7.3.11 Error function
The error function erf is defined by:
where the constant 2/√π is chosen so that
erf(+∞)=1 and erf(−∞)=−1,
since
The erf command
computes the error function.
-
erf takes
a, a number.
- erf(a) returns the value of erf(a).
Examples
Remark.
The relation between erf and normal_cdf (see
Section 20.4.7) is:
normal_cdf(x)= | | + | | erf | ⎛
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎝ | | ⎞
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎠ |
Indeed, making the change of variable t=u√2 in
normal_cdf(x)=1/2+1/√2π∫0xe−t2/2dt yields:
normal_cdf(x)= | | + | | ∫ | | e−u2du= | | + | | erf | ⎛
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎜
⎝ | | ⎞
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎠ | .
|