# Sub/Superscripts BUT not above each other

In latex, if I want to write $F$ with subscripts and superscripts, as F_a^b I get $F_a^b$. In my case though I want the b to be a superscript but slight after a -- that is not directly on top of a. How would I do that?

• Welcome to TeX.SX! Please don't use $$....$$ -- it's deprecated. Use $...$ instead. Are you thinking of covariant, contravariant indices, perhaps?
– user31729
Aug 7 '15 at 19:58
• Oh maybe if this is what they are called? Aug 7 '15 at 20:00
• Woops! I edited it, using [\...], but I do not assume this is what you mean, isn't it? Aug 7 '15 at 20:01
• $F_{a}^{\,b}$ perhaps
– user31729
Aug 7 '15 at 20:02
• Corrected the 'typo' ;-)
– user31729
Aug 7 '15 at 20:05

A quick and dirty way is to use \, for example for the superscript, which inserts a smaller space, \; even more and \quad will add (too) much space.

As an alternative, the \indices - macro from tensor - package can be used if the covariant-contravariant way of superscripts/subscripts is needed!

\documentclass{article}

%\usepackage{mathtools}

\usepackage{tensor}

\begin{document}

Normal:
$F_{a}^{b}$

Some spacing:

$F_{a}^{\,b}$

Some more spacing:
$F_{a}^{\;b}$

Incredible more spacing:
$F_{a}^{\quad b}$

With tensor - package: \verb!\indices! - command:

$F\indices{_a^b}$

\end{document}

Some variants:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
$F_a^b, F_a^{\,b}, F_a^{\>b}, F_a^{\;b}, {F_a}^b$
\end{document}

this is the style of sub- and superscripts used for tensor notation, which, i have been led to believe, can go on and on ...

the example here is probably bogus, but the technique is straightforward.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
$F_a{}^b{}_c{}^d$
\end{document}

The other answers already pin-down how to do this in math mode. In case you or someone else is interested in doing this in text mode, here is how:

F\textsubscript{a}\textsuperscript{b}

The above will typeset "F" horizontally followed by a subscript "a" horizontally followed by a superscript "b".