erf

Error function

📝Syntax

R = erf(X)

📥Input Arguments

Parameter	Description
X	a real single or real double scalar, vector, matrix, or multidimensional array. Sparse and complex inputs are not supported.

📤Output Arguments

Parameter	Description
R	error function values, returned with the same size and floating-point class as X.

📄Description

erf computes the error function element by element.

The error function is defined as:

$$erf(x) = \frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}}\int_0^x e^{-t^2}\,dt$$

It is related to the complementary error function by:

$$erfc(x) = 1 - erf(x)$$

For better numerical accuracy when the result is close to zero, use erfc instead of evaluating 1 - erf(x).

💡Examples

Find the error function of a scalar.

R = erf(0.76)

Find the error function of the elements of a vector.

V = [-0.5 0 1 0.72];
R = erf(V)

Find the error function of the elements of a matrix.

M = [0.29 -0.11; 3.1 -2.9];
R = erf(M)

Compute the cumulative distribution function of the standard normal distribution.

x = -3:0.1:3;
y = 0.5 * (1 + erf(x / sqrt(2)));

🔗See Also

🕔Version History

Version	Description
1.17.0	initial version