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

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.