2

When I type * or \ast in LaTeX, it looks like this:

enter image description here

When I see other papers involving "Kleene closure", the asterisk looks like:

enter image description here

How do I obtain the second symbol? Searching for "Kleene star" or "Kleene closure" didn't yield any results.

EDIT:

The \ast symbol is overridden by the mnsymbol library. How can I tell it to use the default symbol but still keep the rest of the package for its other symbols?

cemulate
  • 175
  • Usually you get the second symbol by \ast. What else you are loading? –  Sep 24 '15 at 03:18
  • 3
    Welcome to TeX.SX! The one you see really isn't the default. I think the default is the one you want. You must be using a different font or something like that, we really need to see what your set up is to be able to help you. Could you provide a really simple Minimal Working Example (MWE) http://meta.tex.stackexchange.com/questions/228/ive-just-been-asked-to-write-a-minimal-example-what-is-that – Au101 Sep 24 '15 at 03:18
  • Also check out \textasteriskcentered; then check out (it's on CTAN) The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List. – jon Sep 24 '15 at 03:21
  • 1
    Your \ast is from the mnsymbol package. – John Kormylo Sep 24 '15 at 03:32
  • @JohnKormylo you're correct, I was loading mnsymbol for vdots, udots, etc.. Is there a way that I can tell it to use the original symbol? Feel free to direct me to another question or resource on that. – cemulate Sep 24 '15 at 04:02
  • Have you considered writing up front in your paper that a five-pointed star will be used to denote Kleene-closure? Can your readers be trusted not to get hung up over five-pointed versus six-pointed starts? – Mico Sep 24 '15 at 04:29
  • Of course, its not an actual problem, I just have some time on my hands and I find the default much more aesthetically pleasing. – cemulate Sep 24 '15 at 04:37
  • 5
    @ChaseMeadors You have discovered why I usually discourage from loading MnSymbol just because it has more symbols available: it changes all of them! If your text font has a six pointed asterisk, it makes no sense at all that the math one is five pointed. See Importing a single symbol from a different font and several other threads on the subject. In other words, you're asking the wrong question: the real one is “how can I import (list of symbols) from MnSymbol?” – egreg Sep 24 '15 at 07:32
  • @ChaseMeadors On the other hand, if your text font is Palatino, there would be no problem in having a five pointed asterisk: the Kleene closure is denoted by an asterisk and its typographic realization is immaterial. – egreg Sep 24 '15 at 07:36
  • The font guide http://www.latex-project.org/guides/fntguide.pdf was useful. The answer was baffling without it. – John Kormylo Sep 24 '15 at 16:24

0 Answers0