Equation 20 · Part 2 · OpenAI Model Systems from First Principles: Weights, Post-Training, and Inference Compute
subscript
subscript
What this part means
The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.
Its job in the formula
A subscript distinguishes a version, component, step, or member of a quantity. It does not automatically mean multiplication.
Full expression→subscript→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
The third term in is now a control surface rather than a constant, and it obeys its own scaling behaviour.
Learn the underlying idea
A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.
Open the illustrated subscripts: which member of a family? guide →
Sources cited in the article section
- [9] Scaling LLM Test-Time Compute Optimally can be More Effective than Scaling Model Parameters ↗
- [1] GPT-5 System Card ↗
These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.