cdot

Represents multiplication with a centered dot operator, providing a cleaner and more elegant alternative to the standard multiplication symbol.

Overview

Widely used in mathematical notation across various disciplines to denote multiplication in a visually appealing way that reduces clutter and improves readability.

Preferred in professional mathematics writing over the traditional × symbol
Common in linear algebra for scalar multiplication
Frequently appears in physics equations, especially when multiplying quantities with units
Used in computer science for representing dot products and concatenation operations
Particularly useful when working with variables that have subscripts or superscripts, as it provides better spacing than other multiplication symbols

Examples

Multiplication between numbers or variables using centered dot notation.

2 \cdot 3 = 6

2 \cdot 3 = 6

Vector dot product in linear algebra.

\vec{a} \cdot \vec{b} = a_1b_1 + a_2b_2 + a_3b_3

\vec{a} \cdot \vec{b} = a_1b_1 + a_2b_2 + a_3b_3

Chained multiplication with mixed terms.

x \cdot y \cdot z = 2 \cdot 3 \cdot 4

x \cdot y \cdot z = 2 \cdot 3 \cdot 4