# Function pow Calculates the power of x to y, `x ^ y`. Matrix exponentiation is supported for square matrices `x` and integers `y`: when `y` is nonnegative, `x` may be any square matrix; and when `y` is negative, `x` must be invertible, and then this function returns inv(x)^(-y). For cubic roots of negative numbers, the function returns the principal root by default. In order to let the function return the real root, math.js can be configured with `math.config({predictable: true})`. To retrieve all cubic roots of a value, use `math.cbrt(x, true)`. ## Syntax ```js math.pow(x, y) ``` ### Parameters Parameter | Type | Description --------- | ---- | ----------- `x` | number | BigNumber | Complex | Unit | Array | Matrix | The base `y` | number | BigNumber | Complex | The exponent ### Returns Type | Description ---- | ----------- number | BigNumber | Complex | Array | Matrix | The value of `x` to the power `y` ### Throws Type | Description ---- | ----------- ## Examples ```js math.pow(2, 3) // returns number 8 const a = math.complex(2, 3) math.pow(a, 2) // returns Complex -5 + 12i const b = [[1, 2], [4, 3]] math.pow(b, 2) // returns Array [[9, 8], [16, 17]] const c = [[1, 2], [4, 3]] math.pow(c, -1) // returns Array [[-0.6, 0.4], [0.8, -0.2]] ``` ## See also [multiply](multiply.md), [sqrt](sqrt.md), [cbrt](cbrt.md), [nthRoot](nthRoot.md)