How can I align multiple math blocks, such that each block is centered.
In my example the 1 should be printed centered above the 11 and so on.
I guess this can be done with minipages, but I believe there is an easier and nicer solution.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\begin{align*}
&1 & &2 & &3 & &4 & &5 & &6 & &7 & &8\\
&11 & &22 & &33 & &44 & &55 & &66 & &77 & &88
\end{align*}
\end{document}
How about a matrix environment:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath} % for 'matrix' env.
\begin{document}
\[
\begin{matrix}
1 &2 &3 &4 &5 &6 &7 &8 \\
11 &22 &33 &44 &55 &66 &77 &88
\end{matrix}
\]
\end{document}
To change the column spacing, modify the parameter \arraycolsep, as in
\setlength\arraycolsep{15pt} % default value: 5pt
Here are two more possibilities: (a) an array environment and (b) a tabular environment that uses a centered version of the p column type.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}
\setlength\arraycolsep{15pt} % default value: 5pt
\newcolumntype{C}[1]{>{\centering\arraybackslash$}p{#1}<{$}}
\begin{document}
\[
\begin{array}{*{8}{c}}
1 &2 &3 &4 &5 &6 &7 &8 \\
11 &22 &33 &44 &55 &66 &77 &88
\end{array}
\]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{*{8}{C{1cm}}}
1 &2 &3 &4 &5 &6 &7 &8 \\
11 &22 &33 &44 &55 &66 &77 &88
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{document}
width=\textwidth (which would simulate aligned equations, wouldn't it?)
tabular environments and the p column type? I've posted an addendum to show making use of this idea.
align automatically sets the gap between the blocks to fit the hole \textwidth
Here, with a TABstack. The inter-column gap and inter-row baselinekip are readily settable
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tabstackengine}
\setstacktabbedgap{8pt}% BETWEEN-COLUMN GAP
\setstackgap{L}{1.2\baselineskip}% BETWEEN ROW SKIP
\begin{document}
\tabbedCenterstack{
1 &2 &3 &4 &5 &6 &7 &8\\
11 &22 &33 &44 &55 &66 &77 &88
}
\end{document}
The cells are here set in text mode, but that default can be changed with \stackMath (or \TABstackMath).
Based on the OP's follow up comment, I was astounded to find (in my own package no less) that I can set the inter-column stack gap to \fill to achieve a full-width solution:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tabstackengine,lipsum}
\setstacktabbedgap{\fill}% BETWEEN-COLUMN GAP
\setstackgap{L}{1.2\baselineskip}% BETWEEN ROW SKIP
\begin{document}
\noindent\tabbedCenterstack{
1 &2 &3 &4 &5 &6 &7 &8\\
11 &22 &33 &44 &55 &66 &77 &88
}\medskip
\lipsum[1]
\end{document}
\setstacktabbedgap{\fill}.
Commented
Oct 27, 2017 at 17:06
The following uses tabularx to set a \textwidth-wide table, with each column having the same width with a centred alignment, containing math content in \displaystyle. This matches to some extent what is provided by align* with the requirement of spreading out the content across the text block (or whatever width you supply):
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath,tabularx}
\newcolumntype{M}{>{\centering\arraybackslash$\displaystyle}X<{$}}
\begin{document}
\begin{align*}
&1 & &2 & &3 & &4 & &5 & &6 & &7 & &8 \\
&11 & &22 & &33 & &44 & &55 & &66 & &77 & &88
\end{align*}
\[
\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{ *{8}{M} }
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8 \\[\jot]
11 & 22 & 33 & 44 & 55 & 66 & 77 & 88
\end{tabularx}
\]
\[
\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{ *{4}{M} }
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 \\[\jot]
11 & 22 & 33 & 44
\end{tabularx}
\]
\[
\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{ *{4}{M} }
abcdef & 4567 & qrstuvwxy & 90 \\[\jot]
123 & ghijklmnop & 8 & z
\end{tabularx}
\]
\end{document}
tabularx environments inside unnumbered display-math environments seems like overkill. Prefacing then with \noindent instructions should suffice, right?