Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and

engineering
Greek letters are used in mathematics, science, engineering, and other areas where mathematical notation is
used as symbols for constants, special functions, and also conventionally for variables representing certain
quantities. In these contexts, the capital letters and the small letters represent distinct and unrelated entities.
Those Greek letters which have the same form as Latin letters are rarely used: capital A, B, E, Z, H, I, K, M, N,
O, P, T, Y, X. Small , and are also rarely used, since they closely resemble the Latin letters i, o and u.
Sometimes font variants of Greek letters are used as distinct symbols in mathematics, in particular for / and
/. The archaic letter digamma (//) is sometimes used.
The Bayer designation naming scheme for stars typically uses the first Greek letter, , for the brightest star in
each constellation, and runs through the alphabet before switching to Latin letters.
In mathematical finance, the Greeks are the variables denoted by Greek letters used to describe the risk of
certain investments.

Contents
1. (alpha)
2. (beta)
3. (gamma)
4. (delta)
5. (epsilon)
6. (digamma)
7. (zeta)
8. (eta)
9. (theta)
10. (iota)
11. (kappa)
12. (lambda)
13. (mu)
14. (nu)
15. (xi)
16. (omicron)
17. (pi)
18. (rho)
19. (sigma)
20. (tau)
21. (upsilon)
22. (phi)
23. (chi)
24. (psi)
25. (omega)

Alpha

Digamma

Kappa

Omicron

Upsilon

Beta

Zeta

Lambda

Pi

Phi

Gamma

Eta

Mu

Rho

Chi

Delta

Theta

Nu

Sigma

Psi

Epsilon

Iota

Xi

Tau

Omega

Concepts represented by a Greek letter

1. (alpha) represents:

the first angle in a triangle, opposite the side A

one root of a quadratic equation, where represents the other
the ratio of collector current to emitter current in a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) in electronics
the statistical significance of a result
the false positive rate in statistics ("Type I" error)
the reciprocal of the sacrifice ratio
the fine structure constant in physics
the angle of attack of an aircraft
an alpha particle (He2+)
angular acceleration in physics
the linear thermal expansion coefficient
the thermal diffusivity
In organic chemistry the carbon
is the backbone carbon next to the carbonyl carbon, most often for amino acids
right ascension in astronomy
the brightest star in a constellation
Iron ferrite and numerous phases within materials science
the return in excess of the compensation for the risk borne in investment
the conversion
in lambda calculus
the independence number of a graph

2. (beta)
represents the beta function
represents:

the thermodynamic beta, equal to (kBT)1, where kB is Boltzmann's constant and T is the absolute
temperature.
the second angle in a triangle, opposite the side B
one root of a quadratic equation, where represents the other
the standardized regression coefficient for predictor or independent variables in linear regression
(unstandardized regression coefficients are represented with the lowercase Latin b, but are often called
"betas" as well)
the ratio of collector current to base current in a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) in electronics
(current gain)
the false negative rate in statistics ("Type II" error)
the beta coefficient, the non diversifiable
risk, of an asset in mathematical finance
the sideslip angle of an airplane
the first order
effects of variations in Coriolis force with latitude in planetary dynamics
a beta particle (e)
sound intensity
velocity divided by the speed of light in special relativity
the beta brain wave in brain or cognitive sciences
ecliptic latitude in astronomy
The ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure in plasma physics
reduction
in lambda calculus
The ratio of the velocity of an object to the speed of light as used in the Lorentz factor
In organic chemistry, represents the second carbon from a functional group

3. (gamma)
represents:
the circulation in fluid dynamics
the reflection coefficient of a transmission or telecommunication line.
the confinement factor of an optical mode in a waveguide
the gamma function, a generalization of the factorial
the upper incomplete gamma function
the modular group, the group of fractional linear transformations
the gamma distribution, a continuous probability distribution defined using the gamma function
second order sensitivity to price in mathematical finance
the Christoffel symbols of the second kind
the neighbourhood of a vertex in a graph

the stack alphabet in the formal definition of a pushdown automaton

represents:
the circulation strength in fluid dynamics
the partial safety factors applied to loads and materials in structural engineering
the specific weight of substances
the lower incomplete gamma function
the third angle in a triangle, opposite the side C
the EulerMascheroni constant in mathematics
gamma rays and the photon
the heat capacity ratio in thermodynamics
the Lorentz factor in special relativity
the damping constant (kg/s)

4. (delta)
represents:
a finite difference
a difference operator
a symmetric difference
the Laplace operator
the angle that subtends the arc of a circular curve in surveying

the determinant of an inverse matrix

the maximum degree of any vertex in a given graph
the difference or change in a given variable, e.g. v means a difference or change in velocity
sensitivity to price in mathematical finance
distance to Earth, measured in astronomical units
heat in a chemical formula
the discriminant in the quadratic formula which determines the nature of the roots
the degrees of freedom in a non-pooled
statistical hypothesis test of two population means
represents:
percent error
a variation in the calculus of variations
the Kronecker delta function
the Feigenbaum constant
the force of interest in mathematical finance
the Dirac delta function

the receptor which enkephalins have the highest affinity for in pharmacology
the Skorokhod integral in Malliavin calculus, a subfield of stochastic analysis
the minimum degree of any vertex in a given graph a partial charge. represents a negative partial
charge, and + represents a positive partial charge chemistry
the Chemical shift of an atomic nucleus in NMR spectroscopy. For protons, this is relative to
tetramethylsilane =0.

stable isotope compositions

declination in astronomy
the Turner function in computational material science
depreciation in macroeconomics
non centrality measure in statistics

5. (epsilon)
represents:
a small positive quantity see limit
a random error in regression analysis

the absolute value of an error

in set theory, the limit ordinal of the sequence
in computer science, the empty string
the Levi Civita
symbol in electromagnetics, dielectric permittivity
emissivity
strain in continuum mechanics
permittivity
the Earth's axial tilt in astronomy
elasticity in economics
expected value in probability theory and statistics
electromotive force
in chemistry, the molar extinction coefficient of a chromophore.
set membership symbol is based on

6. (digamma)

is sometimes used to represent the digamma function, though the Latin letter F (which is nearly
identical) is usually substituted.
A hypothetical particle speculated to be implicated in the 750 GeV di-photon excess, now known to
be simply a statistical anomaly

7. (zeta)
represents:
the Riemann zeta function and other zeta functions in mathematics
the coefficient of viscous friction in polymer dynamics
the damping ratio
relative vertical vorticity in fluid dynamics

8. (eta)
represents:
the Eta function of Ludwig Boltzmann's Htheorem
("Eta" theorem), in statistical mechanics
Information theoretic (Shannon) entropy

 represents:
the intrinsic wave impedance of a medium (e.g. the impedance of free space)
the partial regression coefficient in statistics
elasticities in economics
the absolute vertical vorticity (relative vertical vorticity + Coriolis effect) in fluid dynamics
an index of refraction
the eta meson
viscosity
energy conversion efficiency
efficiency (physics)
the Minkowski metric tensor in relativity
noise in communication system models
conversion
in lambda calculus
Cost push
supply side shocks in the Phillips curve equation (economics)
A right angle, i.e., /2, as a follow up
to the tau/pi argument

9. (theta)
(uppercase) represents:
an asymptotically tight bound related to big O notation.
Debye temperature in solid state physics
sensitivity to the passage of time in mathematical finance
in set theory, a certain ordinal number
in econometrics and statistics, a space of parameters from which estimates are drawn
(lowercase) represents:

a plane angle in geometry

the angle to the x axis in the xy-plane
in spherical or cylindrical coordinates (mathematics)
the angle to the z axis in spherical coordinates (physics)
Bragg's angle of diffraction
the potential temperature in thermodynamics
the mean time between failure in reliability engineering
soil water contents in soil science
in mathematical statistics, an unknown parameter
theta functions
the angle of a scattered photon during a Compton scattering interaction
("script theta"), the cursive form of theta, often used in handwriting, represents
the first Chebyshev function in number theory

10. (iota)
represents:

an inclusion map in set theory

the index generator function in APL (in the form )
the orbital inclination in celestial mechanics.

11. (kappa)
represents:

the Kappa number, indicating lignin content in pulp

represents:
the Von Krmn constant, describing the velocity profile of turbulent flow
the kappa curve, a two dimensional
algebraic curve
the condition number of a matrix in numerical analysis
the connectivity of a graph in graph theory
curvature
dielectric constant
thermal conductivity (usually a lowercase Latin k)
thermal diffusivity
a spring constant (usually a lowercase Latin k)
the heat capacity ratio in thermodynamics (usually )

the receptor which dynorphins have the highest affinity for in pharmacology

12. (lambda)
represents:
the von Mangoldt function in number theory
the set of logical axioms in the axiomatic method of logical deduction in first order
logic
the cosmological constant
the lambda baryon
a diagonal matrix of eigenvalues in linear algebra
the permeance of a material in electromagnetism
a lattice
represents:

one wavelength of electromagnetic radiation

the decay constant in radioactivity
function expressions in the lambda calculus
a general eigenvalue in linear algebra
the expected number of occurrences in a Poisson distribution in probability
the arrival rate in queueing theory
the average lifetime or rate parameter in an exponential distribution (commonly used across statistics,
physics, and engineering)

the failure rate in reliability engineering

the fundamental length of a fabrication process in VLSI design
the mean or average value (probability and statistics)
the latent heat of fusion
the lagrange multiplier in the mathematical optimization method, known as the shadow price in
economics
the Lebesgue measure denotes the volume or measure of a Lebesgue measurable set
longitude in geodesy
linear density
ecliptic longitude in astronomy
the Liouville function in number theory
the Carmichael function in number theory
a unit of measure of volume equal to one microlitre (1 L) or one cubic millimetre (1 mm)
the empty string in formal grammar
binding of a variable in a function in lambda calculus in computer science.

13. (mu)
represents:
the Mbius function in number theory
the ring representation of a representation module
the population mean or expected value in probability and statistics
a measure in measure theory
micro,
an SI prefix denoting 106 (one millionth)
the coefficient of friction in physics
the service rate in queueing theory
the dynamic viscosity in physics
magnetic permeability in electromagnetics
a muon
reduced mass
chemical potential in condensed matter physics
the ion mobility in plasma physics
the Standard gravitational parameter in celestial mechanics

14. (nu)
represents:
frequency in physics in hertz (Hz)
degrees of freedom in statistics
Poisson's ratio in material science
a neutrino
kinematic viscosity of liquids

stoichiometric coefficient in chemistry

dimension of nullspace in mathematics
true anomaly in celestial mechanics
the matching number of a graph

15. (xi)
represents:
the original Riemann Xi function, i.e. Riemann's lower case , as denoted by Edmund Landau and
currently
the grand canonical ensemble found in statistical mechanics
the xi baryon
represents:
the original Riemann Xi function
the modified definition of Riemann xi function, as denoted by Edmund Landau and currently
a random variable
the extent of a chemical reaction
coherence length
the damping ratio
universal set

16. (omicron)
represents:
big O notation (may be represented by an uppercase Latin O)
o represents:
small o notation (may be represented by a lowercase Latin o)

17. (pi)
represents:

the product operator in mathematics

a plane
the unary projection operation in relational algebra
osmotic pressure

represents:
Archimedes' constant, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter
the prime counting
function
profit in microeconomics and game theory
inflation in macroeconomics, expressed as a constant with respect to time
the state distribution of a Markov chain

in reinforcement learning, a policy function defining how a software agent behaves for each possible
state of its environment
a type of covalent bond in chemistry (pi bond)
a pion (pi meson) in particle physics
in statistics, the population proportion
nucleotide diversity in molecular genetics
in electronics, a special type of small signal model is referred to as a hybrid-pi model
in relational algebra for databases, represents projection

represents:

angular frequency of a wave, in fluid dynamics (angular frequency is usually represented by but this
may be confused with vorticity in a fluid dynamics context)
longitude of peri-center, in astronomy
co-moving distance, in cosmology

18. (rho)
represents:
one of the Gegenbauer functions in analytic number theory (may be replaced by the capital form of the
Latin letter P).
represents:

one of the Gegenbauer functions in analytic number theory.

the Dickmande
Bruijn function
the radius in a polar, cylindrical, or spherical coordinate system
the correlation coefficient in statistics
the sensitivity to interest rate in mathematical finance
density (mass or charge per unit volume may be replaced by the capital form of the Latin letter D)
resistivity
the shape and reshape operators in APL (in the form )
the utilization in queueing theory
the rank of a matrix
the rename operator in relational algebra

19. (sigma)
represents:
the summation operator
the covariance matrix
the set of terminal symbols in a formal grammar
represents:
StefanBoltzmann constant in blackbody radiation
the divisor function in number theory
the real part of the complex variable s = + i t in analytic number theory
the sign of a permutation in the theory of finite groups

the population standard deviation, a measure of spread in probability and statistics

a type of covalent bond in chemistry (sigma bond)
the selection operator in relational algebra
stress in mechanics
electrical conductivity
area density
nuclear cross section
uncertainty
utilization in operations management
surface charge density for micro particles

20. (tau)
(lowercase) represents:
torque, the net rotational force in mechanics
the elementary tau lepton in particle physics
a mean lifetime, of an exponential decay or spontaneous emission process
the time constant of any device, such as an RC circuit
proper time in relativity

one turn: the constant ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius, with value 2 (6.283...).
Kendall tau rank correlation coefficient, a measure of rank correlation in statistics
Ramanujan's tau function in number theory
a measure of opacity, or how much sunlight cannot penetrate the atmosphere
the intertwining operator in representation theory
shear stress in continuum mechanics
an internal system step in transition systems
a type variable in type theories, such as the simply typed lambda calculus
path tortuosity in reservoir engineering
in topology, a given topology
the tau in biochemistry, a protein associated to microtubules
the golden ratio 1.618... (although (phi) is more common)
the number of divisors of highly composite numbers (sequence A000005 in the OEIS)
in proton NMR spectroscopy, was formerly used for physical shift

21. (upsilon)
represents:
the upsilon meson
represents:
frequency in physics textbooks

22. (phi)
represents:
the work function in physics the energy required by a photon to remove an electron from the surface
of a metal
magnetic flux
the cumulative distribution function of the normal distribution in statistics

phenyl functional group

the reciprocal of the golden ratio (represented by , below), also represented as 1/
the value of the integration of information in a system (based on integrated information theory)
note: a symbol for the empty set, , resembles but is not

represents:
the golden ratio 1.618... in mathematics, art, and architecture
Euler's totient function in number theory
a holomorphic map on an analytic space
the argument of a complex number in mathematics
the value of a plane angle in physics and mathematics
the angle to the z axis in spherical coordinates (mathematics)
the angle to the x axis in the xyplane
in spherical or cylindrical coordinates (physics)
latitude in geodesy
a scalar field
radiant flux
electric potential
the probability density function of the normal distribution in statistics
a feature of a syntactic node giving that node characteristics such as gender, number and person in
syntax
the diameter of a vessel (engineering)
capacity reduction factor of materials in structural engineering

23. (chi)
represents:
the chi distribution in statistics ( is the more frequently encountered chi-squared
distribution)
the chromatic number of a graph in graph theory
the Euler characteristic in algebraic topology
electronegativity in the periodic table
the Rabi frequency
the spinor of a fundamental particle
the Fourier transform of a linear response function
a character in mathematics especially a Dirichlet character in number theory
the Sigma vectors in the unscented transform used in the unscented Kalman filter
sometimes the mole fraction
a characteristic or indicator function in mathematics

24. (psi)
represents:
water potential
a quaternary combinator in combinatory logic
represents:
the wave function in the Schrdinger equation of quantum mechanics

the stream function in fluid dynamics

yaw angle in vehicle dynamics
the angle between the x-axis
and the tangent to the curve in the intrinsic coordinates system
the reciprocal Fibonacci constant
the second Chebyshev function in number theory
the polygamma function in mathematics
load combination factor in structural engineering

25. (omega)
represents:
the SI unit measure of electrical resistance, the ohm
angular velocity / radian frequency (rev/min)
the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) or Longitude of the ascending node in astronomy
and orbital
mechanics
the rotation rate of an object, particularly a planet, in dynamics
the omega constant 0.5671432904097838729999686622...
an asymptotic lower bound related to big O notation
in probability theory and statistical mechanics, the set of possible distinct system states
a solid angle
the omega baryon
the arithmetic function counting a number's prime factors
the density parameter in cosmology
represents:

angular velocity / radian frequency (rad/sec)

the argument of periapsis in astronomy and orbital mechanics
a complex cube root of unity the other is (used to describe various ways of calculating the
discrete Fourier transform)
the differentiability class (i.e. ) for functions that are infinitely differentiable because they are complex
analytic
the first infinite ordinal
the omega meson
the set of natural numbers in set theory (although or N is more common in other areas of mathematics)
an asymptotically dominant quantity related to big O notation
in probability theory, a possible outcome of an experiment
in economics, the total wealth of an agent in general equilibrium theory
vertical velocity in pressure based
coordinate systems (commonly used in atmospheric dynamics)
the arithmetic function counting a number's distinct prime factors
a differential form (esp. on an analytic space)
the symbol , a graphic variant of , is sometimes construed as omega with a bar over it see
the last carbon atom of a chain of carbon atoms is sometimes called the (omega) position, reflecting
that is the last

letter of the Greek alphabet. This nomenclature can be useful in describing unsaturated fatty acids.