characteristic function

English

Noun

characteristic function (plural characteristic functions)

1. (mathematical analysis) A function which is equal to 1 for all points in its domain which belong to a given set, and is equal to 0 for all points in the domain which do not belong to that given set.
2. (mathematics, probability theory) A complex function completely defining the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable

Usage notes

• The characteristic function of a set A is often represented as χ_A.

Synonyms

• (function equal to 1 on elements of a given set): indicator function

Hypernyms

• function

Hyponyms

• point characteristic function

Translations

function equal to one on elements of a given set — see indicator function

a complex function completely defining a probability distribution

• Finnish: karakteristinen funktio

See also

• subset classifier