# How to force sum limits to be above and below the sigma in a Latex table

Is there a way in the Latex tabular environment to force the limits on a sum to be above and below the Sigma?

I really need this table to be less wide without reducing the font size and if I could make this change I think it will reduce the width enough

\begin{tabular}{cccccc}
\toprule
%\multicolumn{2}{c}{iNaturalist data per species} \\
%\midrule
Year & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}c@{}}Number of\\ observers\end{tabular}  &\begin{tabular}[c]{@{}c@{}}Number of\\observer walks\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}c@{}}Expected number\\of individuals\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}c@{}}Actual number\\of individuals\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}c@{}}Number of\\observations\end{tabular} \\
\midrule
1  & $K_1$ & $W_1 = \sum_{k=1}^{K_1}Pois(E(W^{(k)}))$ & $E(n_1)$ & $n_1 = Pois(E(n_1))$ & $x_1 = \sum_{w=1}^{W_1} bin(n_1,p)$\\
2  & $K_2$ & $W_2 = \sum_{k=1}^{K_2}Pois(E(W^{(k)}))$ & $E(n_2) = E(n_1) e^t$ & $n_2 = Pois(E(n_2))$ & $x_2 = \sum_{w=1}^{W_2} bin(n_2,p)$\\
$\vdots$ &$\vdots$ &$\vdots$&$\vdots$ &$\vdots$ &$\vdots$\\
7 & $K_7$ & $W_7 = \sum_{k=1}^{K_7}Pois(E(W^{(k)}))$ & $E(n_7) =E(n_1) e^{6t}$& $n_7 =Pois(E(n_7))$& $x_7 = \sum_{w=1}^{W_7} bin(n_7,p)$ \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}


• Use \displaystyle before each sum
– user193767
Mar 27, 2020 at 5:26
• @JairoAraujo -- \displaystyle may affect other things in the table cell. \sum\limits is more reestrictive, acting on only the \sum. Mar 27, 2020 at 17:40

Like this?

For sums with limits below and above sum symbol you can use \sum\limits_{...}^{...}. I also change tabular to array and define two math operators:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[margin=25mm]{geometry}
\usepackage{mathtools}
\DeclareMathOperator{\Pois}{Pois}
\DeclareMathOperator{\bin}{bin}

\usepackage{booktabs, makecell}
\newcommand\mcc[1]{\multicolumn{1}{c}{\text{\makecell{#1}}}}

\begin{document}
$\begin{array}{@{} *{6}{c} @{}} \toprule \mcc{Year} & \mcc{Number of\\ observers} & \mcc{Number of\\observer walks} & \mcc{Expected number\\of individuals} & \mcc{Actual number\\of individuals} & \mcc{Number of\\observations} \\ \midrule 1 & K_1 & W_1 = \sum\limits_{k=1}^{K_1}\Pois(E(W^{(k)})) & E(n_1) & n_1 = \Pois(E(n_1)) & x_1 = \sum\limits_{w=1}^{W_1} \bin(n_1,p) \\ \addlinespace 2 & K_2 & W_2 = \sum\limits_{k=1}^{K_2}\Pois(E(W^{(k)})) & E(n_2) = E(n_1) e^t & n_2 = \Pois(E(n_2)) & x_2 = \sum\limits_{w=1}^{W_2} \bin(n_2,p)\\ \addlinespace \vdots &\vdots &\vdots&\vdots &\vdots &\vdots\\ \addlinespace 7 & K_7 & W_7 = \sum\limits_{k=1}^{K_7}\Pois(E(W^{(k)})) & E(n_7) =E(n_1) e^{6t}& n_7=\Pois(E(n_7)) & x_7 = \sum\limits_{w=1}^{W_7} \bin(n_7,p) \\ \bottomrule \end{array}$
\end{document}


Adendum: With use of the \displaystyle in table's column definition:

\begin{array}{@{} *{6}{>{\displaystyle}c} @{}}


you can drop all \limits in the table body code. With this the code for the table become a bit shorter.

• Thank you - that is perfect!
– J.M
Mar 28, 2020 at 7:07