Sigma or summation (∑) in LaTeX

In this tutorial, I will show you how to get the big sigma or summation symbol in LaTeX. And how to use limits with this symbol.

In order to get the summation symbol in small size you can use the \Sigma command and to get a big-size summation you can use the \sum command.

Command	Output
\Sigma
\sum

How to use limits with summation symbol

To use limits with the summation you can use,

\Sigma_{<lower>}^{<upper>} or use \sum_{<lower>}^{<upper>}

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document} 

  $$ \verb|\Sigma_{n=1}^4| \rightarrow \Sigma_{n=1}^4 $$
  $$ \verb|\sum_{n=1}^4| \rightarrow \sum_{n=1}^4 $$

\end{document}

Output:

In LaTeX’s inline mode and display mode, the position of the upper and lower limits will look a little bit different, but you can control the position with the \limits and \nolimits commands.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document} 

\verb|\sum| with limits in display math mode:
  $$\sum_{n=1}^{4}$$
  
\verb|\sum| with limits in inline math mode: $\sum_{n=1}^{4}$\\[4pt]

\verb|\sum| with \verb|\limits| in display math mode:
  $$\sum\limits_{n=1}^{4}$$
  
\verb|\sum| with \verb|\limits| in inline math mode: $\sum\limits_{n=1}^{4}$\\[4pt]

\verb|\sum| with \verb|\nolimits| in display math mode:
  $$\sum\nolimits_{n=1}^{4}$$
  
\verb|\sum| with \verb|\nolimits| in inline math mode: $\sum\nolimits_{n=1}^{4}$

\end{document}

Output: