Fix Latex Align Problem: Left Margin

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In summary, the conversation discusses the issue of equations appearing misaligned in an align environment in LaTeX. The solution is to use "&" in front of the equals sign to indicate the alignment point. An example is provided to illustrate this solution.
  • #1
aaaa202
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Whenever I write equations in an align they end up very messed up. I have attached picture of how they look. How do I get the equations to start at the left and not suddenly to the right?
My align environment says:
\langle x^2 \rangle = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n}(x)\frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}(a_{+}+a_{-})^2\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)dx \\
= \frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n}(x)(a_{+}^2+a_{-}^2+a_{+}a_{-}+a_{-}a_{+})\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)dx\\ = \frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}[a_{+}^2\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n}(x)]^{*}[(a_{+}^2+n+n+1)\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)]dx\\
=\frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}[\frac{\sqrt{n+1}\sqrt{n+2}(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n+2}(x)]^{*}[\sum_{m=0}^{\infty})(2n+1)\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)+\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\sqrt{n+1}\sqrt{n+2}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m+2}(x)]dx]\\ =
\end{align*}
Seems messy, but all I want you to is identify what is making the equations start all the way at the left and go out of the margin.
 

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  • #2
aaaa202 said:
Whenever I write equations in an align they end up very messed up. I have attached picture of how they look. How do I get the equations to start at the left and not suddenly to the right?
I'm only moderately knowledgeable about LaTeX, especially the alignment bits. It seems that when you use align or align*, you need to indicate where you want the alignment to occur. To align at the =, use & in front of =.

I have done that below, and it renders more closely like what you want.
aaaa202 said:
[tex]
\begin{align*}\langle x^2 \rangle &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_0 e^{i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n}(x)\frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}(a_{+}+a_{-})^2\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)dx \\
&= \frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n}(x)(a_{+}^2+a_{-}^2+a_{+}a_{-}+a_{-}a_{+})\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)dx\\
&= \frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}[a_{+}^2\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n}(x)]^{*}[(a_{+}^2+n+n+1)\sum_{m=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)]dx\\
&=\frac{\hbar}{2m\omega}e^{-\mid \alpha_{0}\mid^{2}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}[\frac{\sqrt{n+1}\sqrt{n+2}(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^n}{\sqrt{n!}}\psi_{n+2}(x)]^{*}[\sum_{m=0}^{\infty})(2n+1)\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m}(x)+\sum_{m=0}^{\infty} \sqrt{n+1}\sqrt{n+2}\frac{(\alpha_{0}e^{-i\omega t})^m}{\sqrt{m!}}\psi_{m+2}(x)]dx]\\
\end{align*}[/tex]

Seems messy, but all I want you to is identify what is making the equations start all the way at the left and go out of the margin.
 
Last edited:

Related to Fix Latex Align Problem: Left Margin

1) Why is my LaTeX align environment not aligning to the left margin?

The align environment in LaTeX is designed to align equations to the center by default. To change it to align to the left margin, you can use the flalign environment instead.

2) How do I fix the left margin issue in my LaTeX document?

To fix the left margin issue in your LaTeX document, you can use the geometry package and adjust the margins using the \geometry command. Alternatively, you can use the flalign environment instead of align.

3) Can I adjust the alignment of individual equations in the align environment?

Yes, you can use the & symbol to specify the alignment point for each equation in the align environment. For example, & at the beginning of an equation will align it to the left margin.

4) I am using the flalign environment, but my equations are still not aligning to the left margin. What could be wrong?

Make sure you have used the & symbol correctly to indicate the alignment point for each equation. Also, check if there are any additional spacing commands or packages that could be affecting the alignment.

5) Is there a way to globally set the alignment for all equations in my LaTeX document?

Yes, you can use the \documentclass command to specify the option fleqn, which will align all equations in your document to the left margin by default. Alternatively, you can use the \setlength command to change the value of \mathindent to 0pt, which will also align equations to the left margin.

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