Sign
Sign[x]
gives -1, 0, or 1 depending on whether x is negative, zero, or positive.
Details
- Mathematical function, suitable for both symbolic and numerical manipulation.
- For nonzero complex numbers z, Sign[z] is defined as z/Abs[z].
- Sign tries various transformations in trying to determine the sign of symbolic expressions.
- For exact numeric quantities, Sign internally uses numerical approximations to establish its result. This process can be affected by the setting of the global variable $MaxExtraPrecision.
- Sign automatically threads over lists. »
- Sign can be used with Interval and CenteredInterval objects. »
Examples
open allclose allBasic Examples (4)
Scope (32)
Numerical Evaluation (6)
For real inputs, the result is exact:
For complex inputs, the precision of the output tracks the precision of the input:
Evaluate efficiently at high precision:
Compute the elementwise values of an array using automatic threading:
Or compute the matrix Sign function using MatrixFunction:
Sign can be used with Interval and CenteredInterval objects:
Or compute average-case statistical intervals using Around:
Specific Values (5)
Values of Sign at fixed points:
Visualization (4)
Plot the real and imaginary parts of the function:
Visualize Sign in three dimensions:
Function Properties (12)
Sign is defined for all real and complex inputs:
Function range of Sign for real inputs:
The range over the complex plane is the unit circle plus the origin:
Sign is an odd function:
Sign has mirror symmetry :
Sign is not a differentiable function:
The difference quotient does not have a limit in the complex plane:
There is only a limit in certain directions, for example, the real direction:
Use RealSign to obtain this real-differentiable result:
Sign is not an analytic function:
It has both singularities and discontinuities:
Over the complex plane, it is singular everywhere but still discontinuous only at the origin:
Sign is nonincreasing:
Sign is not injective:
Sign is not surjective:
Sign is neither non-negative nor non-positive:
Sign is neither convex nor concave:
TraditionalForm formatting:
Applications (2)
Plot the real and imaginary parts of Sign over the complex plane:
Define Rademacher functions:
Plot (vertically shifted) Rademacher functions:
Check orthogonality over the unit interval:
Properties & Relations (10)
Sign with simple arguments automatically evaluates to simpler form:
Sign is idempotent:
Use FullSimplify to simplify expressions involving Sign:
Simplify under additional assumptions:
Assume real‐valued variables:
Use Sign as a target function for ComplexExpand:
Use Sign in definite integration:
Integrate along a line in the complex plane, symbolically and numerically:
For complex values, the indefinite integral is path dependent:
The indefinite integral for real values:
Use in integral transforms:
Obtain Sign from integrals and limits:
Convert to Piecewise:
De‐nest:
Possible Issues (5)
Sign is a function of a complex variable and is therefore not differentiable:
As a complex function, it is not possible to write Sign[z] without involving Conjugate[z]:
In particular, the limit that defines the derivative is direction dependent and therefore does not exist:
Use RealSign, which assumes its argument is real, to obtain a differentiable version of Sign:
For purely real or imaginary approximate arguments, Sign returns exact answers:
For general complex arguments, Sign tracks the precision of the input:
Sign can stay unevaluated for numeric arguments:
Machine‐precision numerical evaluation of Sign can give wrong results:
Arbitrary‐precision evaluation gives the correct result:
A larger setting for $MaxExtraPrecision can be needed:
Sign applied to a matrix does not give the matrix sign function:
Text
Wolfram Research (1988), Sign, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Sign.html (updated 2021).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1988. "Sign." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2021. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Sign.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1988). Sign. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Sign.html