partition function

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noun
  1. 1

    (number theory) function that represents the number of possible partitions of a natural number.

  2. 2

    (statistical mechanics) function Z[J] that is the generating function of the correlation function

  3. 3

    (mathematics) generalization of the definition of a partition function in statistical mechanics

  4. 4

    (quantum field theory) generalization of the definition of a partition function in statistical mechanics