
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 ...
, hyperbolic functions are analogues of the ordinary
trigonometric functions, but defined using the
hyperbola rather than the
circle. Just as the points form a
circle with a unit radius, the points form the right half of the
unit hyperbola. Also, similarly to how the derivatives of and are and respectively, the derivatives of and are and respectively.
Hyperbolic functions occur in the calculations of angles and distances in
hyperbolic geometry. They also occur in the solutions of many linear
differential equations (such as the equation defining a
catenary),
cubic equations, and
Laplace's equation
In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties. This is often written as
\nabla^2\! f = 0 or \Delta f = 0,
where \Delta = \nab ...
in
Cartesian coordinates
A Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular oriented lines, measured in t ...
.
Laplace's equation
In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties. This is often written as
\nabla^2\! f = 0 or \Delta f = 0,
where \Delta = \nab ...
s are important in many areas of
physics, including
electromagnetic theory,
heat transfer,
fluid dynamics
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
, and
special relativity.
The basic hyperbolic functions are:
* hyperbolic sine "" (),
* hyperbolic cosine "" (),
[''Collins Concise Dictionary'', p. 328]
from which are derived:
* hyperbolic tangent "" (),
* hyperbolic cosecant "" or "" (
)
* hyperbolic secant "" (),
* hyperbolic cotangent "" (),
corresponding to the derived trigonometric functions.
The
inverse hyperbolic functions are:
* area hyperbolic sine "" (also denoted "", "" or sometimes "")
* area hyperbolic cosine "" (also denoted "", "" or sometimes "")
* and so on.

The hyperbolic functions take a
real argument called a
hyperbolic angle. The size of a hyperbolic angle is twice the area of its
hyperbolic sector. The hyperbolic functions may be defined in terms of the
legs of a right triangle covering this sector.
In
complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates Function (mathematics), functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathemati ...
, the hyperbolic functions arise when applying the ordinary sine and cosine functions to an imaginary angle. The hyperbolic sine and the hyperbolic cosine are
entire functions. As a result, the other hyperbolic functions are
meromorphic in the whole complex plane.
By
Lindemann–Weierstrass theorem, the hyperbolic functions have a
transcendental value for every non-zero
algebraic value of the argument.
Hyperbolic functions were introduced in the 1760s independently by
Vincenzo Riccati and
Johann Heinrich Lambert. Riccati used and (''sinus/cosinus circulare'') to refer to circular functions and and (''sinus/cosinus hyperbolico'') to refer to hyperbolic functions. Lambert adopted the names, but altered the abbreviations to those used today. The abbreviations , , , are also currently used, depending on personal preference.
Notation
Definitions

There are various equivalent ways to define the hyperbolic functions.
Exponential definitions

In terms of the
exponential function:
* Hyperbolic sine: the
odd part of the exponential function, that is,
* Hyperbolic cosine: the
even part of the exponential function, that is,
* Hyperbolic tangent:
* Hyperbolic cotangent: for ,
* Hyperbolic secant:
* Hyperbolic cosecant: for ,
Differential equation definitions
The hyperbolic functions may be defined as solutions of
differential equations: The hyperbolic sine and cosine are the solution of the system
with the initial conditions
The initial conditions make the solution unique; without them any pair of functions
would be a solution.
and are also the unique solution of the equation ,
such that , for the hyperbolic cosine, and , for the hyperbolic sine.
Complex trigonometric definitions
Hyperbolic functions may also be deduced from
trigonometric functions with
complex arguments:
* Hyperbolic sine:
* Hyperbolic cosine:
* Hyperbolic tangent:
* Hyperbolic cotangent:
* Hyperbolic secant:
* Hyperbolic cosecant:
where is the
imaginary unit
The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number () is a solution to the quadratic equation x^2+1=0. Although there is no real number with this property, can be used to extend the real numbers to what are called complex numbers, using addition a ...
with .
The above definitions are related to the exponential definitions via
Euler's formula (See below).
Characterizing properties
Hyperbolic cosine
It can be shown that the area under the curve of the hyperbolic cosine (over a finite interval) is always equal to the arc length corresponding to that interval:
Hyperbolic tangent
The hyperbolic tangent is the (unique) solution to the
differential equation , with .
Useful relations
The hyperbolic functions satisfy many identities, all of them similar in form to the
trigonometric identities. In fact, Osborn's rule
states that one can convert any trigonometric identity for
,
,
or
and
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 containing a product of two sinhs.
Odd and even functions:
Hence:
Thus, and are
even functions; the others are
odd functions.
Hyperbolic sine and cosine satisfy:
the last of which is similar to the
Pythagorean trigonometric identity
The Pythagorean trigonometric identity, also called simply the Pythagorean identity, is an identity expressing the Pythagorean theorem in terms of trigonometric functions. Along with the sum-of-angles formulae, it is one of the basic relations ...
.
One also has
for the other functions.
Sums of arguments
particularly
Also:
Subtraction formulas
Also:
Half argument formulas
where is the
sign function.
If , then
Square formulas
Inequalities
The following inequality is useful in statistics:
It can be proved by comparing term by term the Taylor series of the two functions.
Inverse functions as logarithms
Derivatives
Second derivatives
Each of the functions and is equal to its
second derivative, that is:
All functions with this property are
linear combinations of and , in particular the
exponential functions
and
.
Standard integrals
The following integrals can be proved using
hyperbolic substitution:
where ''C'' is the
constant of integration
In calculus, the constant of integration, often denoted by C (or c), is a constant term added to an antiderivative of a function f(x) to indicate that the indefinite integral of f(x) (i.e., the set of all antiderivatives of f(x)), on a connect ...
.
Taylor series expressions
It is possible to express explicitly the
Taylor series
In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor se ...
at zero (or the
Laurent series, if the function is not defined at zero) of the above functions.
This series is
convergent for every
complex value of . Since the function is
odd, only odd exponents for occur in its Taylor series.
This series is
convergent for every
complex value of . Since the function is
even, only even exponents for occur in its Taylor series.
The sum of the sinh and cosh series is the
infinite series expression of the
exponential function.
The following series are followed by a description of a subset of their
domain of convergence, where the series is convergent and its sum equals the function.
where:
*
is the ''n''th
Bernoulli number
*
is the ''n''th
Euler number
Infinite products and continued fractions
The following expansions are valid in the whole complex plane:
:
:
:
Comparison with circular functions

The hyperbolic functions represent an expansion of
trigonometry beyond the
circular function
In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in ...
s. Both types depend on an
argument
An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialect ...
, either
circular angle or
hyperbolic angle.
Since the
area of a circular sector with radius and angle (in radians) is , it will be equal to when . In the diagram, such a circle is tangent to the hyperbola ''xy'' = 1 at (1,1). The yellow sector depicts an area and angle magnitude. Similarly, the yellow and red sectors together depict an area and
hyperbolic angle magnitude.
The legs of the two
right triangle
A right triangle (American English) or right-angled triangle ( British), or more formally an orthogonal triangle, formerly called a rectangled triangle ( grc, ὀρθόσγωνία, lit=upright angle), is a triangle in which one angle is a right ...
s with hypotenuse on the ray defining the angles are of length times the circular and hyperbolic functions.
The hyperbolic angle is an
invariant measure with respect to the
squeeze mapping, just as the circular angle is invariant under rotation.
Mellen W. Haskell
Mellen Woodman Haskell (March 17, 1863 – January 15, 1948) was an American mathematician, specializing in geometry, group theory, and applications of group theory to geometry.
Education and career
After secondary education at Roxbury Latin Scho ...
, "On the introduction of the notion of hyperbolic functions", Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society
The ''Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society'' is a quarterly mathematical journal published by the American Mathematical Society.
Scope
It publishes surveys on contemporary research topics, written at a level accessible to non-experts. ...
1:6:155–9
full text
/ref>
The Gudermannian function gives a direct relationship between the circular functions and the hyperbolic functions that does not involve complex numbers.
The graph of the function is the catenary, the curve formed by a uniform flexible chain, hanging freely between two fixed points under uniform gravity.
Relationship to the exponential function
The decomposition of the exponential function in its even and odd parts gives the identities
and
Combined with Euler's formula
this gives
for the general complex exponential function.
Additionally,
Hyperbolic functions for complex numbers
Since the exponential function can be defined for any complex argument, we can also extend the definitions of the hyperbolic functions to complex arguments. The functions and are then holomorphic.
Relationships to ordinary trigonometric functions are given by Euler's formula for complex numbers:
so:
Thus, hyperbolic functions are periodic with respect to the imaginary component, with period ( for hyperbolic tangent and cotangent).
See also
* e (mathematical constant)
The number , also known as Euler's number, is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828 that can be characterized in many ways. It is the base of the natural logarithms. It is the limit of as approaches infinity, an express ...
* Equal incircles theorem
In geometry, the equal incircles theorem derives from a Japanese Sangaku, and pertains to the following construction: a series of rays are drawn from a given point to a given line such that the inscribed circles of the triangles formed by adjace ...
, based on sinh
* Hyperbolic growth
* Inverse hyperbolic functions
* List of integrals of hyperbolic functions
* Poinsot's spirals In mathematics, Poinsot's spirals are two spirals represented by the polar equations
: r = a\ \operatorname (n\theta)
: r = a\ \operatorname (n\theta)
where csch is the hyperbolic cosecant, and sech is the hyperbolic secant. They are named afte ...
* Sigmoid function
* Soboleva modified hyperbolic tangent
* Trigonometric functions
In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in ...
References
External links
*
Hyperbolic functions
on PlanetMath
GonioLab
Visualization of the unit circle, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions (Java Web Start
In computing, Java Web Start (also known as JavaWS, javaws or JAWS) is a deprecated framework developed by Sun Microsystems (now Oracle) that allows users to start application software for the Java Platform directly from the Internet using a web ...
)
Web-based calculator of hyperbolic functions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyperbolic Function
Exponentials
Hyperbolic geometry
Analytic functions