The hyperbolic functions (or sometimes hyperbolic trigonometric functions) are analogues of the usual trigonometric functions, but adapted to the hyperbola rather than the circle .
There are multiple ways of introducing the hyperbolic functions. Probably the most straightforward is to use the following definitions based on the exponential function :
(hyperbolic cosine, sometimes pronounced as “kosh”). This can be interpreted as a function , or as a function .
(hyperbolic sine, sometimes pronounced as “cinch”). This also can be interpreted as a function , or as a function .
The remaining hyperbolic functions are defined by , , , .
Note that (as a pair of real-valued functions) lies on the hyperbola , and in fact this is a parametrization of the hyperbola, much as parametrizes the unit circle .
It is straightforward to establish the following further properties by exploiting properties of the exponential function:
and (“addition formulas”),
and ,
and for all ,
and .
Another avenue is first to introduce the inverse hyperbolic functions as integrals of suitable algebraic functions, e.g.,
where . Or, what is essentially the same, construct a solution to the differential equation
so that parametrizes the curve ; the approach by invoking an integral is in accordance with an elementary method in differential equations that goes by the name “separation of variables”.
This particular approach is similar to the way that elliptic functions were introduced historically, by studying integrals of algebraic functions
where is related to via an algebraic relation such as . For suitable such relations these give the various so-called elliptic integrals; for more on what this has to do with ellipses, see Wikipedia, e.g., here. Elliptic functions are then suitable inverses of elliptic integrals, following Jacobi, Abel, and others throughout the nineteenth century (e.g., Weierstrass; see also Weierstrass elliptic function).
The way that hyperbolic functions parametrize the hyperbola is not through an arc length parametrization (the usual way that circular functions parametrize the circle ), but rather through an area parametrization. In fact, both circular and hyperbolic functions may be parametrized in unison through area, as follows.
Consider, for a parameter , the area of the planar region which is bounded on three sides by
The line segment from to ,
The line segment from to ,
The arc along the hyperbola that is between the points and .
Then for positive . (Negative can also be accommodated under this scheme if we consider oriented area.)
Likewise, consider for a parameter the area of the planar region which is bounded on three sides by
The line segment from to ,
The line segment from to ,
The arc along the circle that is between the points and .
Then . (Other values of can be accommodated by considering orientation, as well as areas swept out multiple times if need be.)
Last revised on June 6, 2023 at 22:13:31. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.