Eigenmath Manual

January 1, 2009

1
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Contents
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Negative exponents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Defining symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Draw 8

3 Scripts 11

4 Complex numbers 13

5 Linear algebra 15

6 Calculus 17
6.1 Derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.2 Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3 Template functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.4 Integral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.5 Arc length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6.6 Line integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.7 Surface area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.8 Surface integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.9 Green’s theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.10 Stokes’ theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

7 More examples 34
7.1 François Viète . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.2 Curl in tensor form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.3 Quantum harmonic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7.4 Hydrogen wavefunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.5 Space shuttle and Corvette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
7.6 Avogadro’s constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
7.7 Zero to the zero power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

8 Built-in functions 42

9 Syntax 54
 3

1 Introduction
The following is an excerpt from Vladimir Nabokov’s autobiography Speak,
Memory.

A foolish tutor had explained logarithms to me much too early,

and I had read (in a British publication, the Boy’s Own Pa-
per, I believe) about a certain Hindu calculator who in exactly
two seconds could find the seventeenth root of, say, 3529471145
760275132301897342055866171392 (I am not sure I have got this
right; anyway the root was 212).

We can check Nabokov’s arithmetic by typing the following into Eigenmath.

212^17
After pressing the return key, Eigenmath displays the following result.

3529471145760275132301897342055866171392

So Nabokov did get it right after all. We can enter float or click on the float
button to scale the number down to size.
float
3.52947 × 1039

Now let us see if Eigenmath can find the seventeenth root of this number,
like the Hindu calculator could.
N=212^17
N
N = 3529471145760275132301897342055866171392
N^(1/17)
212

It is worth mentioning that when a symbol is assigned a value, no result is

printed. To see the value of a symbol, just evaluate it by putting it on a line
by itself.
N
N = 3529471145760275132301897342055866171392
 4

1.1 Negative exponents

Eigenmath requires parentheses around negative exponents. For example,
10^(-3)
instead of
10^-3
The reason for this is that the binding of the negative sign is not always
obvious. For example, consider
x^-1/2
It is not clear whether the exponent should be −1 or −1/2. So Eigenmath
requires
x^(-1/2)
which is unambiguous.
Now a new question arises. Never mind the minus sign, what is the binding
of the caret symbol itself? The answer is, it binds to the first symbol that
follows it and nothing else. For example, the following is parsed as (x1 )/2.
x^1/2

1
2x

So in general, parentheses are needed when the exponent is an expression.

x^(1/2)

x1/2
 5

1.2 Defining symbols

As we saw earlier, Eigenmath uses the same syntax as dear old Fortran.
N=212^17
No result is printed when a symbol is defined. To see a symbol’s value, just
evaluate it.
N

3529471145760275132301897342055866171392

Beyond its prosaic syntax, Eigenmath does have a few tricks up its sleeve.
For example, a symbol can have a subscript.
NA=6.02214*10^23
NA

NA = 6.02214 × 1023

A symbol can be the name of a Greek letter.

xi=1/2
xi

1
ξ= 2

Since xi is ξ, how is xi entered? Well, that is an issue that may get resolved
in the future. For now, xi is always ξ.
Greek letters can appear in the subscript too.
Amu=2.0
Amu

Aµ = 2.0

The general rule is this. Eigenmath scans the entire symbol looking for
Greek letters.
alphamunu

αµν
 6

Let us turn now to what happens when a symbolic expression is evaluated.

The most important point is that Eigenmath exhaustively evaluates sym-
bolic subexpressions.
A=B
B=C
C=D
sin(A)

sin(D)

In the above example, evaluating sin(A) yields sin(D) because Eigenmath

resolves A as far as it can, in this case down to D. However, internally the
binding of A is still B, as can be seen with the binding function.
binding(A)

Let us return to symbolic definitions for a moment. It should be kept in mind

that the right hand side of the definition is an expression that is evaluated
before the binding is done. For example,
B=1
A=B
binding(A)

The binding of A is 1 and not B because B was already defined before the
A = B occurred. The quote function can be used to give a literal binding.
A=quote(B)
binding(A)

B
 7

What this all means is that symbols have a dual nature. A symbol has a
binding which may be different from its evaluation. Normally this difference
is not important. The functions quote and binding are mentioned here
mainly to provide insight into what is happening belowdecks. Normally
you should not really need to use these functions. However, one notable
exception is the use of quote to clear a symbol.
x=3
x

x=3
x=quote(x)
x

x
 8

2 Draw
draw(f, x) draws a graph of the function f of x. The second argument
can be omitted when the dependent variable is literally x or t. The vectors
xrange and yrange control the scale of the graph.
draw(x^2)

xrange=(-1,1)
yrange=(0,2)
draw(x^2)

clear
The clear command (or a click of the Clear button) resets xrange and
yrange. This needs to be done so that the next graph appears as shown.
 9

Parametric drawing occurs when a function returns a vector. The vector

trange controls the parameter range. The default range is (−π, π).
f=(cos(t),sin(t))
draw(5*f)

trange=(0,pi/2)
draw(5*f)
 10

Here are a couple of interesting curves and the code for drawing them. First
is a lemniscate.
clear
X=cos(t)/(1+sin(t)^2)
Y=sin(t)*cos(t)/(1+sin(t)^2)
draw(5*(X,Y))

Next is a cardioid.
r=(1+cos(t))/2
u=(cos(t),sin(t))
xrange=(-1,1)
yrange=(-1,1)
draw(r*u)
 11

3 Scripts
Here is a simple example that draws the graph of y = mx + b.
y=m*x+b
m=1/2
b=-3
draw(y)

Now suppose that we want to draw the graph with a different m. We could
type in everything all over again, but it would be easier in the long run to
write a script. Then we can go back and quickly change m and b as many
times as we want.
To prepare a script, click on the Edit Script button. Then enter the script
commands, one per line, as shown above. Then click on the Run Script
button to see the graph.
Eigenmath runs a script by stepping through it line by line. Each line is
evaluated just like a regular command. This continues until the end of the
script is reached. After the script runs, you can click Edit Script and go
back and change something.
 12

Sometimes it is desirable to have a script print a few comments when it

runs. This can be accomplished by placing the desired text in quotes on a
single line. For example, the script
"Here is the value of pi."
float(pi)
displays the following when run.
Here is the value of pi.

3.14159

Eigenmath includes a simple debug facility. Setting the variable trace to 1

causes each line of the script to be printed as the script runs. Normally this
setting would be the first line in the script.
trace=1
--Now each line of the script is printed as it runs.
 13

4 Complex numbers
√
When Eigenmath starts up, it defines the symbol i as i = −1. Other than
that, there is nothing special about i. It is just a regular symbol that can
be redefined and used for some other purpose if need be.
Complex quantities can be entered in rectangular or polar form.
a+i*b
a + ib
exp(i*pi/3)
1
exp( iπ)
3
Converting to rectangular or polar coordinates simplifies mixed forms.
A=1+i
B=sqrt(2)*exp(i*pi/4)
A-B
1
1 + i − 21/2 exp( iπ)
4
rect
0

Rectangular complex quantities, when raised to a power, are multiplied out.

(a+i*b)^2
a2 − b2 + 2iab

When a and b are numerical and the power is negative, the evaluation is
done as follows.
n n
a − ib a − ib
 
−n
(a + ib) = = 2
(a + ib)(a − ib) a + b2

Of course, this causes i to be removed from the denominator. Here are a

few examples.
1/(2-i)
2 1
+ i
5 5
(-1+3i)/(2-i)
−1 + i
 14

The absolute value of a complex number returns its magnitude.

abs(3+4*i)
5

In light of this, the following result might be unexpected.

abs(a+b*i)
abs(a + ib)
√
The result is not a2 + b2 because that would assume that a and b are real.
For example, suppose that a = 0 and b = i. Then

|a + ib| = | − 1| = 1

and p √
a2 + b2 = −1 = i
Hence p
|a + ib| =
6 a2 + b2 for some a, b ∈ C

The mag function is an alternative. It treats symbols like a and b as real.

mag(a+b*i)

(a2 + b2 )1/2
 15

5 Linear algebra
dot is used to multiply vectors and matrices. The following example shows
how to use dot and inv to solve for X in AX = B.
A=((3.8,7.2),(1.3,-0.9))
B=(16.5,-22.1)
X=dot(inv(A),B)
X

−11.2887
 

8.24961

One might wonder why the dot function is necessary. Why not simply use
X = inv(A) ∗ B like scalar multiplication? The reason is that the software
normally reorders factors internally to optimize processing. For example,
inv(A) ∗ B in symbolic form is changed to B ∗ inv(A) internally. Since
the dot product is not commutative, this reordering would give the wrong
result. Using a function to do the multiply avoids the problem because
function arguments are not reordered.
It should be noted that dot can have more than two arguments. For example,
dot(A, B, C) can be used for the dot product of three tensors.

The following example demonstrates the relation A−1 = adj A/ det A.

A=((a,b),(c,d))
inv(A)
d b
 
 ad − bc −
 ad − bc 

 c a 
−
ad − bc ad − bc
adj(A)
d −b
 

−c a

det(A)
ad − bc

inv(A)-adj(A)/det(A)  
0 0
0 0
 16

Sometimes a calculation will be simpler if it can be reorganized to use adj

instead of inv. The main idea is to try to prevent the determinant from
appearing as a divisor. For example, suppose for matrices A and B you
want to check that
A − B−1 = 0
Depending on the complexity of det B, the software may not be able to find
a simplification that yields zero. Should that occur, the following alternative
can be tried.
(det B) · A − adj B = 0

The adjunct of a matrix is related to the cofactors as follows.

A=((a,b),(c,d))
C=((0,0),(0,0))
C[1,1]=cofactor(A,1,1)
C[1,2]=cofactor(A,1,2)
C[2,1]=cofactor(A,2,1)
C[2,2]=cofactor(A,2,2)
C

d −c
 
C=
−b a
adj(A)-transpose(C)
 
0 0
0 0
 17

6 Calculus
6.1 Derivative
d(f, x) returns the derivative of f with respect to x. The x can be omitted
for expressions in x.
d(x^2)
2x

The following table summarizes the various ways to obtain multiderivatives.

∂2f
d(f,x,x) d(f,x,2)
∂x2

∂2f
d(f,x,y)
∂x ∂y

∂ m+n+··· f
d(f,x,...,y,...) d(f,x,m,y,n,...)
∂xm ∂y n · · ·

6.2 Gradient
The gradient of f is obtained by using a vector for x in d(f, x).
r=sqrt(x^2+y^2)
d(r,(x,y))
 x 
(x2 2
+y )  1/2

 y 
(x2 + y 2 )1/2

The f in d(f, x) can be a tensor function. Gradient raises the rank by one.
F=(x+2y,3x+4y)
X=(x,y)
d(F,X)  
1 2
3 4
 18

6.3 Template functions

The function f in d(f ) does not have to be defined. It can be a template
function with just a name and an argument list. Eigenmath checks the
argument list to figure out what to do. For example, d(f (x), x) evaluates to
itself because f depends on x. However, d(f (x), y) evaluates to zero because
f does not depend on y.
d(f(x),x)
∂(f (x), x)
d(f(x),y)
0
d(f(x,y),y)
∂(f (x, y), y)
d(f(),t)
∂(f (), t)

As the final example shows, an empty argument list causes d(f ) to always
evaluate to itself, regardless of the second argument.
Template functions are useful for experimenting with differential forms. For
example, let us check the identity

div(curl F) = 0

for an arbitrary vector function F.

F=(F1(x,y,z),F2(x,y,z),F3(x,y,z))
curl(U)=(d(U[3],y)-d(U[2],z),d(U[1],z)-d(U[3],x),d(U[2],x)-d(U[1],y))
div(U)=d(U[1],x)+d(U[2],y)+d(U[3],z)
div(curl(F))
0
 19

6.4 Integral
integral(f, x) returns the integral of f with respect to x. The x can be
omitted for expressions in x. A multi-integral can be obtained by extending
the argument list.
integral(x^2)
1 3
x
3
integral(x*y,x,y)
1 2 2
x y
4
def int(f, x, a, b, . . .) computes the definite integral of f with respect to x
evaluated from a to b. The argument list can be extended for multiple
integrals.
The following example computes the integral of f = x2 over the √ domain of
a semicircle. For each x along the abscissa, y ranges from 0 to 1 − x2 .
defint(x^2,y,0,sqrt(1-x^2),x,-1,1)
1
π
8
As an alternative, the eval function can be used to compute a definite inte-
gral step by step.
I=integral(x^2,y)
I=eval(I,y,sqrt(1-x^2))-eval(I,y,0)
I=integral(I,x)
eval(I,x,1)-eval(I,x,-1)
1
π
8
 20

Here is a useful trick. Difficult integrals involving sine and cosine can of-
ten be solved by using exponentials. Trigonometric simplifications involving
powers and multiple angles turn into simple algebra in the exponential do-
main. For example, the definite integral
Z 2π  
sin4 t − 2 cos3 (t/2) sin t dt
0

can be solved as follows.

f=sin(t)^4-2*cos(t/2)^3*sin(t)
f=circexp(f)
defint(f,t,0,2*pi)
16 3
− + π
5 4
Here is a check.
g=integral(f,t)
f-d(g,t)

0
 21

The fundamental theorem of calculus was established by James Gregory, a

contemporary of Newton. The theorem is a formal expression of the inverse
relation between integrals and derivatives.
Z b
f 0 (x) dx = f (b) − f (a)
a
Here is an Eigenmath demonstration of the fundamental theorem of calculus.
f=x^2/2
xrange=(-1,1)
yrange=xrange
draw(d(f))

draw(integral(d(f)))

The first graph shows that f 0 (x) is antisymmetric, therefore the total area
under the curve from −1 to 1 sums to zero. The second graph shows that
f (1) = f (−1). Hence for f (x) = 12 x2 we have
Z 1
f 0 (x) dx = f (1) − f (−1) = 0
−1
 22

6.5 Arc length

Let g(t) be a function that draws a curve. The arc length from g(a) to g(b)
is given by
Z b
|g 0 (t)| dt
a
where |g 0 (t)| is the length of the tangent vector at g(t). The integral sums
over all of the tangent lengths to arrive at the total length from a to b. For
example, let us measure the length of
xrange=(0,1)
yrange=(0,1)
draw(x^2)

A suitable g(t) for the arc is

g(t) = (t, t2 ), 0≤t≤1

The Eigenmath solution is

x=t
y=t^2
g=(x,y)
defint(abs(d(g,t)),t,0,1)

1
4 log(2 + 51/2 ) + 12 51/2
float

1.47894
 23

√
As we would expect, the result is greater than 2, the length of the diagonal.
The result seems rather complicated given that we started with a simple
parabola. Let us inspect |g 0 (t)| to see why.
g
 
t
g=
t2

d(g,t)
 
1
2t

abs(d(g,t))

(4t2 + 1)1/2

The following script does a discrete computation of the arc length by dividing
the curve into 100 pieces.
g(t)=(t,t^2)
h(t)=abs(g(t)-g(t-0.01))
L=0
for(k,1,100,L=L+h(k/100.0))
L

L = 1.47894
 24

Find the length of the curve y = x3/2 from the origin to x = 43 .

x=t
y=x^(3/2)
g=(x,y)
defint(abs(d(g,x)),x,0,4/3)

56
27

Because of the way t is substituted for x, the previous solution is really no

different from the following.
g=(t,t^(3/2))
defint(abs(d(g,t)),t,0,4/3)

56
27
 25

6.6 Line integrals

There are two different kinds of line integrals, one for scalar fields and one
for vector fields. The following table shows how both are based on the
calculation of arc length.

Abstract form Computable form

Z Z b
Arc length ds |g 0 (t)| dt
C a
Z Z b
Line integral, scalar field f ds f (g(t)) |g 0 (t)| dt
C a
Z Z b
Line integral, vector field (F · u) ds F (g(t)) · g 0 (t) dt
C a

For the vector field form, the symbol u is the unit tangent vector

g 0 (t)
u=
|g 0 (t)|

The length of the tangent vector cancels with ds as follows.

g 0 (t)
Z Z b   Z b
(F · u) ds = F (g(t)) · |g 0 (t)| dt = F (g(t)) · g 0 (t) dt
C a |g 0 (t)| a
 26

Evaluate Z Z
x ds and x dx
C C
where C is a straight line from (0, 0) to (1, 1).
What a difference the measure makes. The first integral is over a scalar field
and the second is over a vector field. This can be understood when we recall
that
ds = |g 0 (t)| dt
R
Hence for C x ds we have
x=t
y=t
g=(x,y)
defint(x*abs(d(g,t)),t,0,1)
1
21/2
R
For C x dx we have
x=t
y=t
g=(x,y)
F=(x,0)
defint(dot(F,d(g,t)),t,0,1)
1
2
 27

The following line integral problems are from Advanced Calculus, Fifth Edi-
tion by Wilfred Kaplan.
R 2
Evaluate y dx along the straight line from (0, 0) to (2, 2).
x=2t
y=2t
g=(x,y)
F=(y^2,0)
defint(dot(F,d(g,t)),t,0,1)
8
3

Evaluate z dx + x dy + y dz along the path x = 2t + 1, y = t2 , z = 1 + t3 ,

R

0 ≤ t ≤ 1.
x=2t+1
y=t^2
z=1+t^3
g=(x,y,z)
F=(z,x,y)
defint(dot(F,d(g,t)),t,0,1)
163
30
 28

6.7 Surface area

Let S be a surface parameterized by x and y. That is, let S = (x, y, z) where
z = f (x, y). The tangent lines at a point on S form a tiny parallelogram.
The area a of the parallelogram is given by the magnitude of the cross
product.  
 ∂S ∂S 
a=  ×
∂x ∂y 
By summing over all the parallelograms we obtain the total surface area A.
Hence ZZ ZZ
A= dA = a dx dy

The following example computes the surface area of a unit disk parallel to
the xy plane.
z=2
S=(x,y,z)
a=abs(cross(d(S,x),d(S,y)))
defint(a,y,-sqrt(1-x^2),sqrt(1-x^2),x,-1,1)

The result is π, the area of a unit circle, which is what we expect. The
following example computes the surface area of z = x2 + 2y over a unit
square.
z=x^2+2y
S=(x,y,z)
a=abs(cross(d(S,x),d(S,y)))
defint(a,x,0,1,y,0,1)
3 5
+ log(5)
2 8
As a practical matter, f (x, y) must be very simple in order for Eigenmath
to solve the double integral.
 29

Find the area of the spiral ramp defined by1

u cos v
 

S = u sin v  ,
 0 ≤ u ≤ 1, 0 ≤ v ≤ 3π
v

In this example, the coordinates x, y and z are all functions of an indepen-

dent parameter space.
x=u*cos(v)
y=u*sin(v)
z=v
S=(x,y,z)
a=abs(cross(d(S,u),d(S,v)))
defint(a,u,0,1,v,0,3pi)
3 3π
π log(1 + 21/2 ) + 1/2
2 2
float

10.8177

1
Williamson and Trotter, Multivariable Mathematics, p. 598.
 30

6.8 Surface integrals

A surface integral is like adding up all the wind on a sail. In other words,
we want to compute ZZ
F · n dA
where F · n is the amount of wind normal to a tiny parallelogram dA. The
integral sums over the entire area of the sail. Let S be the surface of the sail
parameterized by x and y. (In this model, the z direction points downwind.)
By the properties of the cross product we have the following for the unit
normal n and for dA.
∂S ∂S
∂x × ∂y

 ∂S ∂S 

n =   dA =  × dx dy
 ∂S ∂S  ∂x ∂y 
∂x × ∂y 

Hence
∂S ∂S
ZZ ZZ  
F · n dA = × F· dx dy
∂x ∂y
For example, evaluate the surface integral
ZZ
F · n dσ
S

where F = xy 2 zi − 2x3 j + yz 2 k, S is the surface z = 1 − x2 − y 2 , x2 + y 2 ≤ 1

and n is upper.2
Note that the surface intersects the xy plane in a circle. By the right hand
rule, crossing x into y yields n pointing upwards hence
∂S ∂S
 
n dσ = × dx dy
∂x ∂y
The following Eigenmath code computes the surface integral. The symbols
f and h are used as temporary variables.
z=1-x^2-y^2
F=(x*y^2*z,-2*x^3,y*z^2)
S=(x,y,z)
f=dot(F,cross(d(S,x),d(S,y)))
h=sqrt(1-x^2)
defint(f,y,-h,h,x,-1,1)
1
π
48
2
Kaplan, Advanced Calculus, p. 313.
 31

6.9 Green’s theorem

Green’s theorem tells us that
∂Q ∂P
I ZZ  
P dx + Q dy = − dx dy
∂x ∂y

Example 1. Evaluate (2x3 −y 3 ) dx+(x3 +y 3 ) dy around the circle x2 +y 2 = 1

H

using Green’s theorem.3

It turns out that Eigenmath cannot solve the double integral over x and y
directly. Polar coordinates are used instead.
P=2x^3-y^3
Q=x^3+y^3
f=d(Q,x)-d(P,y)
x=r*cos(theta)
y=r*sin(theta)
defint(f*r,r,0,1,theta,0,2pi)
3
π
2
The def int integrand is f ∗r because r dr dθ = dx dy.
Now let us try computing the line integral side of Green’s theorem and see
if we get the same result. We need to use the trick of converting sine and
cosine to exponentials so that Eigenmath can find a solution.
x=cos(t)
y=sin(t)
P=2x^3-y^3
Q=x^3+y^3
f=P*d(x,t)+Q*d(y,t)
f=circexp(f)
defint(f,t,0,2pi)
3
π
2

3
Wilfred Kaplan, Advanced Calculus, 5th Edition, 287.
 32

Example 2. Compute both sides of Green’s theorem for F = (1 − y, x) over

the disk x2 + y 2 ≤ 4.
First compute the line integral along the boundary of the disk. Note that
the radius of the disk is 2.
--Line integral
P=1-y
Q=x
x=2*cos(t)
y=2*sin(t)
defint(P*d(x,t)+Q*d(y,t),t,0,2pi)

8π
--Surface integral
x=quote(x) --remove parametrization of x
y=quote(y) --remove parametrization of y
h=sqrt(4-x^2)
defint(d(Q,x)-d(P,y),y,-h,h,x,-2,2)

8π
--Bonus point: Compute the surface integral using polar coordinates.
f=d(Q,x)-d(P,y) --do before change of coordinates
x=r*cos(theta)
y=r*sin(theta)
defint(f*r,r,0,2,theta,0,2pi)

8π
defint(f*r,theta,0,2pi,r,0,2) --try integrating over theta first

8π

In this case, Eigenmath solved both forms of the polar integral. However,
in cases where Eigenmath fails to solve a double integral, try changing the
order of integration.
 33

6.10 Stokes’ theorem

Stokes’ theorem proves the following equivalence of line and surface integrals.
I ZZ
P dx + Q dy + R dz = (curl F) · n dσ
S

where F = (P, Q, R). For S parametrized by x and y we have

∂S ∂S
 
n dσ = × dx dy
∂x ∂y
In many cases, converting an integral according to Stokes’ theorem can turn
a difficult problem into an easy one.
Let F = (y, z, x) and let S be the part of the paraboloid z = 4 − x2 − y 2
that is above the xy plane. The perimeter of the paraboloid is the circle
x2 + y 2 = 2. Calculate both the line and surface integrals. It turns out that
we need to use polar coordinates so that defint can succeed.
--Surface integral
z=4-x^2-y^2
F=(y,z,x)
S=(x,y,z)
f=dot(curl(F),cross(d(S,x),d(S,y)))
x=r*cos(theta)
y=r*sin(theta)
defint(f*r,r,0,2,theta,0,2pi)

−4π
--Line integral
x=2*cos(t)
y=2*sin(t)
z=4-x^2-y^2
P=y
Q=z
R=x
f=P*d(x,t)+Q*d(y,t)+R*d(z,t)
f=circexp(f)
defint(f,t,0,2pi)

−4π
 34

7 More examples
7.1 François Viète
François Viète was the first to discover an exact formula for π. Here is his
formula. r
√ q √
q √
2 2 2+ 2 2 + 2+ 2
= × × × ···
π 2 2 2
√
Let a0 = 0 and an = 2 + an−1 . Then we can write
2 a1 a2 a3
= × × × ···
π 2 2 2
Solving for π we have
∞
2 2 2 Y 2
π =2× × × × ··· = 2
a1 a2 a3 a
k=1 k

Let us now use Eigenmath to compute π according to Viète’s formula. Of

course, we cannot calculate all the way out to infinity, we have to stop
somewhere. It turns out that nine factors are just enough to get six digits
of accuracy.
a(n)=test(n=0,0,sqrt(2+a(n-1)))
float(2*product(k,1,9,2/a(k)))

3.14159

The function a(n) calls itself n times so overall there are 54 calls to a(n). By
using a different algorithm with temporary variables, we can get the answer
in just nine steps.
a=0
b=2
for(k,1,9,a=sqrt(2+a),b=b*2/a)
float(b)

3.14159
 35

7.2 Curl in tensor form

The curl of a vector function can be expressed in tensor form as
∂Fk
curl F = ijk
∂xj

where ijk is the Levi-Civita tensor. The following script demonstrates that
this formula is equivalent to computing curl the old fashioned way.
-- Define epsilon.
epsilon=zero(3,3,3)
epsilon[1,2,3]=1
epsilon[2,3,1]=1
epsilon[3,1,2]=1
epsilon[3,2,1]=-1
epsilon[1,3,2]=-1
epsilon[2,1,3]=-1
-- F is a generic vector function.
F=(FX(),FY(),FZ())
-- A is the curl of F.
A=outer(epsilon,d(F,(x,y,z)))
A=contract(A,3,4) --sum across k
A=contract(A,2,3) --sum across j
-- B is the curl of F computed the old fashioned way.
BX=d(F[3],y)-d(F[2],z)
BY=d(F[1],z)-d(F[3],x)
BZ=d(F[2],x)-d(F[1],y)
B=(BX,BY,BZ)
-- Are A and B equal? Subtract to find out.
A-B

0
 
0
0
 36

The following is a variation on the previous script. The product ijk ∂Fk /∂xj
is computed in just one line of code. In addition, the outer product and the
contraction across k are now computed with a dot product.
F=(FX(),FY(),FZ())
epsilon=zero(3,3,3)
epsilon[1,2,3]=1
epsilon[2,3,1]=1
epsilon[3,1,2]=1
epsilon[3,2,1]=-1
epsilon[1,3,2]=-1
epsilon[2,1,3]=-1
A=contract(dot(epsilon,d(F,(x,y,z))),2,3)
BX=d(F[3],y)-d(F[2],z)
BY=d(F[1],z)-d(F[3],x)
BZ=d(F[2],x)-d(F[1],y)
B=(BX,BY,BZ)
-- Are A and B equal? Subtract to find out.
A-B

0
 
0
0
 37

7.3 Quantum harmonic oscillator

For total energy E, kinetic energy K and potential energy V we have

E =K +V

The corresponding formula for a quantum harmonic oscillator is

d2 ψ
(2n + 1)ψ = − + x2 ψ
dx2
where n is an integer and represents the quantization of energy values. The
solution to the above equation is

ψn (x) = exp(−x2 /2)Hn (x)

where Hn (x) is the nth Hermite polynomial in x. The following Eigenmath

code checks E = K + V for n = 7.
n=7
psi=exp(-x^2/2)*hermite(x,n)
E=(2*n+1)*psi
K=-d(psi,x,x)
V=x^2*psi
E-K-V

0
 38

7.4 Hydrogen wavefunctions

Hydrogen wavefunctions ψ are solutions to the differential equation
ψ 2ψ
= ∇2 ψ +
n2 r
where n is an integer representing the quantization of total energy and r
is the radial distance of the electron. The Laplacian operator in spherical
coordinates is
1 ∂ ∂ 1 ∂ ∂ 1 ∂2
   
2
∇ = 2 r2 + 2 sin θ +
r ∂r ∂r r sin θ ∂θ ∂θ r2 sin2 θ ∂φ2
The general form of ψ is
|m|
ψ = rl e−r/n L2l+1
n−l−1 (2r/n)Pl (cos θ)eimφ

where L is a Laguerre polynomial, P is a Legendre polynomial and l and m

are integers such that

1 ≤ l ≤ n − 1, −l ≤ m ≤ l

The general form can be expressed as the product of a radial wavefunction

R and a spherical harmonic Y .
|m|
ψ = RY, R = rl e−r/n L2l+1
n−l−1 (2r/n), Y = Pl (cos θ)eimφ

The following code checks E = K + V for n, l, m = 7, 3, 1.

laplacian(f)=1/r^2*d(r^2*d(f,r),r)+
1/(r^2*sin(theta))*d(sin(theta)*d(f,theta),theta)+
1/(r*sin(theta))^2*d(f,phi,phi)
n=7
l=3
m=1
R=r^l*exp(-r/n)*laguerre(2*r/n,n-l-1,2*l+1)
Y=legendre(cos(theta),l,abs(m))*exp(i*m*phi)
psi=R*Y
E=psi/n^2
K=laplacian(psi)
V=2*psi/r
simplify(E-K-V)

0
 39

7.5 Space shuttle and Corvette

The space shuttle accelerates from zero to 17,000 miles per hour in 8 minutes.
A Corvette accelerates from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds. The
following script compares the two.
vs=17000*"mile"/"hr"
ts=8*"min"/(60*"min"/"hr")
as=vs/ts
as
vc=60*"mile"/"hr"
tc=4.5*"sec"/(3600*"sec"/"hr")
ac=vc/tc
ac
"Time for Corvette to reach orbital velocity:"
vs/ac
vs/ac*60*"min"/"hr"
Here is the result when the script runs. It turns out that the space shuttle
accelerates more than twice as fast as a Corvette.

127500 mile
as =
(hr)2
48000 mile
ac =
(hr)2
Time for Corvette to reach orbital velocity:

0.354167 hr

21.25 min
 40

7.6 Avogadro’s constant

There is a proposal to define Avogadro’s constant as exactly 84446886 to
the third power.4 This number corresponds to an ideal cube of atoms with
84,446,886 atoms along each edge. Let us check the difference between the
proposed value and the measured value of (6.0221415 ± 0.0000010) × 1023
atoms.
A=84446886^3
B=6.0221415*10^23
A-B

−5.17173 × 1016
0.0000010*10^23

1 × 1017

We see that the proposed value is within the experimental error. Just for
the fun of it, let us factor the proposed value.
factor(A)

23 × 33 × 16673 × 84433

4
Fox, Ronald and Theodore Hill. “An Exact Value for Avogadro’s Number.” American
Scientist 95 (2007): 104–107. The proposed number in the article is actually 844468883 . In
a subsequent addendum the authors reduced it to 844468863 to make the number divisible
by 12. See www.physorg.com/news109595312.html
 41

7.7 Zero to the zero power

The following example draws a graph of the function f (x) = |xx |. The graph
shows why the convention 00 = 1 makes sense.
f(x)=abs(x^x)
xrange=(-2,2)
yrange=(-2,2)
draw(f)

We can see how 00 = 1 results in a continuous line through x = 0. Now let

us see how xx behaves in the complex plane.
f(t)=(real(t^t),imag(t^t))
xrange=(-2,2)
yrange=(-2,2)
trange=(-4,2)
draw(f)
 42

8 Built-in functions

abs
abs(x) returns the absolute value or vector length of x. The mag function
should be used for complex x.
P=(x,y)
abs(P)

(x2 + y 2 )1/2

adj
adj(m) returns the adjunct of matrix m.

and
and(a, b, . . .) returns the logical “and” of predicate expressions.

arccos
arccos(x) returns the inverse cosine of x.

arccosh
arccosh(x) returns the inverse hyperbolic cosine of x.

arcsin
arcsin(x) returns the inverse sine of x.

arcsinh
arcsinh(x) returns the inverse hyperbolic sine of x.
 43

arctan
arcttan(x) returns the inverse tangent of x.

arctanh
arctanh(x) returns the inverse hyperbolic tangent of x.

arg
arg(z) returns the angle of complex z.

ceiling
ceiling(x) returns the smallest integer not less than x.

check
check(x) In a script, if the predicate x is true then continue, else stop.

choose
n
 
choose(n, k) returns
k

circexp
circexp(x) returns expression x with circular functions converted to expo-
nential forms. Sometimes this will simplify an expression.

coeff
coeff(p, x, n) returns the coefficient of xn in polynomial p.

cofactor
cofactor(m, i, j) returns of the cofactor of matrix m with respect to row i
and column j.
 44

conj
conj(z) returns the complex conjugate of z.

contract
contract(a, i, j) returns tensor a summed over indices i and j. If i and j
are omitted then indices 1 and 2 are used. contract(m) is equivalent to the
trace of matrix m.

cos
cos(x) returns the cosine of x.

cosh
cosh(x) returns the hyperbolic cosine of x.

cross
cross(u, v) returns the cross product of vectors u and v.

curl
curl(u) returns the curl of vector u.

d
d(f, x) returns the derivative of f with respect to x.

defint
defint(f, x, a, b, . . .) returns the definite integral of f with respect to x eval-
uated from a to b. The argument list can be extended for multiple integrals.
For example, d(f, x, a, b, y, c, d).
 45

deg
deg(p, x) returns the degree of polynomial p in x.

denominator
denominator(x) returns the denominator of expression x.

det
det(m) returns the determinant of matrix m.

do
do(a, b, . . .) evaluates the argument list from left to right. Returns the result
of the last argument.

dot
dot(a, b, . . .) returns the dot product of tensors.

draw
draw(f, x) draws the function f with respect to x.

erf
erf(x) returns the error function of x.

erfc
erf(x) returns the complementary error function of x.

eval
eval(f, x, n) returns f evaluated at x = n.
 46

exp
exp(x) returns ex .

expand
expand(r, x) returns the partial fraction expansion of the ratio of polynomi-
als r in x.
expand(1/(x^3+x^2),x)
1 1 1
2
− +
x x x+1

expcos
expcos(x) returns the cosine of x in exponential form.
expcos(x)
1 1
exp(−ix) + exp(ix)
2 2

expsin
expsin(x) returns the sine of x in exponential form.
expsin(x)
1 1
i exp(−ix) − i exp(ix)
2 2

factor
factor(n) factors the integer n.
factor(12345)

3 × 5 × 823

factor(p, x) factors polynomial p in x. The last argument can be omitted

for polynomials in x. The argument list can be extended for multivariate
polynomials. For example, factor(p, x, y) factors p over x and then over y.
 47

factor(125*x^3-1)

(5x − 1)(25x2 + 5x + 1)

factorial
Example:
10!

3628800

filter
filter(f, a, b, . . .) returns f with terms involving a, b, etc. removed.
1/a+1/b+1/c
1 1 1
+ +
a b c
filter(last,a)
1 1
+
b c

float
float(x) converts x to a floating point value.
sum(n,0,20,(-1/2)^n)
699051
1048576
float(last)

0.666667

floor
floor(x) returns the largest integer not greater than x.
 48

for
for(i, j, k, a, b, . . .) For i equals j through k evaluate a, b, etc.
x=0
y=2
for(k,1,9,x=sqrt(2+x),y=2*y/x)
float(y)

3.14159

gcd
gcd(a, b, . . .) returns the greatest common divisor.

hermite
hermite(x, n) returns the nth Hermite polynomial in x.

hilbert
hilbert(n) returns a Hilbert matrix of order n.

imag
imag(z) returns the imaginary part of complex z.

inner
inner(a, b, . . .) returns the inner product of tensors. Same as the dot product.

integral
integral(f, x) returns the integral of f with respect to x.

inv
inv(m) returns the inverse of matrix m.
 49

isprime
isprime(n) returns 1 if n is prime, zero otherwise.
isprime(2^53-111)

laguerre
laguerre(x, n, a) returns the nth Laguerre polynomial in x. If a is omitted
then a = 0 is used.

lcm
lcm(a, b, . . .) returns the least common multiple.

leading
leading(p, x) returns the leading coefficient of polynomial p in x.
leading(5x^2+x+1,x)

legendre
legendre(x, n, m) returns the nth Legendre polynomial in x. If m is omitted
then m = 0 is used.

log
log(x) returns the natural logarithm of x.

mag
mag(z) returns the magnitude of complex z.
 50

mod
mod(a, b) returns the remainder of a divided by b.

not
not(x) negates the result of predicate expression x.

nroots
nroots(p, x) returns all of the roots, both real and complex, of polynomial p
in x. The roots are computed numerically. The coefficients of p can be real
or complex.

numerator
numerator(x) returns the numerator of expression x.

or
or(a, b, . . .) returns the logical “or” of predicate expressions.

outer
outer(a, b, . . .) returns the outer product of tensors.

polar
polar(z) converts complex z to polar form.

prime
prime(n) returns the nth prime number, 1 ≤ n ≤ 10,000.

print
print(a, b, . . .) evaluates expressions and prints the results.. Useful for print-
ing from inside a “for” loop.
 51

product
k
Y
product(i, j, k, f ) returns f
i=j

quote
quote(x) returns expression x unevaluated.

quotient
quotient(p, q, x) returns the quotient of polynomials in x.

rank
rank(a) returns the number of indices that tensor a has. A scalar has no
indices so its rank is zero.

rationalize
rationalize(x) puts everything over a common denominator.
rationalize(a/b+b/a)

a2 + b2
ab

real
real(z) returns the real part of complex z.

rect
rect(z) returns complex z in rectangular form.

roots
roots(p, x) returns the values of x such that the polynomial p(x) = 0. The
polynomial should be factorable over integers.
 52

simplify
simplify(x) returns x in a simpler form.

sin
sin(x) returns the sine of x.

sinh
sinh(x) returns the hyperbolic sine of x.

sqrt
sqrt(x) returns the square root of x.

stop
In a script, it does what it says.

subst
subst(a, b, c) substitutes a for b in c and returns the result.

sum
k
X
sum(i, j, k, f ) returns f
i=j

tan
tan(x) returns the tangent of x.

tanh
tanh(x) returns the hyperbolic tangent of x.
 53

taylor
taylor(f, x, n, a) returns the Taylor expansion of f of x at a. The argument
n is the degree of the expansion. If a is omitted then a = 0 is used.
taylor(1/cos(x),x,4)
5 4 1 2
x + x +1
24 2

test
test(a, b, c, d, . . .) If a is true then b is returned else if c is true then d is
returned, etc. If the number of arguments is odd then the last argument is
returned when all else fails.

transpose
transpose(a, i, j) returns the transpose of tensor a with respect to indices i
and j. If i and j are omitted then 1 and 2 are used. Hence a matrix can be
transposed with a single argument.
A=((a,b),(c,d))
transpose(A)
 
a c
b d

unit
unit(n) returns an n × n identity matrix.
unit(2)
 
1 0
0 1

zero
zero(i, j, . . .) returns a null tensor with dimensions i, j, etc. Useful for
creating a tensor and then setting the component values.
 54

9 Syntax
Math Eigenmath Alternate form and/or comment

−a -a

a+b a+b

a−b a-b

ab a*b a b with a space in between

a
a/b
b
a
a/b/c
bc

a2 a^2
√
a a^(1/2) sqrt(a)

1
√ a^(-1/2) 1/sqrt(a)
a

a(b + c) a*(b+c) a (b+c) with a space in between

f (a) f(a)

a
 
b (a,b,c)
c
 
a b
((a,b),(c,d))
c d

T 12 T[1,2] tensor component access

2 km 2*"km" units of measure are quoted