Adding superscript to graph in R with no preceding character

Question

I'm trying to add a text in the form of ^ab to a graph instead of a^b.

This works fine:

> xlab = expression(paste("a"^"b"))

If I reverse them I get:

Error: unexpected '^' in "xlab = expression(paste(^"

What would be the correct way to implement it?

`plot(1, xlab = expression(paste(""^"a", "b")))` or `plot(1, xlab = expression(''^a~b))` — user20650, Dec 19 '15 at 04:40
related question: [leading superscript in plotmath expression (w/ggplot2)](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18111606/leading-superscript-in-plotmath-expression-w-ggplot2) — Jota, Dec 19 '15 at 06:06

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 19 '15 at 05:05

4

Try phantom()

plot(0, xlab = ~ phantom() ^ a * b)

answered Dec 19 '15 at 05:05

G. Grothendieck

1 Answers1