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Heaviside step function
Sign in to saveAlso known as unit step function, Heaviside function
discontinuous function whose value is zero for negative numbers and one for positive numbers
Key facts
- General definition
- H ( x ) := { 1 , x ≥ 0 0 , x < 0 {\displaystyle H(x):={\begin{cases}1,&x\geq 0\\0,&x<0\end{cases}}}
- Fields of application
- Operational calculus
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Wikidata facts
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- Commons category
- Heaviside function
Sources (3)
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Article
The Heaviside step function, or the unit step function, usually denoted by H or θ (but sometimes u, 1 or 𝟙), is a step function named after Oliver Heaviside, the value of which is zero for negative arguments and one for positive arguments. Different conventions concerning the value H(0) are in use. It is an example of the general class of step functions, all of which can be represented as linear combinations of translations of this one.
The function was originally developed in operational calculus for the solution of differential equations, where it represents a signal that switches on at a specified time and stays switched on indefinitely. Heaviside developed the operational calculus as a tool in the analysis of telegraphic communications and represented the function as 1.