ILOG CPLEX 11.0 User's Manual > Discrete Optimization > Using Indicator Constraints > What Are Indicator Variables?

The binary variable introduced in an indicator constraint is known as an indicator variable. Usually, an indicator variable will also appear in the objective function or in other constraints. For example, in fixnet.c, the indicator variables f appear in the objective function to represent the cost of building an arc. In fact, an indicator variable introduced in one indicator constraint may appear again in another, subsequent indicator constraint.