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3.10.4 Operators

Basic Mathematical Operators

form full name alias
×\[Times]AliasIndicator*AliasIndicator
÷\[Divide]AliasIndicatordivAliasIndicator
Sqrt\[Sqrt]AliasIndicatorsqrtAliasIndicator
form full name alias
Cross\[Cross]AliasIndicatorcrossAliasIndicator
±\[PlusMinus]AliasIndicator+-AliasIndicator
MinusPlus\[MinusPlus]AliasIndicator-+AliasIndicator

Some operators used in basic arithmetic and algebra.

Note that the  for \[Cross] is distinguished by being drawn slightly smaller than the  for \[Times].

x  y Times[x, y] multiplication
x  y Divide[x, y] division
 x Sqrt[x] square root
x  y Cross[x, y] vector cross product
 x PlusMinus[x] (no built-in meaning)
x  y PlusMinus[x, y] (no built-in meaning)
 x MinusPlus[x] (no built-in meaning)
x  y MinusPlus[x, y] (no built-in meaning)

Interpretation of some operators in basic arithmetic and algebra.

Operators in Calculus and Algebra

form full name alias
Del\[Del]AliasIndicatordelAliasIndicator
PartialD\[PartialD]AliasIndicatorpdAliasIndicator
DifferentialD\[DifferentialD]AliasIndicatorddAliasIndicator
Sum\[Sum]AliasIndicatorsumAliasIndicator
Product\[Product]AliasIndicatorprodAliasIndicator
form full name alias
Integral\[Integral]AliasIndicatorintAliasIndicator
ContourIntegral\[ContourIntegral]AliasIndicatorcintAliasIndicator
DoubleContourIntegral\[DoubleContourIntegral]
CounterClockwiseContourIntegral\[CounterClockwiseContourIntegral]AliasIndicatorcccintAliasIndicator
ClockwiseContourIntegral\[ClockwiseContourIntegral]AliasIndicatorccintAliasIndicator

Operators used in calculus.

form full name aliases
\[Conjugate]AliasIndicatorcoAliasIndicator, AliasIndicatorconjAliasIndicator
\[Transpose]AliasIndicatortrAliasIndicator
form full name alias
\[ConjugateTranspose]AliasIndicatorctAliasIndicator
\[HermitianConjugate]AliasIndicatorhcAliasIndicator

Operators for complex numbers and matrices.

Logical and Other Connectives

form full name aliases
And\[And]AliasIndicator&&AliasIndicator, AliasIndicatorandAliasIndicator
Or\[Or]AliasIndicator||AliasIndicator, AliasIndicatororAliasIndicator
¬\[Not]AliasIndicator!AliasIndicator, AliasIndicatornotAliasIndicator
Element\[Element]AliasIndicatorelAliasIndicator
ForAll\[ForAll]AliasIndicatorfaAliasIndicator
Exists\[Exists]AliasIndicatorexAliasIndicator
NotExists\[NotExists]AliasIndicator!exAliasIndicator
Xor\[Xor]AliasIndicatorxorAliasIndicator
Nand\[Nand]AliasIndicatornandAliasIndicator
Nor\[Nor]AliasIndicatornorAliasIndicator
form full name alias
Implies\[Implies]AliasIndicator=>AliasIndicator
RoundImplies\[RoundImplies]
Therefore\[Therefore]AliasIndicatortfAliasIndicator
Because\[Because]
RightTee\[RightTee]
LeftTee\[LeftTee]
DoubleRightTee\[DoubleRightTee]
DoubleLeftTee\[DoubleLeftTee]
SuchThat\[SuchThat]AliasIndicatorstAliasIndicator
VerticalSeparator\[VerticalSeparator]AliasIndicator|AliasIndicator
:\[Colon]AliasIndicator:AliasIndicator

Operators used as logical connectives.

The operators  ,  and  are interpreted as corresponding to the built-in functions And, Or and Not, and are equivalent to the keyboard operators &&, || and !. The operators  ,  and  correspond to the built-in functions Xor, Nand and Nor. Note that  is a prefix operator.

x y and x y are both taken to give the built-in function Implies[x, y]. x y gives the built-in function Element[x, y].

This is interpreted using the built-in functions And and Implies.

In[1]:=  3 < 4 And x > 5 Implies y < 7

Out[1]=

Mathematica supports most of the standard syntax used in mathematical logic. In Mathematica, however, the variables that appear in the quantifiers  ,  and  must appear as subscripts. If they appeared directly after the quantifier symbols then there could be a conflict with multiplication operations.

 and  are essentially prefix operators like  .

In[2]:=  XMLElement[img, {src -> http://documents.wolfram.com/MathematicaCharacters/ForAll.gif, width -> 7, height -> 19, align -> absmiddle, alt -> ForAll}, {}] . XMLElement[sub, {}, {x}]XMLElement[img, {src -> http://documents.wolfram.com/MathematicaCharacters/Exists.gif, width -> 7, height -> 19, align -> absmiddle, alt -> Exists}, {}] . XMLElement[sub, {}, {y}]Phi[x,y]//FullForm

Out[2]//FullForm=

Operators Used to Represent Actions

form full name alias
SmallCircle\[SmallCircle]AliasIndicatorscAliasIndicator
CirclePlus\[CirclePlus]AliasIndicatorc+AliasIndicator
CircleMinus\[CircleMinus]AliasIndicatorc-AliasIndicator
CircleTimes\[CircleTimes]AliasIndicatorc*AliasIndicator
CircleDot\[CircleDot]AliasIndicatorc.AliasIndicator
Diamond\[Diamond]AliasIndicatordiaAliasIndicator
CenterDot\[CenterDot]AliasIndicator.AliasIndicator
Star\[Star]AliasIndicatorstarAliasIndicator
VerticalTilde\[VerticalTilde]
\\[Backslash]AliasIndicator\AliasIndicator
form full name alias
Wedge\[Wedge]AliasIndicator^AliasIndicator
Vee\[Vee]AliasIndicatorvAliasIndicator
Union\[Union]AliasIndicatorunAliasIndicator
UnionPlus\[UnionPlus]
Intersection\[Intersection]AliasIndicatorinterAliasIndicator
SquareIntersection\[SquareIntersection]
SquareUnion\[SquareUnion]
Coproduct\[Coproduct]AliasIndicatorcoprodAliasIndicator
Cap\[Cap]
Cup\[Cup]
Square\[Square]AliasIndicatorsqAliasIndicator

Operators typically used to represent actions. All the operators except \[Square] are infix.

Following Mathematica's usual convention, all the operators in the table above are interpreted to give functions whose names are exactly the names of the characters that appear in the operators.

The operators are interpreted as functions with corresponding names.

In[1]:=  x CirclePlus y Cap z // FullForm

Out[1]//FullForm=

All the operators in the table above, except for  , are infix, so that they must appear in between their operands.

Bracketing Operators

form full name alias
LeftFloor\[LeftFloor]AliasIndicatorlfAliasIndicator
RightFloor\[RightFloor]AliasIndicatorrfAliasIndicator
LeftCeiling\[LeftCeiling]AliasIndicatorlcAliasIndicator
RightCeiling\[RightCeiling]AliasIndicatorrcAliasIndicator
LeftDoubleBracket\[LeftDoubleBracket]AliasIndicator[[AliasIndicator
RightDoubleBracket\[RightDoubleBracket]AliasIndicator]]AliasIndicator
form full name alias
LeftAngleBracket\[LeftAngleBracket]AliasIndicator<AliasIndicator
RightAngleBracket\[RightAngleBracket]AliasIndicator>AliasIndicator
LeftBracketingBar\[LeftBracketingBar]AliasIndicatorl|AliasIndicator
RightBracketingBar\[RightBracketingBar]AliasIndicatorr|AliasIndicator
LeftDoubleBracketingBar\[LeftDoubleBracketingBar]AliasIndicatorl||AliasIndicator
RightDoubleBracketingBar\[RightDoubleBracketingBar]AliasIndicatorr||AliasIndicator

Characters used as bracketing operators.

 x Floor[x]
 x Ceiling[x]
m i,j, ...  Part[m, i, j, ... ]
 x,y, ...  AngleBracket[x, y, ... ]
 x,y, ...  BracketingBar[x, y, ... ]
 x,y, ...  DoubleBracketingBar[x, y, ... ]

Interpretations of bracketing operators.

Operators Used to Represent Relations

form full name alias
\[Equal]AliasIndicatorEqualAliasIndicator
LongEqual\[LongEqual]AliasIndicatorl=AliasIndicator
Congruent\[Congruent]AliasIndicatorEqual=AliasIndicator
Tilde\[Tilde]AliasIndicator AliasIndicator
TildeTilde\[TildeTilde]AliasIndicator  AliasIndicator
TildeEqual\[TildeEqual]AliasIndicator =AliasIndicator
TildeFullEqual\[TildeFullEqual]AliasIndicator EqualAliasIndicator
EqualTilde\[EqualTilde]AliasIndicator= AliasIndicator
HumpEqual\[HumpEqual]AliasIndicatorh=AliasIndicator
HumpDownHump\[HumpDownHump]
CupCap\[CupCap]
DotEqual\[DotEqual]
form full name alias
\[NotEqual]AliasIndicatorNotEqualAliasIndicator
NotCongruent\[NotCongruent]AliasIndicatorNotEqualEqualAliasIndicator
NotTilde\[NotTilde]AliasIndicator! AliasIndicator
NotTildeTilde\[NotTildeTilde]AliasIndicator!  AliasIndicator
NotTildeEqual\[NotTildeEqual]AliasIndicator! =AliasIndicator
NotTildeFullEqual\[NotTildeFullEqual]AliasIndicator! EqualAliasIndicator
NotEqualTilde\[NotEqualTilde]AliasIndicatorNotEqual AliasIndicator
NotHumpEqual\[NotHumpEqual]AliasIndicator!h=AliasIndicator
NotHumpDownHump\[NotHumpDownHump]
NotCupCap\[NotCupCap]
Proportional\[Proportional]AliasIndicatorpropAliasIndicator
Proportion\[Proportion]

Operators usually used to represent similarity or equivalence.
The special character  (or \[Equal]) is an alternative input form for Equal.   is used both for input and output.

In[1]:=  {a Equal b, a ⩵ b, a NotEqual b, a ≠ b}

Out[1]=

form full name alias
\[GreaterEqual]AliasIndicatorGreaterEqualAliasIndicator
\[LessEqual]AliasIndicatorLessEqualAliasIndicator
GreaterSlantEqual\[GreaterSlantEqual]AliasIndicator>/AliasIndicator
LessSlantEqual\[LessSlantEqual]AliasIndicator</AliasIndicator
GreaterFullEqual\[GreaterFullEqual]
LessFullEqual\[LessFullEqual]
GreaterTilde\[GreaterTilde]AliasIndicator> AliasIndicator
LessTilde\[LessTilde]AliasIndicator< AliasIndicator
GreaterGreater\[GreaterGreater]
LessLess\[LessLess]
NestedGreaterGreater\[NestedGreaterGreater]
NestedLessLess\[NestedLessLess]
GreaterLess\[GreaterLess]
LessGreater\[LessGreater]
GreaterEqualLess\[GreaterEqualLess]
LessEqualGreater\[LessEqualGreater]
form full name alias
NotGreaterEqual\[NotGreaterEqual]AliasIndicator!GreaterEqualAliasIndicator
NotLessEqual\[NotLessEqual]AliasIndicator!LessEqualAliasIndicator
NotGreaterSlantEqual\[NotGreaterSlantEqual]AliasIndicator!>/AliasIndicator
NotLessSlantEqual\[NotLessSlantEqual]AliasIndicator!</AliasIndicator
NotGreaterFullEqual\[NotGreaterFullEqual]
NotLessFullEqual\[NotLessFullEqual]
NotGreaterTilde\[NotGreaterTilde]AliasIndicator!> AliasIndicator
NotLessTilde\[NotLessTilde]AliasIndicator!< AliasIndicator
NotGreaterGreater\[NotGreaterGreater]
NotLessLess\[NotLessLess]
NotNestedGreaterGreater\[NotNestedGreaterGreater]
NotNestedLessLess\[NotNestedLessLess]
NotGreaterLess\[NotGreaterLess]
NotLessGreater\[NotLessGreater]
NotGreater\[NotGreater]AliasIndicator!>AliasIndicator
NotLess\[NotLess]AliasIndicator!<AliasIndicator

Operators usually used for ordering by magnitude.

form full name alias
Subset\[Subset]AliasIndicatorsubAliasIndicator
Superset\[Superset]AliasIndicatorsupAliasIndicator
SubsetEqual\[SubsetEqual]AliasIndicatorsub=AliasIndicator
SupersetEqual\[SupersetEqual]AliasIndicatorsup=AliasIndicator
Element\[Element]AliasIndicatorelAliasIndicator
ReverseElement\[ReverseElement]AliasIndicatormemAliasIndicator
form full name alias
NotSubset\[NotSubset]AliasIndicator!subAliasIndicator
NotSuperset\[NotSuperset]AliasIndicator!supAliasIndicator
NotSubsetEqual\[NotSubsetEqual]AliasIndicator!sub=AliasIndicator
NotSupersetEqual\[NotSupersetEqual]AliasIndicator!sup=AliasIndicator
NotElement\[NotElement]AliasIndicator!elAliasIndicator
NotReverseElement\[NotReverseElement]AliasIndicator!memAliasIndicator

Operators used for relations in sets.

form full name
>\[Succeeds]
<\[Precedes]
SucceedsEqual\[SucceedsEqual]
PrecedesEqual\[PrecedesEqual]
SucceedsSlantEqual\[SucceedsSlantEqual]
PrecedesSlantEqual\[PrecedesSlantEqual]
SucceedsTilde\[SucceedsTilde]
PrecedesTilde\[PrecedesTilde]
RightTriangle\[RightTriangle]
LeftTriangle\[LeftTriangle]
RightTriangleEqual\[RightTriangleEqual]
LeftTriangleEqual\[LeftTriangleEqual]
RightTriangleBar\[RightTriangleBar]
LeftTriangleBar\[LeftTriangleBar]
SquareSuperset\[SquareSuperset]
SquareSubset\[SquareSubset]
SquareSupersetEqual\[SquareSupersetEqual]
SquareSubsetEqual\[SquareSubsetEqual]
form full name
NotSucceeds\[NotSucceeds]
NotPrecedes\[NotPrecedes]
NotSucceedsEqual\[NotSucceedsEqual]
NotPrecedesTilde\[NotPrecedesTilde]
NotSucceedsSlantEqual\[NotSucceedsSlantEqual]
NotPrecedesSlantEqual\[NotPrecedesSlantEqual]
NotSucceedsTilde\[NotSucceedsTilde]
NotPrecedesEqual\[NotPrecedesEqual]
NotRightTriangle\[NotRightTriangle]
NotLeftTriangle\[NotLeftTriangle]
NotRightTriangleEqual\[NotRightTriangleEqual]
NotLeftTriangleEqual\[NotLeftTriangleEqual]
NotRightTriangleBar\[NotRightTriangleBar]
NotLeftTriangleBar\[NotLeftTriangleBar]
NotSquareSuperset\[NotSquareSuperset]
NotSquareSubset\[NotSquareSubset]
NotSquareSupersetEqual\[NotSquareSupersetEqual]
NotSquareSubsetEqual\[NotSquareSubsetEqual]

Operators usually used for other kinds of orderings.

form full name alias
|\[VerticalBar]AliasIndicator |AliasIndicator
DoubleVerticalBar\[DoubleVerticalBar]AliasIndicator ||AliasIndicator
form full name alias
NotVerticalBar\[NotVerticalBar]AliasIndicator!|AliasIndicator
NotDoubleVerticalBar\[NotDoubleVerticalBar]AliasIndicator!||AliasIndicator

Relational operators based on vertical bars.

Operators Based on Arrows and Vectors

Operators based on arrows are often used in pure mathematics and elsewhere to represent various kinds of transformations or changes.

 is equivalent to ->.

In[1]:=  x + y /. x -> 3

Out[1]=

form full name alias
->\[Rule]AliasIndicator->AliasIndicator
:>\[RuleDelayed]AliasIndicator:>AliasIndicator
form full name alias
Implies\[Implies]AliasIndicator=>AliasIndicator
RoundImplies\[RoundImplies]

Arrow-like operators with built-in meanings in Mathematica.

form full name alias
RightArrow\[RightArrow]AliasIndicator ->AliasIndicator
LeftArrow\[LeftArrow]AliasIndicator<-AliasIndicator
LeftRightArrow\[LeftRightArrow]AliasIndicator<->AliasIndicator
LongRightArrow\[LongRightArrow]AliasIndicator-->AliasIndicator
LongLeftArrow\[LongLeftArrow]AliasIndicator<--AliasIndicator
LongLeftRightArrow\[LongLeftRightArrow]AliasIndicator<-->AliasIndicator
ShortRightArrow\[ShortRightArrow]
ShortLeftArrow\[ShortLeftArrow]
RightTeeArrow\[RightTeeArrow]
LeftTeeArrow\[LeftTeeArrow]
RightArrowBar\[RightArrowBar]
LeftArrowBar\[LeftArrowBar]
DoubleRightArrow\[DoubleRightArrow]AliasIndicator =>AliasIndicator
DoubleLeftArrow\[DoubleLeftArrow]AliasIndicator LessEqualAliasIndicator
DoubleLeftRightArrow\[DoubleLeftRightArrow]AliasIndicatorLessEqual>AliasIndicator
DoubleLongRightArrow\[DoubleLongRightArrow]AliasIndicatorEqual>AliasIndicator
DoubleLongLeftArrow\[DoubleLongLeftArrow]AliasIndicatorLessEqual=AliasIndicator
DoubleLongLeftRightArrow\[DoubleLongLeftRightArrow]AliasIndicatorLessEqual=>AliasIndicator
form full name
UpArrow\[UpArrow]
DownArrow\[DownArrow]
UpDownArrow\[UpDownArrow]
UpTeeArrow\[UpTeeArrow]
DownTeeArrow\[DownTeeArrow]
UpArrowBar\[UpArrowBar]
DownArrowBar\[DownArrowBar]
DoubleUpArrow\[DoubleUpArrow]
DoubleDownArrow\[DoubleDownArrow]
DoubleUpDownArrow\[DoubleUpDownArrow]
RightArrowLeftArrow\[RightArrowLeftArrow]
LeftArrowRightArrow\[LeftArrowRightArrow]
UpArrowDownArrow\[UpArrowDownArrow]
DownArrowUpArrow\[DownArrowUpArrow]
LowerRightArrow\[LowerRightArrow]
LowerLeftArrow\[LowerLeftArrow]
UpperLeftArrow\[UpperLeftArrow]
UpperRightArrow\[UpperRightArrow]

Ordinary arrows.

form full name alias
RightVector\[RightVector]AliasIndicatorvecAliasIndicator
LeftVector\[LeftVector]
LeftRightVector\[LeftRightVector]
DownRightVector\[DownRightVector]
DownLeftVector\[DownLeftVector]
DownLeftRightVector\[DownLeftRightVector]
RightTeeVector\[RightTeeVector]
LeftTeeVector\[LeftTeeVector]
DownRightTeeVector\[DownRightTeeVector]
DownLeftTeeVector\[DownLeftTeeVector]
RightVectorBar\[RightVectorBar]
LeftVectorBar\[LeftVectorBar]
DownRightVectorBar\[DownRightVectorBar]
DownLeftVectorBar\[DownLeftVectorBar]
Equilibrium\[Equilibrium]AliasIndicatorequiAliasIndicator
ReverseEquilibrium\[ReverseEquilibrium]
form full name
LeftUpVector\[LeftUpVector]
LeftDownVector\[LeftDownVector]
LeftUpDownVector\[LeftUpDownVector]
RightUpVector\[RightUpVector]
RightDownVector\[RightDownVector]
RightUpDownVector\[RightUpDownVector]
LeftUpTeeVector\[LeftUpTeeVector]
LeftDownTeeVector\[LeftDownTeeVector]
RightUpTeeVector\[RightUpTeeVector]
RightDownTeeVector\[RightDownTeeVector]
LeftUpVectorBar\[LeftUpVectorBar]
LeftDownVectorBar\[LeftDownVectorBar]
RightUpVectorBar\[RightUpVectorBar]
RightDownVectorBar\[RightDownVectorBar]
UpEquilibrium\[UpEquilibrium]
ReverseUpEquilibrium\[ReverseUpEquilibrium]

Vectors and related arrows.
All the arrow and vector-like operators in Mathematica are infix.

In[2]:=  x Equilibrium y UpEquilibrium z

Out[2]=

form full name alias
RightTee\[RightTee]AliasIndicatorrTAliasIndicator
LeftTee\[LeftTee]AliasIndicatorlTAliasIndicator
UpTee\[UpTee]AliasIndicatoruTAliasIndicator
DownTee\[DownTee]AliasIndicatordTAliasIndicator
form full name
DoubleRightTee\[DoubleRightTee]
DoubleLeftTee\[DoubleLeftTee]

Tees.


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