
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 ...
, the lemniscate elliptic functions are
elliptic function
In the mathematical field of complex analysis, elliptic functions are a special kind of meromorphic functions, that satisfy two periodicity conditions. They are named elliptic functions because they come from elliptic integrals. Originally those in ...
s related to the arc length of the
lemniscate of Bernoulli. They were first studied by
Giulio Fagnano
Giulio Carlo, Count Fagnano, Marquis de Toschi (26 September 1682 — 18 May 1766) was an Italian mathematician. He was probably the first to direct attention to the theory of elliptic integrals. Fagnano was born in Senigallia (at the time spelled ...
in 1718 and later by
Leonhard Euler and
Carl Friedrich Gauss, among others.
The lemniscate sine and lemniscate cosine functions, usually written with the symbols and (sometimes the symbols and or and are used instead) are analogous to the
trigonometric functions sine and cosine. While the trigonometric sine relates the arc length to the chord length in a unit-
diameter circle the lemniscate sine relates the arc length to the chord length of a lemniscate
The lemniscate functions have periods related to a number called the
lemniscate constant, the ratio of a lemniscate's perimeter to its diameter. This number is a
quartic analog of the (
quadratic) ,
ratio of perimeter to diameter of a circle.
As
complex functions
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebraic ...
, and have a
square period lattice In mathematics, a fundamental pair of periods is an ordered pair of complex numbers that define a lattice in the complex plane. This type of lattice is the underlying object with which elliptic functions and modular forms are defined.
Definition
...
(a multiple of the
Gaussian integers) with
fundamental periods and are a special case of two
Jacobi elliptic functions In mathematics, the Jacobi elliptic functions are a set of basic elliptic functions. They are found in the description of the motion of a pendulum (see also pendulum (mathematics)), as well as in the design of electronic elliptic filters. While tri ...
on that lattice,
.
Similarly, the hyperbolic lemniscate sine and hyperbolic lemniscate cosine have a square period lattice with fundamental periods
The lemniscate functions and the hyperbolic lemniscate functions are
related
''Related'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from October 5, 2005, to March 20, 2006. It revolves around the lives of four close-knit sisters of Italian descent, raised in Brooklyn and living in Manhattan.
The ...
to the
Weierstrass elliptic function .
Lemniscate sine and cosine functions
Definitions
The lemniscate functions and can be defined as the solution to the
initial value problem:
:
or equivalently as the
inverses of an
elliptic integral, the
Schwarz–Christoffel map from the complex
unit disk
In mathematics, the open unit disk (or disc) around ''P'' (where ''P'' is a given point in the plane), is the set of points whose distance from ''P'' is less than 1:
:D_1(P) = \.\,
The closed unit disk around ''P'' is the set of points whose di ...
to a square with corners
:
Beyond that square, the functions can be
analytically continued to the whole
complex plane
In mathematics, the complex plane is the plane formed by the complex numbers, with a Cartesian coordinate system such that the -axis, called the real axis, is formed by the real numbers, and the -axis, called the imaginary axis, is formed by the ...
by a series of
reflections.
By comparison, the circular sine and cosine can be defined as the solution to the initial value problem:
:
or as inverses of a map from the
upper half-plane to a half-infinite strip with real part between
and positive imaginary part:
:
Arc length of Bernoulli's lemniscate

The
lemniscate of Bernoulli with half-width is the locus of points in the plane such that the product of their distances from the two focal points
and
is the constant
. This is a
quartic curve
In algebraic geometry, a quartic plane curve is a plane algebraic curve of the fourth degree. It can be defined by a bivariate quartic equation:
:Ax^4+By^4+Cx^3y+Dx^2y^2+Exy^3+Fx^3+Gy^3+Hx^2y+Ixy^2+Jx^2+Ky^2+Lxy+Mx+Ny+P=0,
with at least one o ...
satisfying the
polar
Polar may refer to:
Geography
Polar may refer to:
* Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates
* Polar climate, the c ...
equation
or the
Cartesian Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—from his Latinized name ''Cartesius''. It may refer to:
Mathematics
*Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory
*Cartesian coordinate system, modern ...
equation
The points on the lemniscate at distance
from the origin are the intersections of the circle
and the
hyperbola . The intersection in the positive quadrant has Cartesian coordinates:
:
Using this
parametrization with