characteristic function

Noun

 * 1)  A function which is equal to 1 for all points in its domain which belong to a given set, and is equal to 0 for all points in the domain which do not belong to that given set.
 * 2)  A complex function completely defining the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable

Usage notes

 * The characteristic function of a set A is often represented as χA.

Translations

 * Finnish: karakteristinen funktio