What does the operator ** represent in arithmetic?

The operator ** in arithmetic is commonly used to denote exponentiation or the power operation. When you see an expression like (a ** b), it indicates that 'a' is raised to the power of 'b', which is equivalent to multiplying 'a' by itself 'b' times. This operator is widely used in programming languages and mathematical software to perform such calculations efficiently.

In contrast, the other options represent different arithmetic operations. Addition involves combining quantities, subtraction involves taking one quantity away from another, and multiplication signifies repeated addition. Each of these operations serves distinct purposes in mathematical expressions, while exponentiation via the ** operator specifically deals with powers.