TsallisQExponentialDistribution
✖
TsallisQExponentialDistribution
represents a Tsallis -exponential distribution with scale inversely proportional to parameter λ.
Details

- The probability density for value
in a Tsallis
-exponential distribution is proportional to
for
, and is zero for
.
- TsallisQExponentialDistribution allows λ to be any positive real number and
to be any real number such that
.
- TsallisQExponentialDistribution allows λ to be a quantity of any unit dimension, and q to be a dimensionless quantity. »
- TsallisQExponentialDistribution can be used with such functions as Mean, CDF, and RandomVariate.
Background & Context
- TsallisQExponentialDistribution[λ,q] represents a continuous statistical distribution supported over the interval
and parametrized by a positive real number λ (called a "scale parameter") and by a real number
, which together determine the overall behavior of its probability density function (PDF). Depending on the values of λ and
, the PDF of a Tsallis
-exponential distribution may have any of a number of shapes, including unimodal with a single "peak" (i.e. a global maximum) or monotone decreasing with potential singularities approaching the lower boundary of its domain. In addition, the tails of the PDF are typically "fat" (i.e. the PDF decreases non-exponentially for large values
) but are "thin" (i.e. the PDF decreases exponentially for large
) when
. (This behavior can be made quantitatively precise by analyzing the SurvivalFunction of the distribution.) The Tsallis
-exponential distribution is often referred to merely as the
-exponential distribution.
- The Tsallis
-exponential distribution is named for Brazilian physicist Constantino Tsallis and is derived via maximization of the so-called Tsallis entropy (in statistical mechanics) subject to certain conditions. Along with the related
-Gaussian distribution, the
-exponential distribution is one of a family of probability distributions referred to collectively as Tsallis distributions and derived according to the above-mentioned process. The
-exponential distribution is becoming increasingly more utilized across various subfields of physics and has also been used to model phenomena like wealth distribution and asset pricing in fields such as economics, finance, and actuarial science.
- RandomVariate can be used to give one or more machine- or arbitrary-precision (the latter via the WorkingPrecision option) pseudorandom variates from a
-exponential distribution. Distributed[x,TsallisQExponentialDistribution[λ,q]], written more concisely as xTsallisQExponentialDistribution[λ,q], can be used to assert that a random variable x is distributed according to a
-exponential distribution. Such an assertion can then be used in functions such as Probability, NProbability, Expectation, and NExpectation.
- The probability density and cumulative distribution functions for
-exponential distributions may be given using PDF[TsallisQExponentialDistribution[λ,q],x] and CDF[TsallisQExponentialDistribution[λ,q],x]. The mean, median, variance, raw moments, and central moments may be computed using Mean, Median, Variance, Moment, and CentralMoment, respectively.
- DistributionFitTest can be used to test if a given dataset is consistent with a
-exponential distribution, EstimatedDistribution to estimate a parametric
-exponential distribution from given data, and FindDistributionParameters to fit data to a
-exponential distribution. ProbabilityPlot can be used to generate a plot of the CDF of given data against the CDF of a symbolic
-exponential distribution, and QuantilePlot to generate a plot of the quantiles of given data against the quantiles of a symbolic
-exponential distribution.
- TransformedDistribution can be used to represent a transformed
-exponential distribution, CensoredDistribution to represent the distribution of values censored between upper and lower values, and TruncatedDistribution to represent the distribution of values truncated between upper and lower values. CopulaDistribution can be used to build higher-dimensional distributions that contain a
-exponential distribution, and ProductDistribution can be used to compute a joint distribution with independent component distributions involving
-exponential distributions.
- TsallisQExponentialDistribution is related to a number of other distributions. TsallisQExponentialDistribution is an immediate generalization of ExponentialDistribution, in the sense that the PDF of TsallisQExponentialDistribution[λ,1] is precisely the same as that of ExponentialDistribution[λ]. For different values of
, TsallisQExponentialDistribution may be viewed either as a special case of ParetoDistribution (for
) or as a limiting case of PERTDistribution (for
). For
, TsallisQExponentialDistribution is a transformation (TransformedDistribution) of BetaDistribution, while for general
, TsallisQExponentialDistribution is also closely related to TsallisQGaussianDistribution, NormalDistribution, and WeibullDistribution.
Examples
open allclose allBasic Examples (4)Summary of the most common use cases

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-1hsu6p


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-161kd7

Cumulative distribution function:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-3ca6vk


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-q0ch0f


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-cwk


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-pfz


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-iv7hna

Scope (8)Survey of the scope of standard use cases
Generate a sample of pseudorandom numbers from a -exponential distribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-qhtk5j
Compare its histogram to the PDF:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-03mwaz

Distribution parameters estimation:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-45b7g2
Estimate the distribution parameters from sample data:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-epi747

Compare the density histogram of the sample with the PDF of the estimated distribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-f8ui5o


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-s0s5kn


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-ptk


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-3j6uul


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-xavb5g


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-nzioyt


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-7yffci


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-ogw


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-g3eynw


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-ptvgam


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-80hjro

Different moments with closed forms as functions of parameters:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-js043h

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-rx074o

Closed form for symbolic order:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-hf4lli


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-pknsqa

Closed form for symbolic order:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-ubq525


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-zg9ct4


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-9gzmth


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-j5rht3


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-kh3ltq


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-qag282


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-iih

Consistent use of Quantity in parameters yields QuantityDistribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-k7vlz


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-mevino

Applications (4)Sample problems that can be solved with this function
A battery has a lifespan that is -exponentially distributed with parameters
per hour and
. Find the probability that a random battery has a lifespan of less than 2500 hours:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-fmwoxg

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-0h8yo7

Compute directly using the CDF:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-0a9tb4

A product has a time to failure that is -exponentially distributed with parameters
and
. Find the reliability of the product at 1, 2, and 3 years:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-mbnew3

Find the failure rate of the product at 1, 2, and 3 years:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-1fevvv

Suppose the lifetime of an appliance has a -exponential distribution with parameter
and an average lifetime of 10 years. Find the appliance lifetime distribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-oh6nsz


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-bgpr66

Find the probability that a used appliance with years of use will not fail in the next 5 years:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-dlj81k

The waiting time in a restaurant is -exponentially distributed with parameter
and an average wait time of 5 minutes. Find the probability that the customer will have to wait more than 10 minutes:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-7rdn6f


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-ujylez


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-264nye

Find the probability that the customer has to wait an additional 10 minutes, given that he or she has already been waiting for at least 10 minutes:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-m07yoa

Properties & Relations (7)Properties of the function, and connections to other functions
Tsallis -exponential distribution is closed under scaling by a positive factor:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-kyu0f

Tsallis -exponential distribution has unbounded support for
:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-6dir1n


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-0cc85u


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-vcu2u1


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-r4cjo3

Relationships to other distributions:

Tsallis -exponential distribution simplifies to the exponential distribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-caw1tx


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-k9eayq


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-o88c8m

Tsallis -exponential distribution is equivalent to a Pareto distribution for
:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-f906zf


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-rzmu0


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-caxcee

Tsallis -exponential distribution for
is a limiting case of PERTDistribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-s6kbjr


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-whrzzi


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-vov5ei


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-dovbtl

Tsallis -exponential distribution for
is a transformed BetaDistribution:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-g34dxe


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-kvybp1


https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-icnopm

Possible Issues (2)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior
TsallisQExponentialDistribution is not defined when λ is not a positive real number or when is not a positive real number:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-jd0



https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-kw7o7f


Substitution of invalid parameters into symbolic outputs gives results that are not meaningful:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0pfw53u80gk8l0h03s4syi-t70

Wolfram Research (2012), TsallisQExponentialDistribution, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html (updated 2016).
Text
Wolfram Research (2012), TsallisQExponentialDistribution, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html (updated 2016).
Wolfram Research (2012), TsallisQExponentialDistribution, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html (updated 2016).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 2012. "TsallisQExponentialDistribution." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2016. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html.
Wolfram Language. 2012. "TsallisQExponentialDistribution." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2016. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (2012). TsallisQExponentialDistribution. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html
Wolfram Language. (2012). TsallisQExponentialDistribution. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_tsallisqexponentialdistribution, author="Wolfram Research", title="{TsallisQExponentialDistribution}", year="2016", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html}", note=[Accessed: 11-July-2025
]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2025_tsallisqexponentialdistribution, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={TsallisQExponentialDistribution}, year={2016}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TsallisQExponentialDistribution.html}, note=[Accessed: 11-July-2025
]}