SearchOnMath

Another common definition of the exponential function to the natural basis, \(e^x\), comes from writing it as the series \(e^x = \sum_{k=0}^{\infty} \frac{x^k}{k!}\).

The normal density, \(p(x) = \frac{1}{\sigma \sqrt{2\pi}}e^{-\frac{(x-\mu)^2}{2\sigma^2}}\), has become important in many applications because of its close relationship to the central limit theorem.

Factorials apply only to nonnegative integers but can be extended to complex numbers with positive real parts using the Gamma function, \(\Gamma(n) = \int_0^\infty e^{-x}x^{n-1}dx\).