In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, the lemniscate constant
[ p. 199] is a
transcendental mathematical constant that is the ratio of the
perimeter
A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference.
Calculating the perimeter has several pract ...
of
Bernoulli's lemniscate to its
diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...
, analogous to the definition of
for the circle. Equivalently, the perimeter of the lemniscate
is . The lemniscate constant is closely related to the
lemniscate elliptic functions
In mathematics, the lemniscate elliptic functions are elliptic functions related to the arc length of the lemniscate of Bernoulli. They were first studied by Giulio Fagnano in 1718 and later by Leonhard Euler and Carl Friedrich Gauss, among oth ...
and approximately equal to 2.62205755.
The symbol is a
cursive
Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionalit ...
variant of ; see
Pi § Variant pi.
Gauss's constant, denoted by ''G'', is equal to .
John Todd named two more lemniscate constants, the ''first lemniscate constant'' and the ''second lemniscate constant'' .
Sometimes the quantities or are referred to as ''the'' lemniscate constant.
History
Gauss's constant
is named after
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
, who calculated it via the
arithmetic–geometric mean as
.
[ By 1799, Gauss had two proofs of the theorem that where is the lemniscate constant.
The lemniscate constant and first lemniscate constant were proven transcendental by ]Theodor Schneider __NOTOC__
Theodor Schneider (7 May 1911, Frankfurt am Main – 31 October 1988, Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German mathematician, best known for providing proof of what is now known as the Gelfond–Schneider theorem.
Schneider studied from 19 ...
in 1937 and the second lemniscate constant and Gauss's constant were proven transcendental by Theodor Schneider in 1941. In 1975, Gregory Chudnovsky
David Volfovich Chudnovsky (born January 22, 1947 in Kyiv) and Gregory Volfovich Chudnovsky (born April 17, 1952 in Kyiv) are Ukrainian-born American mathematicians and engineers known for their world-record mathematical calculations and developing ...
proved that the set is algebraically independent
In abstract algebra, a subset S of a field L is algebraically independent over a subfield K if the elements of S do not satisfy any non-trivial polynomial equation with coefficients in K.
In particular, a one element set \ is algebraically ind ...
over , which implies that and are algebraically independent as well. But the set (where the prime denotes the derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...
with respect to the second variable) is not algebraically independent over . In fact,
Forms
Usually, is defined by the first equality below.
where is the complete elliptic integral of the first kind with modulus , is the beta function
In mathematics, the beta function, also called the Euler integral of the first kind, is a special function that is closely related to the gamma function and to binomial coefficients. It is defined by the integral
: \Beta(z_1,z_2) = \int_0^1 t^(1 ...
, is the gamma function
In mathematics, the gamma function (represented by , the capital letter gamma from the Greek alphabet) is one commonly used extension of the factorial function to complex numbers. The gamma function is defined for all complex numbers except ...
and is the Riemann zeta function
The Riemann zeta function or Euler–Riemann zeta function, denoted by the Greek letter (zeta), is a mathematical function of a complex variable defined as \zeta(s) = \sum_^\infty \frac = \frac + \frac + \frac + \cdots for \operatorname(s) > ...
.
The lemniscate constant can also be computed by the arithmetic–geometric mean ,
Moreover,
which is analogous to
where is the Dirichlet beta function
In mathematics, the Dirichlet beta function (also known as the Catalan beta function) is a special function, closely related to the Riemann zeta function. It is a particular Dirichlet L-function, the L-function for the alternating character of per ...
and is the Riemann zeta function
The Riemann zeta function or Euler–Riemann zeta function, denoted by the Greek letter (zeta), is a mathematical function of a complex variable defined as \zeta(s) = \sum_^\infty \frac = \frac + \frac + \frac + \cdots for \operatorname(s) > ...
.
Gauss's constant is typically defined as the reciprocal
Reciprocal may refer to:
In mathematics
* Multiplicative inverse, in mathematics, the number 1/''x'', which multiplied by ''x'' gives the product 1, also known as a ''reciprocal''
* Reciprocal polynomial, a polynomial obtained from another pol ...
of the arithmetic–geometric mean of 1 and the square root of 2
The square root of 2 (approximately 1.4142) is a positive real number that, when multiplied by itself, equals the number 2. It may be written in mathematics as \sqrt or 2^, and is an algebraic number. Technically, it should be called the princip ...
, after his calculation of published in 1800:
Gauss's constant is equal to
where Β denotes the beta function
In mathematics, the beta function, also called the Euler integral of the first kind, is a special function that is closely related to the gamma function and to binomial coefficients. It is defined by the integral
: \Beta(z_1,z_2) = \int_0^1 t^(1 ...
. A formula for ''G'' in terms of Jacobi theta function
In mathematics, theta functions are special functions of several complex variables. They show up in many topics, including Abelian varieties, moduli spaces, quadratic forms, and solitons. As Grassmann algebras, they appear in quantum field theo ...
s is given by
Gauss's constant may be computed from the gamma function at argument :
John Todd's lemniscate constants may be given in terms of the beta function
In mathematics, the beta function, also called the Euler integral of the first kind, is a special function that is closely related to the gamma function and to binomial coefficients. It is defined by the integral
: \Beta(z_1,z_2) = \int_0^1 t^(1 ...
B:
Series
Viète's formula
In mathematics, Viète's formula is the following infinite product of nested radicals representing twice the reciprocal of the mathematical constant :
\frac2\pi = \frac2 \cdot \frac2 \cdot \frac2 \cdots
It can also be represented as:
\frac2\pi ...
for can be written:
An analogous formula for is:
The Wallis product
In mathematics, the Wallis product for , published in 1656 by John Wallis, states that
:\begin
\frac & = \prod_^ \frac = \prod_^ \left(\frac \cdot \frac\right) \\ pt& = \Big(\frac \cdot \frac\Big) \cdot \Big(\frac \cdot \frac\Big) \cdot \Big(\fr ...
for is:
An analogous formula for is:
A related result for Gauss's constant () is:
An infinite series of Gauss's constant discovered by Gauss is:
The Machin formula for is and several similar formulas for can be developed using trigonometric angle sum identities, e.g. Euler's formula . Analogous formulas can be developed for , including the following found by Gauss: , where is the lemniscate arcsine.
The lemniscate constant can be rapidly computed by the series
:
where (these are the generalized pentagonal numbers).
In a spirit similar to that of the Basel problem
The Basel problem is a problem in mathematical analysis with relevance to number theory, concerning an infinite sum of inverse squares. It was first posed by Pietro Mengoli in 1650 and solved by Leonhard Euler in 1734, and read on 5 December 1735 ...
,
:
where