# Change the position of exponent in a formula

I wanted to type "gammadot to the n", but it does not look good to me as the "power n" should be located in higher position respect to "dot". Is there anyway that I can fix this problem?

• Welcome to TeX.SX! The positioning of the exponent in a formula such as \dot{\gamma}^n which “ignores” the dot is a precise choice made by Knuth when developing TeX, based on his study of mathematical typesetting. May 4, 2016 at 16:39

The positioning of accents with respect to “accent atoms”, obtained by basically ignoring the accent and taking only the accentee into account, is a precise choice made by Donald Knuth when designing TeX, based on his study of traditional mathematical typesetting.

Here are three ways for typesetting the \dot{\gamma} with an exponent; take your pick (but I added my opinion).

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\begin{document}

Right: $\dot{\gamma}^n$

\medskip

Not so good: ${{}\dot{\gamma}}^n$

\medskip

Bad: ${\vphantom{\big|}\dot{\gamma}}^n$

\end{document}


• What is the purpose of {} in {{}\dot{\gamma}}^n? May 4, 2016 at 18:01
• @Manuel Otherwise the outer braces would do nothing. See tex.stackexchange.com/questions/253080/… May 4, 2016 at 18:10