Euclidean space the wedge  
exterior product
product and the cross product of two
exterior algebra vectors are each other's Hodge dual.

3 × 4 means the multiplication of 3 by 4.

multiplication
times;
(The symbol * is generally used in 7 × 8 = 56
multiplied by
programming languages, where ease of
arithmetic typing and use of ASCII text is preferred.)

Cartesian product X × Y means the set of all ordered pairs

the Cartesian product of ... and ...; with the first element of each pair
{1,2} × {3,4} = {(1,3),(1,4),(2,3),(2,4)}
the direct product of ... and ... selected from X and the second element

  set theory selected from Y.

× \times cross product
u × v means the cross product of vectors (1,2,5) × (3,4,−1) =
cross
u and v (−22, 16, − 2)
linear algebra

R× consists of the set of units of the ring

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

below, or U(R).

tensor product, tensor product of   means the tensor product of V

  modules and U.[24]   means the tensor {1, 2, 3, 4} ⊗ {1, 1, 2} =
⊗ \otimes tensor product of product of modules V and U over the ring {{1, 1, 2}, {2, 2, 4}, {3, 3, 6}, {4, 4, 8}}
linear algebra R.

N φ H is the semidirect product of N (a

normal subgroup) and H (a subgroup),
semidirect product with respect to φ. Also, if G = N H, then
φ

  the semidirect product of G is said to split over N.  

\ltimes group theory
( may also be written the other way
  round, as , or as ×.)
\rtimes R S is the semijoin of the relations R
semijoin
and S, the set of all tuples in R for which
the semijoin of R  S=  a1,..,an(R   S)
there is a tuple in S that is equal on their
relational algebra common attribute names.

R S is the natural join of the relations R

natural join
and S, the set of all combinations of
   the natural join of tuples in R and S that are equal on their
\bowtie relational algebra common attribute names.

means {..., −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}.

  + >
or means {1, 2, 3, ...} .
\mathbb{Z} integers ≥ means {0, 1, 2, 3, ...} .
the (set of) integers * = {p, −p : p ∈ ∪ {0}}
is used by some authors to mean {0, 1,
  numbers 2, 3, ...}[25] and others to mean {... -2, -1, 1,
Z \mathbf{Z}
2, 3, ... }[26] .

  n means {[0], [1], [2], ...[n−1]} with

n
\mathbb{Z}_n integers mod n addition and multiplication modulo n.

the (set of) integers modulo n 3 = {[0], [1], [2]}

  Note that any letter may be used instead
p numbers of n, such as p. To avoid confusion with p-
\mathbb{Z}_p
adic numbers, use /p or /(p) instead.

Zn  
p-adic integers
\mathbf{Z}_n
the (set of) p-adic integers
Note that any letter may be used instead
Zp   numbers of p, such as n or l.

Symbols based on Hebrew or Greek letters

Symbol Name
Symbol
in Read as Explanation Examples
in TeX
HTML Category

aleph number
  ℵα represents an infinite cardinality (specifically, the α-th one,
ℵ \aleph
aleph
where α is an ordinal).
| | = ℵ0, which is called aleph-null.
set theory
beth number
  α represents an infinite cardinality (similar to ℵ, but does not
beth  
\beth necessarily index all of the numbers indexed by ℵ. ).
set theory
Dirac delta
function  
δ(x)
Dirac delta of
hyperfunction
Kronecker
delta
 
Kronecker δij
 
δ \delta
delta of
hyperfunction
Functional  
derivative
Functional  
derivative of
Differential
operators

 
∆ \vartrianglesymmetric
A ∆ B (or A B) means the set of elements in exactly one of A
difference {1,5,6,8} ∆ {2,5,8} = {1,2,6}
  or B.
symmetric
\ominus
difference {3,4,5,6} {1,2,5,6} = {1,2,3,4}
(Not to be confused with delta, ∆, described below.)
set theory
 
⊕ \oplus

∆x means a (non-infinitesimal) change in x.

delta
delta;
(If the change becomes infinitesimal, δ and even d are used   is the gradient of a straight line.
change in
instead. Not to be confused with the symmetric difference,
calculus written ∆, above.)
 
Δ \Delta Laplacian
Laplace
The Laplace operator is a second order differential operator in If ƒ is a twice-differentiable real-valued function
operator
n-dimensional Euclidean space defined by  
vector
calculus
gradient
del;
nabla;
∇f (x1, ..., xn) is the vector of partial derivatives (∂f / ∂x1, ..., ∂f /
gradient of If f (x,y,z) := 3xy + z², then ∇f = (3y, 3x, 2z)
∂xn).
vector
calculus
  
∇ divergence
\nabla del dot;  
If   , then  
divergence of
vector
calculus
curl  
curl of
If   , then  
vector  
calculus
Pi
pi; Used in various formulas involving circles; π is equivalent to the
3.1415926...; amount of area a circle would take up in a square of equal
A = πR2 = 314.16 → R = 10
≈355÷113 width with an area of 4 square units, roughly 3.14159. It is also
mathematical the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle.
constant
projection
Projection of
    restricts   to the   attribute set.  
π \pi relational
algebra
Homotopy
group
the nth   consists of homotopy equivalence classes of base
Homotopy point preserving maps from an n-dimensional sphere (with  
group of base point) into the pointed space X.
Homotopy
theory
product
product over
  means   .  
... from ... to
... of
arithmetic
  Cartesian
∏
\prod product
the Cartesian   means the set of all (n+1)-tuples
 
product of;
the direct (y0, ..., yn).
product of
set theory
coproduct
A general construction which subsumes the disjoint union of
coproduct
sets and of topological spaces, the free product of groups, and
  over ... from
the direct sum of modules and vector spaces. The coproduct of
\coprod ... to ... of
a family of objects is essentially the "least specific" object to
category which each object in the family admits a morphism.
theory
selection
The selection   selects all those tuples in   for which  
Selection of
  holds between the   and the   attribute. The selection    
σ \sigma relational selects all those tuples in   for which   holds between the    
algebra attribute and the value   .

summation
 sum over ...
    means   .  
∑ from ... to ...
\sum
of
arithmetic

Variations
In mathematics written in Persian or Arabic, some symbols may be
reversed to make right-to-left writing and reading easier.[27]

See also
Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering
List of letters used in mathematics and science
List of common physics notations
Diacritic
ISO 31-11 (Mathematical signs and symbols for use in physical
sciences and technology)
Latin letters used in mathematics
List of mathematical abbreviations
List of mathematical symbols by subject
Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols (Unicode block)
Mathematical constants and functions
Mathematical notation
Mathematical operators and symbols in Unicode
Notation in probability and statistics
 Physical constants
Table of logic symbols
Table of mathematical symbols by introduction date
Typographical conventions in mathematical formulae
APL syntax and symbols

References
1. "LaTeX/Mathematics" . Wikibooks. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
2. "The Comprehensive LATEX Symbol List" (PDF). p. 15. Retrieved
16 November 2017. “Because of the lack of notational consensus, it
is probably better to spell out “Contradiction!” than to use a symbol
for this purpose.”
3. Cook, John. "Unicode / LaTeX conversion" . John Cook Consulting.
Retrieved 18 November 2017.
4. "LaTeX/Special Characters" . Wikibooks. Retrieved 18 November
2017.
5. "\unicode - Tex Command" . TutorialsBay. Retrieved 18 November
2017.
6. "Unicode characters in pdflatex output using hexcode without UTF-
8 input" . Tex Stack Exchange. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
7. "fontenc vs inputenc" . TeX Stack Exchange. Retrieved
18 November 2017.
8. "pdflatex crashes when Latex code includes \unicode{f818} and
\unicode{f817} and how to handle it" . TeX Stack Exchange. Retrieved
18 November 2017.
9. "Math is Fun website" .
10. Rónyai, Lajos (1998), Algoritmusok(Algorithms), TYPOTEX,
ISBN 963-9132-16-0
11. Deb, K.; Pratap, A.; Agarwal, S.; Meyarivan, T. (2002). "A fast and
elitist multiobjective genetic algorithm: NSGA-II". IEEE Transactions
on Evolutionary Computation. 6 (2): 182. doi:10.1109/4235.996017 .
12. Copi, Irving M.; Cohen, Carl (1990) [1953], "Chapter 8.3:
Conditional Statements and Material Implication", Introduction to
Logic (8th ed.), New York: Macmillan Publishers (United States),
pp. 268–269, ISBN 0-02-325035-6, LCCN 89037742
13. Goldrei, Derek (1996), Classic Set Theory, London: Chapman and
Hall, p. 4, ISBN 0-412-60610-0
14. Nielsen, Michael A; Chuang, Isaac L (2000), Quantum
Computation and Quantum Information, New York: Cambridge
University Press, p. 66, ISBN 0-521-63503-9, OCLC 43641333
15. Goldrei, Derek (1996), Classic Set Theory, London: Chapman and
Hall, p. 3, ISBN 0-412-60610-0
16. "Expectation Value" . http://mathworld.wolfram.com . Retrieved
2017-12-02. External link in |website=(help)
17. Nielsen, Michael A; Chuang, Isaac L (2000), Quantum
Computation and Quantum Information, New York: Cambridge
University Press, p. 62, ISBN 0-521-63503-9, OCLC 43641333
18. Berman, Kenneth A; Paul, Jerome L. (2005), Algorithms:
Sequential, Parallel, and Distributed, Boston: Course Technology,
p. 822, ISBN 0-534-42057-5
19. "Parallel Symbol in TeX" . Google Groups. Retrieved 16 November
2017.
20. "Math symbols defined by LaTeX package «stmaryrd»" (PDF).
Retrieved 16 November 2017.
21. "Answer to Is there a "contradiction" symbol in some font,
somewhere?" . TeX Stack Exchange. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
22. Goldrei, Derek (1996), Classic Set Theory, London: Chapman and
Hall, p. 5, ISBN 0-412-60610-0
23. Nielsen, Michael A; Chuang, Isaac L (2000), Quantum
Computation and Quantum Information, New York: Cambridge
University Press, pp. 69–70, ISBN 0-521-63503-9, OCLC 43641333
24. Nielsen, Michael A; Chuang, Isaac L (2000), Quantum
Computation and Quantum Information, New York: Cambridge
University Press, pp. 71–72, ISBN 0-521-63503-9, OCLC 43641333
25. Z^* from Wolfram MathWorld
26. LK Turner, FJ BUdden, D Knighton, "Advanced Mathematics", Book
2, Longman 1975.
27. M. Benatia, A. Lazrik, and K. Sami, "Arabic mathematical symbols
in Unicode ", 27th Internationalization and Unicode Conference, 2005.

External links
The complete set of mathematics Unicode characters
Jeff Miller: Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols
Numericana: Scientific Symbols and Icons
GIF and PNG Images for Math Symbols
Mathematical Symbols in Unicode
Using Greek and special characters from Symbol font in HTML
DeTeXify handwritten symbol recognition — doodle a symbol in
the box, and the program will tell you what its name is
Handbook for Spoken Mathematics — pronunciation guide to
many commonly used symbols

Some Unicode charts of mathematical operators and symbols:

Index of Unicode symbols

Range 2100–214F: Unicode Letterlike Symbols
Range 2190–21FF: Unicode Arrows
Range 2200–22FF: Unicode Mathematical Operators
 Range 27C0–27EF: Unicode Miscellaneous Mathematical
Symbols–A
Range 2980–29FF: Unicode Miscellaneous Mathematical
Symbols–B
Range 2A00–2AFF: Unicode Supplementary Mathematical
Operators

Some Unicode cross-references:

Short list of commonly used LaTeX symbols and Comprehensive

LaTeX Symbol List
MathML Characters - sorts out Unicode, HTML and MathML/TeX
names on one page
Unicode values and MathML names
Unicode values and Postscript names from the source code for
Ghostscript

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