Hyperbolic Function: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Hyperbolic Function: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
A ray through the origin intercepts the hyperbola in the point , where
is twice the area between the ray and the -axis. For points on the hyperbola below the -axis,
the area is considered negative (see animated version with comparison with the trigonometric
(circular) functions).
In mathematics, the hyperbolic functions are analogs of the ordinary trigonometric, or circular,
functions. The basic hyperbolic functions are the hyperbolic sine "sinh" (typically pronounced
/sɪntʃ/ or /ʃaɪn/), and the hyperbolic cosine "cosh" (typically pronounced /kɒʃ/), from which
are derived the hyperbolic tangent "tanh" (typically pronounced /tæntʃ/ or /θæn/), etc., in
analogy to the derived trigonometric functions. The inverse hyperbolic functions are the area
hyperbolic sine "arsinh" (also called "asinh", or sometimes by the misnomer of "arcsinh") and
so on.
Just as the points (cos t, sin t) form a circle with a unit radius, the points (cosh t, sinh t) form the
right half of the equilateral hyperbola. Hyperbolic functions occur in the solutions of some
important linear differential equations, for example the equation defining a catenary, and
Laplace's equation in Cartesian coordinates. The latter is important in many areas of physics,
including electromagnetic theory, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and special relativity.
The hyperbolic functions take real values for real argument called a hyperbolic angle. In
complex analysis, they are simply rational functions of exponentials, and so are meromorphic.
Hyperbolic functions were introduced in the 18th century by the Swiss mathematician Johann
Heinrich Lambert.
Contents
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Hyperbolic sine:
Hyperbolic cosine:
Hyperbolic tangent:
Hyperbolic cotangent:
Hyperbolic secant:
Hyperbolic cosecant:
Via complex numbers the hyperbolic functions are related to the circular functions as follows:
Hyperbolic sine:
Hyperbolic cosine:
Hyperbolic tangent:
Hyperbolic cotangent:
Hyperbolic secant:
Hyperbolic cosecant:
The complex forms in the definitions above derive from Euler's formula.
Note that, by convention, sinh2x means (sinhx)2, not sinh(sinhx); similarly for the other
hyperbolic functions when used with positive exponents. Another notation for the hyperbolic
cotangent function is , though cothx is far more common.
Hence:
It can be seen that and are even functions; the others are odd functions.
The hyperbolic tangent is the solution to the nonlinear boundary value problem[1]:
It can also be shown that the area under the graph of cosh x from A to B is equal to the arc length
of cosh x from A to B.
[edit] Derivatives
[edit] Standard Integrals
For a full list of integrals of hyperbolic functions, see list of integrals of hyperbolic functions
(Laurent series)
(Laurent series)
where
Just as the points (cos t, sin t) define a circle, the points (cosh t, sinh t) define the right half of the
equilateral hyperbola x2 − y2 = 1. This is based on the easily verified identity
The parameter t is not a circular angle, but rather a hyperbolic angle which represents twice the
area between the x-axis, the hyperbola and the straight line which links the origin with the point
(cosh t, sinh t) on the hyperbola.
The function cosh x is an even function, that is symmetric with respect to the y-axis.
The hyperbolic functions satisfy many identities, all of them similar in form to the trigonometric
identities. In fact, Osborn's rule [2] states that one can convert any trigonometric identity into a
hyperbolic identity by expanding it completely in terms of integral powers of sines and cosines,
changing sine to sinh and cosine to cosh, and switching the sign of every term which contains a
product of 2, 6, 10, 14, ... sinhs. This yields for example the addition theorems
The derivative of sinh x is cosh x and the derivative of cosh x is sinh x; this is similar to
trigonometric functions, albeit the sign is different (i.e., the derivative of cos x is −sin x).
The Gudermannian function gives a direct relationship between the circular functions and the
hyperbolic ones that does not involve complex numbers.
The graph of the function a cosh(x/a) is the catenary, the curve formed by a uniform flexible
chain hanging freely under gravity.
[edit] Relationship to the exponential function
From the definitions of the hyperbolic sine and cosine, we can derive the following identities:
and
These expressions are analogous to the expressions for sine and cosine, based on Euler's formula,
as sums of complex exponentials.
Relationships to ordinary trigonometric functions are given by Euler's formula for complex
numbers:
so: