What it means
The eleventh Greek letter. λ is a wavelength, an eigenvalue, the rate of a Poisson or exponential distribution, and the strength of regularisation in machine learning. Capital Λ is often a diagonal matrix of eigenvalues, and the cosmological constant.
Read aloud in real formulas
Av = λv
Aethel says
A v equals lambda v
λ is an eigenvalue of A
c = λf
Aethel says
c equals lambda f
wave speed equals wavelength times frequency
P(X = k) = λᵏ e^(−λ) / k!
Aethel says
the probability that X equals k, equals lambda to the power of k, times e to the power of negative lambda, over k factorial
the Poisson distribution with rate λ
Typing it
- LaTeX
- \lambda, \Lambda
- Unicode
- U+03BB, U+039B
Questions
How do you pronounce lambda (λ)?
It is said “lambda”, roughly LAM-duh.
What does λ mean in maths?
The eleventh Greek letter. λ is a wavelength, an eigenvalue, the rate of a Poisson or exponential distribution, and the strength of regularisation in machine learning. Capital Λ is often a diagonal matrix of eigenvalues, and the cosmological constant.
How do you type λ?
In LaTeX, write \lambda, \Lambda. Its Unicode code point is U+03BB, U+039B.