# ! Missing number, treated as zero. problem

I just want to have the following simple equation. But the latex told me "! Missing number, treated as zero. problem" I have no idea what's going on here

$L\mathaccent N(\mu ,{\sigma ^2})$


Error message:

! Missing number, treated as zero.
to be read again,
N
l.245 $L\mathaccent N (\mu ,{\sigma ^2})$


Kind Regards SL

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TeX expects a number after \mathaccent. What is the purpose of \mathaccent in your formula? –  Heiko Oberdiek Apr 23 at 15:37
@David Carlisle \mathaccent is "~" in my formula, firstly I typed "~" but latex suggest me to use \mathaccent –  user3004698 Apr 23 at 16:11
You probably typed \~ in order to get a tilde; if you want a tilde over N, then the correct command is \tilde{N}; if you want a tilde between L and N, then use \sim. –  egreg Apr 23 at 16:46

## 1 Answer

If I understand you just want ~ in your mathematical expression. But as it is interpreted by LaTeX to set an unbreakable space, you must type something like this :

$L \sim N(\mu ,{\sigma ^2})$

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