characteristic function

noun Mathematics.

a function defined on a given set, having value 1 for every element of the set and value 0 for every element not contained in the set.
characteristic polynomial.

Origin of characteristic function

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby characteristic function

character witness, characterful, characteristic, characteristic curve, characteristic equation, characteristic function, characteristic polynomial, characteristic root, characteristic vector, characteristic velocity, characteristic x-ray

British Dictionary definitions for characteristic function

characteristic function

noun

maths a function that assigns the value 1 to the members of a given set and the value 0 to its nonmembers
statistics a function derived from the probability distribution function that enables the distribution of the sum of given random variables to be analysed