Transition Function

In mathematics, a transition function has several different meanings:

  • In topology and in particular in the theory of manifolds, a transition function between two charts of an atlas is a map which allows to pass from one chart to the other in the region where they intersect.
  • In computing, a transition function is the function that defines the state transitions of a Turing machine, finite-state machine, or cellular automaton.
  • In statistics and probability theory, a transition function is a stochastic kernel, the conditional probability distribution function controlling the transitions of a stochastic process.

Famous quotes containing the words transition and/or function:

    “Some of the taverns on this road, which were particularly dirty, were plainly in a transition state from the camp to the house.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “It is the function of vice to keep virtue within reasonable bounds.”
    —Samuel Butler (1835–1902)