Better script fonts for maths

The font selected by \mathcal is the only script font 'built in'. However, there are other useful calligraphic fonts included with modern TeX distributions.

Euler

The eucal package (part of most sensible TeX distributions; the fonts are part of the AMS font set) gives a slightly curlier font than the default. The package changes the font that is selected by \mathcal.

Type 1 versions of the fonts are available in the AMS fonts distribution.

RSFS

The mathrsfs package uses a really fancy script font (the name stands for "Ralph Smith's Formal Script") which is already part of most modern TeX distributions. The package creates a new command \mathscr.

Type 1 versions of the font have been made available by Taco Hoekwater.

Zapf Chancery

is the standard PostScript calligraphic font. There is no package but you can easily make it available by means of the command

\DeclareMathAlphabet{\mathscr}{OT1}{pzc}%
                                 {m}{it}

in your preamble. You may find the font rather too big; if so, you can use a scaled version of it like this:

\DeclareFontFamily{OT1}{pzc}{}
\DeclareFontShape{OT1}{pzc}{m}{it}%
             {<-> s * [0.900] pzcmi7t}{}
\DeclareMathAlphabet{\mathscr}{OT1}{pzc}%
                                 {m}{it}

Adobe Zapf Chancery (which the above examples use) is distributed in any but the most basic PostScript printers. A substantially identical font (to the the extent that the same metrics may be used) is available from URW and is distributed with ghostscript.

eucal.sty

fonts/amsfonts/latex/eucal.sty

euler fonts

fonts/amsfonts/sources/euler.tar.gz

euler fonts, in Type 1 format

fonts/amsfonts/ps-type1/

ghostscript

Browse nonfree/support/ghostscript/

mathrsfs.sty

Distributed as part of macros/latex/contrib/supported/jknappen.tar.gz

rsfs fonts

fonts/rsfs.tar.gz

rsfs fonts, in Type 1 format

fonts/rsfs/ps-type1/hoekwater.tar.gz

Script font examples

info/symbols/math/scriptfonts.pdf