Is there a symbol for exponentiation?

Question

When we define a structure, let's say a group, we write $(G ,\oplus )$ for an operation $\oplus$. In case I want to define a structure with operation exponentiation I just define the $\oplus$ so that $a \oplus b = a^b$, which is what I have done until now. But a curiosity of mine is, if there exists, or if it ever existed, a symbolic representation of exponentiation.

Thus, have you ever come across a symbol for exponentiation?

I don't think you can define a group under the operation exponentiation — it's not associative. — The_Animator, Jan 08 '24 at 19:43

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 11 '15 at 14:15

1

Generally the caret ( ^ ) symbol and (as Yves mentioned) the up arrow ( ↑ ) is used for exponentation.

answered Feb 11 '15 at 14:15

Kunal Gupta

240

I suppose, after reading the Wikipedia article on the arrow notation, that this latter is usually preferred to the first one, or is it just a matter of personal preference? – eslukas Feb 11 '15 at 14:19
Where did you read it? @E.S.L. – Kunal Gupta Feb 11 '15 at 14:24
If I understood correctly, the use of the caret in order to express exponentiation comes from programming languages implementation, whereas the up-arrow is a more formal version of it. I might be wrong, I am just conjecturing. – eslukas Feb 11 '15 at 14:37
I have seen both in programming. – Kunal Gupta Feb 11 '15 at 14:43
Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caret#Surrogate_symbol_for_superscript_and_exponentiation <-Usage of caret – Kunal Gupta Feb 11 '15 at 14:48

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 01 '23 at 18:02

1

The caret (^) is most common, but in some programming languages (such as python) the double asterisk (**) is used.

answered Oct 01 '23 at 18:02

The_Animator

772
3
23

Is there a symbol for exponentiation?

2 Answers2