Variational

Variational may refer to:

• Calculus of variations, a field of mathematical analysis that deals with maximizing or minimizing functionals
• Variational method (quantum mechanics), a way of finding approximations to the lowest energy eigenstate or ground state in quantum physics
• Variational Bayesian methods, a family of techniques for approximating integrals in Bayesian inference and machine learning
• Variational properties, properties of an organism relating to the production of variation among its offspring in evolutionary biology
• Variationist sociolinguistics or variational sociolinguistics, the study of variation in language use among speakers or groups of speakers

See also

• List of variational topics in mathematics and physics
• Variation (disambiguation)
• All pages with titles beginning with Variational