Change the shape of the curly braces of the newtxmath package

Question

The curly braces of the newtxmath package don't seem good.

• newtxmath package curly brace

  

• Mathpazo curly brace

  

So is there a way to make the curly braces look better without actually having to replace the newtxmath package?

Answer 1

If you want really curly curly braces and wish to use a Times-like math font -- as would seem to be the case because of your consideration of the newtxmath package -- you should look into using the mtpro2 font package. ("mtpro2" is short for "MathTime Professional II".) The full mtpro2 package isn't free of charge. However, its "lite" subset, which is all you need to generate curly braces, is indeed free.

The following screenshots show the nested curly braces that are generated by various packages. All screenshots are at the same magnification.

• mtpro2:

• mathptmx:

• newtxmath:

• newtxmath with cmbraces option:

• For completeness, hare are the nested curly braces that are generated if no font package is loaded, i.e., if the basic Computer Modern math fonts are used:

Some comments:

• The curly braces produced by the mathptmx package are essentially those of the Computer Modern font family: Shape, height, and spacing of the braces are all the same. (The curly braces produced by the mathpazo package -- not shown separately -- are very similar in size and shape, but are spaced even more widely than those of mathptmx.)

• The spacing between the nested curly braces is much tighter (and, to my taste at least, better) with the mtpro2 and newtxmath packages than it is with the mathptmx/Computer Modern approach.

• If you want the Computer Modern-style braces along with the newtxmath package, you should load it with the option cmbraces. This will give you CM-shaped braces but with tighter spacing (which is probably more desirable anyway).

• At any rate, if curliness is what you care about most, there's no question in my mind that you should employ the mtpro2 package.

---

\documentclass{article}
%\usepackage[lite]{mtpro2}
%\usepackage{mathptmx}
%\usepackage{newtxmath}
\usepackage[cmbraces]{newtxmath}
\begin{document}
$\displaystyle
\Biggl\{ \biggl\{ \Bigl\{ \bigr\{ \{ 
 \cdot 
\} \bigr\} \Bigr\} \biggr\} \Biggr\} 
$
\end{document}