In probability theory, the Wick product, named for Italian physicist Gian-Carlo Wick, is a particular way of defining an adjusted product of a set of random variables. In the lowest order product the adjustment corresponds to subtracting off the mean value, to leave a result whose mean is zero. For the higher-order products the adjustment involves subtracting off lower order (ordinary) products of the random variables, in a symmetric way, again leaving a result whose mean is zero. The Wick product is a polynomial function of the random variables, their expected values, and expected values of their products.
The definition of the Wick product immediately leads to the Wick power of a single random variable, and this allows analogues of other functions of random variables to be defined on the basis of replacing the ordinary powers in a power series expansion by the Wick powers. The Wick powers of commonly-seen random variables can be expressed in terms of special functions such as Bernoulli polynomials or Hermite polynomials.