← All parts of this equation

Equation 17 · Part 6 · The Economics and Physical Limits of Running AI Agents at Scale

Symbol σ

ci=pin(τ+δ+(i−1)σ)+pout oˉc_i = p_{\text{in}}\big(\tau + \delta + (i-1)\sigma\big) + p_{\text{out}}\,\bar{o}
σ\sigma

What this part means

σ is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.

Its job in the formula

σ is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.

The passage around this formula

Because the API is stateless between calls, step i in the loop must include, as ordinary input, everything that made it into the transcript through step i-1 : the tool results, the intermediate reasoning, the earlier outputs. Call the amount a single step permanently adds to that growing transcript σ\sigma — roughly δ\delta plus oˉ\bar{o} , since both the new material a step introduces and the output it produces become part of what every later step has to resend. Without caching, step i ’s input is not just τ\tau + δ\delta ; it is τ\tau + δ\delta plus the accumulated weight of every prior step, (i-1)σ\sigma : ci=pin(τ+δ+(i−1)σ)+pout oˉc_i = p_{\text{in}}\big(\tau + \delta + (i-1)\sigma\big) + p_{\text{out}}\,\bar{o}. Summed over an n -step trajectory, that gives

Read this part in the article →

Learn the underlying idea

A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

Open the illustrated variables: a letter stands for a value guide →

See this notation across published equations →

Sources cited in the article section

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.