Correct way of defining a mathematical object (linguistic)

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I am writing my thesis and my advisor made a correction to the sentence below:

Transitional Rule commonly denoted by $\phi$ is defined by the map $\Sigma^n \rightarrow \Sigma$.

He has changed the sentence by changing the definite article the to the indefinite article a as below:

Transitional Rule commonly denoted by $\phi$ is defined by a map $\Sigma^n \rightarrow \Sigma$.

Which of the sentences above are correct providing that $\Sigma$ is a set that is defined previously and n is the length of a string?

I have already asked this question in English Stack Exchange and I could not get any answer. They have said this a technical question. Thanks in advance.