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I wish to write that some variables in a scientific document can be respectively identified (as/by) some values... For instance,

...where a,b and c correspond to the energies the spinor and the bosonic fields may carry and in the free theory, they can be respectively identified as 1,2 and 3.

Is "as" correct or should I write "by" or something else? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

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  • What do you mean by "can be identified"? Please clarify. If you mean that you are assigning numbers to distinguish them, then I think your use of "identified" is ambiguous to the layman, although it may be common in your field (?). Your context is not entirely clear to me, but would it not be better to used "are designated"?
    – David
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 8:19
  • Hello @David and thank you for the reply. Yes, something like that, I mean that they can be "identified"(?) by some other variables whose value is known... I hope this clarifies the meaning somehow. Is, in your opinion, the word "designated" a better choice??
    – schris38
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 8:38
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    I don't think there is enough information here. Please have a look at the extended help on preposition questions (I do wish SE made that easier to find). As and by would both work in your sentence, but they make the sentence mean something dramatically different. There's not enough information here on what you actually want it to mean.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 8:40

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From your edit, clarifying that the identifier was only one of a possible number of ways to identify those variables, I think "AS". If it was the only way to identify those variables then "BY".

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