[Math] Notation for extracting the index of an element from a set

notation

OK I edited the question. Sorry for the wrong terms.

What is the correct notation such that a specific function maps an element of a specific sequence/list/n-tuple to its index?

I have researched about index sets but it only gives index to a set and not to the element.

Is there a way to draw the notation of the index of the element like in the index sets?

Best Answer

As Arturo points out in the comments, this question is only meaningful for a list (or sequence), and not a set, since sets have no intrinsic order. A list can be considered as a function $F: \mathbb{N} \rightarrow S$. The notation you are seeking is simply $F^{-1}$, the inverse of $F$. For example, $F(x) = x^2$ corresponds to the list $(0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, ...)$, and since $F(6) = 36$, we have $F^{-1}(36) = 6$ mapping the element 36 back to position 6.

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