Mathematical Functions

The following list includes the built-in mathematical functions that you can use when defining variables or directly in expressions in the physics interface or feature settings, for example. The function names are reserved names that cannot be used for user-defined functions, but they can be used for variable and parameter names.

Table 5-6: Mathematical Functions
Name	Description	Syntax example
abs	Absolute value	abs(x)
acos	Inverse cosine (in radians)	acos(x)
acosh	Inverse hyperbolic cosine	acosh(x)
acot	Inverse cotangent (in radians)	acot(x)
acoth	Inverse hyperbolic cotangent	acoth(x)
acsc	Inverse cosecant (in radians)	acsc(x)
acsch	Inverse hyperbolic cosecant	acsch(x)
arg	Phase angle (in radians)	arg(x)
asec	Inverse secant (in radians)	asec(x)
asech	Inverse hyperbolic secant	asech(x)
asin	Inverse sine (in radians)	asin(x)
asinh	Inverse hyperbolic sine	asinh(x)
atan	Inverse tangent (in radians)	atan(x)
atan2	Four-quadrant inverse tangent (in radians)	atan2(y,x)
atanh	Inverse hyperbolic tangent	atanh(x)
besselj	Bessel function of the first kind	besselj(a,x)
bessely	Bessel function of the second kind	bessely(a,x)
besseli	Modified Bessel function of the first kind	besseli(a,x)
besselk	Modified Bessel function of the second kind	besselk(a,x)
ceil	Nearest following integer	ceil(x)
conj	Complex conjugate	conj(x)
cos	Cosine (argument in radians)	cos(x)
cosh	Hyperbolic cosine	cosh(x)
cot	Cotangent (argument in radians)	cot(x)
coth	Hyperbolic cotangent	coth(x)
csc	Cosecant (argument in radians)	csc(x)
csch	Hyperbolic cosecant	csch(x)
erf	Error function	erf(x)
erfinv	Inverse error function	erfinv(x)
exp	Exponential function ex. That is, exp(1) is the mathematical constant e (Euler’s number).	exp(x)
floor	Nearest previous integer	floor(x)
gamma	Gamma function	gamma(x)
imag	Imaginary part	imag(u)
log	Natural logarithm	log(x)
log10	Common logarithm (base 10)	log10(x)
log2	Base-2 logarithm	log2(x)
max	Maximum of two arguments	max(a,b)
min	Minimum of two arguments	min(a,b)
mod	Modulo operator	mod(a,b)
psi	Psi function and its derivatives	psi(x,k)
random	Random function, uniform distribution	random(x,y)
randomnormal	Random function, normal (Gaussian) distribution	randomnormal(x,y)
range	Create a range of numbers	range(a,step,b)
real	Real part	real(u)
round	Round to closest integer	round(x)
sec	Secant (argument in radians)	sec(x)
sech	Hyperbolic secant	sech(x)
sign	Signum function	sign(u)
sin	Sine (argument in radians)	sin(x)
sinh	Hyperbolic sine	sinh(x)
sqrt	Square root	sqrt(x)
tan	Tangent (argument in radians)	tan(x)
tanh	Hyperbolic tangent	tanh(x)