Euler's formula

Euler's formula, named after Leonhard

Euler, is a mathematical formula in
complex analysis that establishes the
fundamental relationship between the
trigonometric functions and the complex
exponential function. Euler's formula
states that for any real number x:

where e is the base of the natural

logarithm, i is the imaginary unit, and cos
and sin are the trigonometric functions
cosine and sine respectively, with the
argument x given in radians. This
complex exponential function is
sometimes denoted cis x ("cosine plus i
sine"). The formula is still valid if x is a
complex number, and so some authors
refer to the more general complex
version as Euler's formula.[1]

Euler's formula is ubiquitous in

mathematics, physics, and engineering.
The physicist Richard Feynman called the
equation "our jewel" and "the most
remarkable formula in mathematics".[2]

When , Euler's formula evaluates

to , which is known as
Euler's identity.
History
Johann Bernoulli noted that[3]

And since

the above equation tells us something

about complex logarithms by relating
natural logarithms to imaginary
(complex) numbers. Bernoulli, however,
did not evaluate the integral.

Bernoulli's correspondence with Euler

(who also knew the above equation)
shows that Bernoulli did not fully
understand complex logarithms. Euler
also suggested that the complex
logarithms can have infinitely many
values.

Meanwhile, Roger Cotes in 1714

discovered that[4]

Cotes missed the fact that a complex

logarithm can have infinitely many
values, differing by multiples of 2iπ, due
to the periodicity of the trigonometric
functions.

Around 1740 Euler turned his attention to

the exponential function instead of
logarithms and obtained the formula
used today that is named after him. It
was published in 1748, obtained by
comparing the series expansions of the
exponential and trigonometric
expressions.[5][4]

The view of complex numbers as points

in the complex plane was described
about 50 years later by Caspar Wessel.

Applications in complex
number theory
Three-dimensional visualization of Euler's formula.
See also circular polarization.

Interpretation of the formula

This formula can be interpreted as saying
that the function eiφ is a unit complex
number, i.e., it traces out the unit circle in
the complex plane as φ ranges through
the real numbers. Here φ is the angle that
a line connecting the origin with a point
on the unit circle makes with the positive
real axis, measured counterclockwise
and in radians.

The original proof is based on the Taylor

series expansions of the exponential
function ez (where z is a complex
number) and of sin x and cos x for real
numbers x (see below). In fact, the same
proof shows that Euler's formula is even
valid for all complex numbers x.
A point in the complex plane can be
represented by a complex number
written in cartesian coordinates. Euler's
formula provides a means of conversion
between cartesian coordinates and polar
coordinates. The polar form simplifies
the mathematics when used in
multiplication or powers of complex
numbers. Any complex number z = x + iy,
and its complex conjugate, z = x − iy, can
be written as

where

x = Re z is the real part,

 y = Im z is the imaginary part,
r = |z| = √x2 + y2 is the magnitude of
z
φ = arg z = atan2(y, x).

φ is the argument of z, i.e., the angle

between the x axis and the vector z
measured counterclockwise in radians,
which is defined up to addition of 2π.
Many texts write φ = tan−1 xy instead of
φ = atan2(y,x), but the first equation
needs adjustment when x ≤ 0. This is
because for any real x and y not both
zero the angles of the vectors (x, y) and
(−x, −y) differ by π radians, but have the
identical value of tan φ = xy .
 Use of the formula to define the
logarithm of complex numbers

Now, taking this derived formula, we can

use Euler's formula to define the
logarithm of a complex number. To do
this, we also use the definition of the
logarithm (as the inverse operator of
exponentiation):

and that

both valid for any complex numbers a

and b.

Therefore, one can write:

for any z ≠ 0. Taking the logarithm of
both sides shows that

and in fact this can be used as the

definition for the complex logarithm. The
logarithm of a complex number is thus a
multi-valued function, because φ is multi-
valued.

Finally, the other exponential law

which can be seen to hold for all integers

k, together with Euler's formula, implies
several trigonometric identities, as well
as de Moivre's formula.

Relationship to
trigonometry

Relationship between sine, cosine and exponential

function

Euler's formula provides a powerful

connection between analysis and
trigonometry, and provides an
interpretation of the sine and cosine
functions as weighted sums of the
exponential function:

The two equations above can be derived

by adding or subtracting Euler's formulas:

and solving for either cosine or sine.

These formulas can even serve as the

definition of the trigonometric functions
for complex arguments x. For example,
letting x = iy, we have:
Complex exponentials can simplify
trigonometry, because they are easier to
manipulate than their sinusoidal
components. One technique is simply to
convert sinusoids into equivalent
expressions in terms of exponentials.
After the manipulations, the simplified
result is still real-valued. For example:
Another technique is to represent the
sinusoids in terms of the real part of a
complex expression and perform the
manipulations on the complex
expression. For example:
This formula is used for recursive
generation of cos nx for integer values of
n and arbitrary x (in radians).

See also Phasor arithmetic.

Topological interpretation
In the language of topology, Euler's
formula states that the imaginary
exponential function t ↦ eit is a
(surjective) morphism of topological
groups from the real line ℝ to the unit
circle 1. In fact, this exhibits ℝ as a
covering space of . Similarly, Euler's
identity says that the kernel of this map
is τℤ, where τ = 2π. These observations
may be combined and summarized in the
commutative diagram below:

Other applications
In differential equations, the function eix
is often used to simplify solutions, even if
the final answer is a real function
involving sine and cosine. The reason for
this is that the exponential function is the
eigenfunction of the operation of
differentiation.

In electrical engineering, signal

processing, and similar fields, signals
that vary periodically over time are often
described as a combination of sinusoidal
functions (see Fourier analysis), and
these are more conveniently expressed
as the sum of exponential functions with
imaginary exponents, using Euler's
formula. Also, phasor analysis of circuits
can include Euler's formula to represent
the impedance of a capacitor or an
inductor.

In the four-dimensional space of

quaternions, there is a sphere of
imaginary units. For any point r on this
sphere, and x a real number, Euler's
formula applies:

and the element is called a versor in

quaternions. The set of all versors forms
a 3-sphere in the 4-space.

Definitions of complex
exponentiation
The exponential function ex for real
values of x may be defined in a few
different equivalent ways (see
Characterizations of the exponential
function). Several of these methods may
be directly extended to give definitions of
ez for complex values of z simply by
substituting z in place of x and using the
complex algebraic operations. In
particular we may use either of the two
following definitions, which are
equivalent. From a more advanced
perspective, each of these definitions
may be interpreted as giving the unique
analytic continuation of ex to the
complex plane.
Power series definition

For complex z

Using the ratio test, it is possible to show

that this power series has an infinite
radius of convergence and so defines ez
for all complex z.

Limit definition

For complex z
Here, n is restricted to positive integers,
so there is no question about what the
power with exponent n means.

Proofs
Various proofs of the formula are
possible.

Using power series

Here is a proof of Euler's formula using

power-series expansions, as well as
basic facts about the powers of i:[6]
Using now the power-series definition
from above, we see that for real values of
x

In the last step we have simply

recognized the Maclaurin series for cos x
and sin x. The rearrangement of terms is
justified because each series is
absolutely convergent.

Using polar coordinates

Another proof[7] is based on the fact that

all complex numbers can be expressed in
polar coordinates. Therefore, for some r
and θ depending on x,

No assumptions are being made about r

and θ; they will be determined in the
course of the proof. From any of the
definitions of the exponential function it
can be shown that the derivative of eix is
ieix. Therefore, differentiating both sides
gives

Substituting r(cos θ + i sin θ) for eix and

equating real and imaginary parts in this
dr
formula gives dx = 0 and dθ
dx = 1. Thus, r
is a constant, and θ is x + C for some
constant C. The initial values r(0) = 1 and
θ(0) = 0 come from e0i = 1, giving r = 1
and θ = x. This proves the formula

See also
Complex number
Euler's identity
 Integration using Euler's formula
History of Lorentz transformations
§ Euler's gap
List of things named after Leonhard
Euler

References
1. Moskowitz, Martin A. (2002). A Course
in Complex Analysis in One Variable.
World Scientific Publishing Co. p. 7.
ISBN 981-02-4780-X.
2. Feynman, Richard P. (1977). The
Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol. I.
Addison-Wesley. p. 22-10. ISBN 0-201-
02010-6.
3. Bernoulli, Johann (1702). "Solution
d'un problème concernant le calcul
intégral, avec quelques abrégés par
rapport à ce calcul" [Solution of a
problem in integral calculus with some
notes relating to this calculation].
Mémoires de l'Académie Royale des
Sciences de Paris. 1702: 197–289.
4. John Stillwell (2002). Mathematics
and Its History . Springer.
5. Leonard Euler (1748) Chapter 8: On
transcending quantities arising from the
circle of Introduction to the Analysis of
the Infinite, page 214, section 138
(translation by Ian Bruce, pdf link from 17
century maths).
6. Ricardo, Henry J. A Modern
Introduction to Differential Equations .
p. 428.
7. Strang, Gilbert (1991). Calculus .
Wellesley-Cambridge. p. 389. ISBN 0-
9614088-2-0. Second proof on page.

External links
Elements of Algebra

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