Error Function Normal Integral
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Random Entry New in MathWorld MathWorld Classroom About MathWorld Contribute to MathWorld Send a Message to the Team MathWorld Book Wolfram Web Resources» 13,594 entries Last updated: Tue Sep 27 2016 Created, developed, and nurturedbyEricWeisstein at WolframResearch Calculus and Analysis>Special Functions>Erf> Calculus and Analysis>Complex Analysis>Entire Functions> Interactive integral complementary error function Entries>webMathematica Examples> More... History and Terminology>Wolfram Language Commands> MathWorld Contributors>D'Orsogna> Less... Erf is the integral of error function with gaussian density function "error function" encountered in integrating the normal distribution (which is a normalized form of the Gaussian function). It is an entire function error function integral table defined by (1) Note that some authors (e.g., Whittaker and Watson 1990, p.341) define without the leading factor of . Erf is implemented in the Wolfram Language as Erf[z]. A two-argument form giving is also implemented as error function integral calculation Erf[z0, z1]. Erf satisfies the identities (2) (3) (4) where is erfc, the complementary error function, and is a confluent hypergeometric function of the first kind. For , (5) where is the incomplete gamma function. Erf can also be defined as a Maclaurin series (6) (7) (OEIS A007680). Similarly, (8) (OEIS A103979 and A103980). For , may be computed from (9) (10) (OEIS A000079 and A001147; Acton 1990). For , (11) (12) Using
Integral Gamma Function
integration by parts gives (13) (14) (15) (16) so (17) and continuing the procedure gives the asymptotic series (18) (19) (20) (OEIS A001147 and A000079). Erf has the values (21) (22) It is an odd function (23) and satisfies (24) Erf may be expressed in terms of a confluent hypergeometric function of the first kind as (25) (26) Its derivative is (27) where is a Hermite polynomial. The first derivative is (28) and the integral is (29) Min Max Re Im Erf can also be extended to the complex plane, as illustrated above. A simple integral involving erf that Wolfram Language cannot do is given by (30) (M.R.D'Orsogna, pers. comm., May 9, 2004). More complicated integrals include (31) (M.R.D'Orsogna, pers. comm., Dec.15, 2005). Erf has the continued fraction (32) (33) (Wall 1948, p.357), first stated by Laplace in 1805 and Legendre in 1826 (Olds 1963, p.139), proved by Jacobi, and rediscovered by Ramanujan (Watson 1928; Hardy 1999, pp.8-9). Definite integrals involving include Definite integrals involving include (34) (35) (36) (37) (38) The first two of these appear in Prudnikov et al. (1990, p.123, eqns. 2.8.19.8 and 2.8.19.11), with , . A complex generalization of is defined as (39) (40) Integral representations valid only in the upper half-plane are given by (41) (42) SEE ALSO: Dawson's Integral, Erf
Random Entry New in MathWorld MathWorld Classroom About MathWorld Contribute to MathWorld Send a Message to the Team MathWorld Book Wolfram Web Resources» 13,594 entries Last updated: Tue Sep 27 2016 Created, developed, and nurturedbyEricWeisstein at
Integral Normal Distribution
WolframResearch Probability and Statistics>Statistical Distributions>Continuous Distributions> History and Terminology>Wolfram Language Commands> Interactive error function values Entries>Interactive Demonstrations> Normal Distribution A normal distribution in a variate with mean and variance is a statistic distribution with integral of error function probability density function (1) on the domain . While statisticians and mathematicians uniformly use the term "normal distribution" for this distribution, physicists sometimes call it a Gaussian distribution and, because of http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Erf.html its curved flaring shape, social scientists refer to it as the "bell curve." Feller (1968) uses the symbol for in the above equation, but then switches to in Feller (1971). de Moivre developed the normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution, and it was subsequently used by Laplace in 1783 to study measurement errors and by Gauss in 1809 in http://mathworld.wolfram.com/NormalDistribution.html the analysis of astronomical data (Havil 2003, p.157). The normal distribution is implemented in the Wolfram Language as NormalDistribution[mu, sigma]. The so-called "standard normal distribution" is given by taking and in a general normal distribution. An arbitrary normal distribution can be converted to a standard normal distribution by changing variables to , so , yielding (2) The Fisher-Behrens problem is the determination of a test for the equality of means for two normal distributions with different variances. The normal distribution function gives the probability that a standard normal variate assumes a value in the interval , (3) (4) where erf is a function sometimes called the error function. Neither nor erf can be expressed in terms of finite additions, subtractions, multiplications, and root extractions, and so both must be either computed numerically or otherwise approximated. The normal distribution is the limiting case of a discrete binomial distribution as the sample size becomes large, in which case is normal with mean and variance (5) (6) with . The distribution is properly normalized since (7) The cumulative distribution function, which gives the probability that a varia
here for a quick overview of the site Help Center Detailed answers to any questions you might have Meta Discuss the workings and policies of http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/37889/why-is-the-error-function-defined-as-it-is this site About Us Learn more about Stack Overflow the company Business Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us Mathematics Questions Tags Users Badges Unanswered Ask Question _ Mathematics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields. Join them; it only takes a minute: Sign up Here's error function how it works: Anybody can ask a question Anybody can answer The best answers are voted up and rise to the top Why is the error function defined as it is? up vote 35 down vote favorite 6 $\newcommand{\erf}{\operatorname{erf}}$ This may be a very naïve question, but here goes. The error function $\erf$ is defined by $$\erf(x) = \frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}} \int_0^x e^{-t^2}dt.$$ Of integral of error course, it is closely related to the normal cdf $$\Phi(x) = P(N < x) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}} \int_{-\infty}^x e^{-t^2/2}dt$$ (where $N \sim N(0,1)$ is a standard normal) by the expression $\erf(x) = 2\Phi(x \sqrt{2})-1$. My question is: Why is it natural or useful to define $\erf$ normalized in this way? I may be biased: as a probabilist, I think much more naturally in terms of $\Phi$. However, anytime I want to compute something, I find that my calculator or math library only provides $\erf$, and I have to go check a textbook or Wikipedia to remember where all the $1$s and $2$s go. Being charitable, I have to assume that $\erf$ was invented for some reason other than to cause me annoyance, so I would like to know what it is. If nothing else, it might help me remember the definition. Wikipedia says: The standard normal cdf is used more often in probability and statistics, and the error function is used more often in other branches of mathematics. So perhaps a practitioner of one of these mysterious "other branches of mathematics" would care to enlighten
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