Exponential functionThe exponential function is a mathematical function denoted by or (where the argument x is written as an exponent). Unless otherwise specified, the term generally refers to the positive-valued function of a real variable, although it can be extended to the complex numbers or generalized to other mathematical objects like matrices or Lie algebras. The exponential function originated from the notion of exponentiation (repeated multiplication), but modern definitions (there are several equivalent characterizations) allow it to be rigorously extended to all real arguments, including irrational numbers.
LogarithmIn mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means that the logarithm of a number x to the base b is the exponent to which b must be raised to produce x. For example, since 1000 = 103, the logarithm base 10 of 1000 is 3, or log10 (1000) = 3. The logarithm of x to base b is denoted as logb (x), or without parentheses, logb x, or even without the explicit base, log x, when no confusion is possible, or when the base does not matter such as in big O notation.
Natural logarithmThe natural logarithm of a number is its logarithm to the base of the mathematical constant e, which is an irrational and transcendental number approximately equal to 2.718281828459. The natural logarithm of x is generally written as ln x, loge x, or sometimes, if the base e is implicit, simply log x. Parentheses are sometimes added for clarity, giving ln(x), loge(x), or log(x). This is done particularly when the argument to the logarithm is not a single symbol, so as to prevent ambiguity.
Complex logarithmIn mathematics, a complex logarithm is a generalization of the natural logarithm to nonzero complex numbers. The term refers to one of the following, which are strongly related: A complex logarithm of a nonzero complex number , defined to be any complex number for which . Such a number is denoted by . If is given in polar form as , where and are real numbers with , then is one logarithm of , and all the complex logarithms of are exactly the numbers of the form for integers .
Common logarithmIn mathematics, the common logarithm is the logarithm with base 10. It is also known as the decadic logarithm and as the decimal logarithm, named after its base, or Briggsian logarithm, after Henry Briggs, an English mathematician who pioneered its use, as well as standard logarithm. Historically, it was known as logarithmus decimalis or logarithmus decadis. It is indicated by log(x), log10 (x), or sometimes Log(x) with a capital L (however, this notation is ambiguous, since it can also mean the complex natural logarithmic multi-valued function).
Inverse trigonometric functionsIn mathematics, the inverse trigonometric functions (occasionally also called arcus functions, antitrigonometric functions or cyclometric functions) are the inverse functions of the trigonometric functions (with suitably restricted domains). Specifically, they are the inverses of the sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant functions, and are used to obtain an angle from any of the angle's trigonometric ratios. Inverse trigonometric functions are widely used in engineering, navigation, physics, and geometry.
Inverse functionIn mathematics, the inverse function of a function f (also called the inverse of f) is a function that undoes the operation of f. The inverse of f exists if and only if f is bijective, and if it exists, is denoted by For a function , its inverse admits an explicit description: it sends each element to the unique element such that f(x) = y. As an example, consider the real-valued function of a real variable given by f(x) = 5x − 7. One can think of f as the function which multiplies its input by 5 then subtracts 7 from the result.
Iterated logarithmIn computer science, the iterated logarithm of , written (usually read "log star"), is the number of times the logarithm function must be iteratively applied before the result is less than or equal to . The simplest formal definition is the result of this recurrence relation: On the positive real numbers, the continuous super-logarithm (inverse tetration) is essentially equivalent: i.e. the base b iterated logarithm is if n lies within the interval , where denotes tetration.
Semi-log plotIn science and engineering, a semi-log plot/graph or semi-logarithmic plot/graph has one axis on a logarithmic scale, the other on a linear scale. It is useful for data with exponential relationships, where one variable covers a large range of values, or to zoom in and visualize that - what seems to be a straight line in the beginning - is in fact the slow start of a logarithmic curve that is about to spike and changes are much bigger than thought initially.
Inverse hyperbolic functionsIn mathematics, the inverse hyperbolic functions are inverses of the hyperbolic functions, analogous to the inverse circular functions. There are six in common use: inverse hyperbolic sine, inverse hyperbolic cosine, inverse hyperbolic tangent, inverse hyperbolic cosecant, inverse hyperbolic secant, and inverse hyperbolic cotangent. They are commonly denoted by the symbols for the hyperbolic functions, prefixed with arc- or ar-.
Exponential distributionIn probability theory and statistics, the exponential distribution or negative exponential distribution is the probability distribution of the time between events in a Poisson point process, i.e., a process in which events occur continuously and independently at a constant average rate. It is a particular case of the gamma distribution. It is the continuous analogue of the geometric distribution, and it has the key property of being memoryless. In addition to being used for the analysis of Poisson point processes it is found in various other contexts.
Limit setIn mathematics, especially in the study of dynamical systems, a limit set is the state a dynamical system reaches after an infinite amount of time has passed, by either going forward or backwards in time. Limit sets are important because they can be used to understand the long term behavior of a dynamical system. A system that has reached its limiting set is said to be at equilibrium.
Limit (mathematics)In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) approaches as the input (or index) approaches some value. Limits are essential to calculus and mathematical analysis, and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals. The concept of a limit of a sequence is further generalized to the concept of a limit of a topological net, and is closely related to and direct limit in . In formulas, a limit of a function is usually written as (although a few authors use "Lt" instead of "lim") and is read as "the limit of f of x as x approaches c equals L".
Trigonometric functionsIn mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in all sciences that are related to geometry, such as navigation, solid mechanics, celestial mechanics, geodesy, and many others. They are among the simplest periodic functions, and as such are also widely used for studying periodic phenomena through Fourier analysis.
Binary logarithmIn mathematics, the binary logarithm (log2n) is the power to which the number 2 must be raised to obtain the value n. That is, for any real number x, For example, the binary logarithm of 1 is 0, the binary logarithm of 2 is 1, the binary logarithm of 4 is 2, and the binary logarithm of 32 is 5. The binary logarithm is the logarithm to the base 2 and is the inverse function of the power of two function. As well as log2, an alternative notation for the binary logarithm is lb (the notation preferred by ISO 31-11 and ISO 80000-2).
Monotonic functionIn mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves or reverses the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of order theory. In calculus, a function defined on a subset of the real numbers with real values is called monotonic if and only if it is either entirely non-increasing, or entirely non-decreasing. That is, as per Fig. 1, a function that increases monotonically does not exclusively have to increase, it simply must not decrease.
Injective objectIn mathematics, especially in the field of , the concept of injective object is a generalization of the concept of injective module. This concept is important in cohomology, in homotopy theory and in the theory of . The dual notion is that of a projective object. An in a is said to be injective if for every monomorphism and every morphism there exists a morphism extending to , i.e. such that . That is, every morphism factors through every monomorphism . The morphism in the above definition is not required to be uniquely determined by and .
Limit of a functionAlthough the function \tfrac{\sin x}{x} is not defined at zero, as x becomes closer and closer to zero, \tfrac{\sin x}{x} becomes arbitrarily close to 1. In other words, the limit of \tfrac{\sin x}{x}, as x approaches zero, equals 1. In mathematics, the limit of a function is a fundamental concept in calculus and analysis concerning the behavior of that function near a particular input. Formal definitions, first devised in the early 19th century, are given below. Informally, a function f assigns an output f(x) to every input x.
Injective moduleIn mathematics, especially in the area of abstract algebra known as module theory, an injective module is a module Q that shares certain desirable properties with the Z-module Q of all rational numbers. Specifically, if Q is a submodule of some other module, then it is already a direct summand of that module; also, given a submodule of a module Y, any module homomorphism from this submodule to Q can be extended to a homomorphism from all of Y to Q. This concept is to that of projective modules.
Characterizations of the exponential functionIn mathematics, the exponential function can be characterized in many ways. The following characterizations (definitions) are most common. This article discusses why each characterization makes sense, and why the characterizations are independent of and equivalent to each other. As a special case of these considerations, it will be demonstrated that the three most common definitions given for the mathematical constant e are equivalent to each other.
