Proof that $π$ is irrational

In the 1760s, Johann Heinrich Lambert was the first to prove that the number $π$ is irrational, meaning it cannot be expressed as a fraction Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a/b} , where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} and $b$ are both integers. In the 19th century, Charles Hermite found a proof that requires no prerequisite knowledge beyond basic calculus. Three simplifications of Hermite's proof are due to Mary Cartwright, Ivan Niven, and Nicolas Bourbaki. Another proof, which is a simplification of Lambert's proof, is due to Miklós Laczkovich. Many of these are proofs by contradiction.

In 1882, Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that $\pi$ is not just irrational, but transcendental as well.^[1]

Lambert's proof

Scan of formula on page 288 of Lambert's "Mémoires sur quelques propriétés remarquables des quantités transcendantes, circulaires et logarithmiques", Mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences de Berlin (1768), 265–322

In 1761, Johann Heinrich Lambert proved that $\pi$ is irrational by first showing that this continued fraction expansion holds:

\tan(x)={\cfrac {x}{1-{\cfrac {x^{2}}{3-{\cfrac {x^{2}}{5-{\cfrac {x^{2}}{7-{}\ddots }}}}}}}}.

Then Lambert proved that if $x$ is non-zero and rational, then this expression must be irrational. Since $\tan {\tfrac {\pi }{4}}=1$ , it follows that ${\tfrac {\pi }{4}}$ is irrational, and thus $\pi$ is also irrational.^[2] A simplification of Lambert's proof is given below.

Hermite's proof

Written in 1873, this proof uses the characterization of $\pi$ as the smallest positive number whose half is a zero of the cosine function and it actually proves that $\pi ^{2}$ is irrational.^[3]^[4] As in many proofs of irrationality, it is a proof by contradiction.

Consider the sequences of real functions $A_{n}$ and $U_{n}$ for $n\in \mathbb {N} _{0}$ defined by:

{\begin{aligned}A_{0}(x)&=\sin(x),&&A_{n+1}(x)=\int _{0}^{x}yA_{n}(y)\,dy\\[4pt]U_{0}(x)&={\frac {\sin(x)}{x}},&&U_{n+1}(x)=-{\frac {U_{n}'(x)}{x}}\end{aligned}}

Using induction we can prove that

{\begin{aligned}A_{n}(x)&={\frac {x^{2n+1}}{(2n+1)!!}}-{\frac {x^{2n+3}}{2\times (2n+3)!!}}+{\frac {x^{2n+5}}{2\times 4\times (2n+5)!!}}\mp \cdots \\[4pt]U_{n}(x)&={\frac {1}{(2n+1)!!}}-{\frac {x^{2}}{2\times (2n+3)!!}}+{\frac {x^{4}}{2\times 4\times (2n+5)!!}}\mp \cdots \end{aligned}}

and therefore we have:

U_{n}(x)={\frac {A_{n}(x)}{x^{2n+1}}}.\,

So

{\begin{aligned}{\frac {A_{n+1}(x)}{x^{2n+3}}}&=U_{n+1}(x)=-{\frac {U_{n}'(x)}{x}}=-{\frac {1}{x}}{\frac {\mathrm {d} }{\mathrm {d} x}}\left({\frac {A_{n}(x)}{x^{2n+1}}}\right)\\[6pt]&=-{\frac {1}{x}}\left({\frac {A_{n}'(x)\cdot x^{2n+1}-(2n+1)x^{2n}A_{n}(x)}{x^{2(2n+1)}}}\right)\\[6pt]&={\frac {(2n+1)A_{n}(x)-xA_{n}'(x)}{x^{2n+3}}}\end{aligned}}

which is equivalent to

A_{n+1}(x)=(2n+1)A_{n}(x)-x^{2}A_{n-1}(x).\,

Using the definition of the sequence and employing induction we can show that

A_{n}(x)=P_{n}(x^{2})\sin(x)+xQ_{n}(x^{2})\cos(x),\,

where $P_{n}$ and $Q_{n}$ are polynomial functions with integer coefficients and the degree of $P_{n}$ is smaller than or equal to ${\bigl \lfloor }{\tfrac {1}{2}}n{\bigr \rfloor }.$ In particular, $A_{n}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi {\bigr )}=P_{n}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{4}}\pi ^{2}{\bigr )}.$

Hermite also gave a closed expression for the function $A_{n},$ namely

A_{n}(x)={\frac {x^{2n+1}}{2^{n}n!}}\int _{0}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z.\,

He did not justify this assertion, but it can be proved easily. First of all, this assertion is equivalent to

{\frac {1}{2^{n}n!}}\int _{0}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z={\frac {A_{n}(x)}{x^{2n+1}}}=U_{n}(x).

Proceeding by induction, take $n=0.$

\int _{0}^{1}\cos(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z={\frac {\sin(x)}{x}}=U_{0}(x)

and, for the inductive step, consider any natural number $n.$ If

{\frac {1}{2^{n}n!}}\int _{0}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z=U_{n}(x),

then, using integration by parts and Leibniz's rule, one gets

{\begin{aligned}&{\frac {1}{2^{n+1}(n+1)!}}\int _{0}^{1}\left(1-z^{2}\right)^{n+1}\cos(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z\\&\qquad ={\frac {1}{2^{n+1}(n+1)!}}{\Biggl (}\,\overbrace {\left.(1-z^{2})^{n+1}{\frac {\sin(xz)}{x}}\right|_{z=0}^{z=1}} ^{=\,0}\ +\,\int _{0}^{1}2(n+1)\left(1-z^{2}\right)^{n}z{\frac {\sin(xz)}{x}}\,\mathrm {d} z{\Biggr )}\\[8pt]&\qquad ={\frac {1}{x}}\cdot {\frac {1}{2^{n}n!}}\int _{0}^{1}\left(1-z^{2}\right)^{n}z\sin(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z\\[8pt]&\qquad =-{\frac {1}{x}}\cdot {\frac {\mathrm {d} }{\mathrm {d} x}}\left({\frac {1}{2^{n}n!}}\int _{0}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,\mathrm {d} z\right)\\[8pt]&\qquad =-{\frac {U_{n}'(x)}{x}}\\[4pt]&\qquad =U_{n+1}(x).\end{aligned}}

If ${\tfrac {1}{4}}\pi ^{2}=p/q,$ with $p$ and $q$ in $\mathbb {N}$ , then, since the coefficients of $P_{n}$ are integers and its degree is smaller than or equal to ${\bigl \lfloor }{\tfrac {1}{2}}n{\bigr \rfloor },$ $q^{\lfloor n/2\rfloor }P_{n}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{4}}\pi ^{2}{\bigr )}$ is some integer $N.$ In other words,

N=q^{\lfloor n/2\rfloor }{A_{n}}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi {\bigr )}=q^{\lfloor n/2\rfloor }{\frac {1}{2^{n}n!}}\left({\dfrac {p}{q}}\right)^{n+{\frac {1}{2}}}\int _{0}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos \left({\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi z\right)\,\mathrm {d} z.

But this number is clearly greater than $0.$ On the other hand, the limit of this quantity as $n$ goes to infinity is zero, and so, if $n$ is large enough, $N<1.$ Thereby, a contradiction is reached.

Hermite did not present his proof as an end in itself but as an afterthought within his search for a proof of the transcendence of $\pi .$ He discussed the recurrence relations to motivate and to obtain a convenient integral representation. Once this integral representation is obtained, there are various ways to present a succinct and self-contained proof starting from the integral (as in Cartwright's, Bourbaki's or Niven's presentations), which Hermite could easily see (as he did in his proof of the transcendence of $e$ ^[5]).

Moreover, Hermite's proof is closer to Lambert's proof than it seems. In fact, $A_{n}(x)$ is the "residue" (or "remainder") of Lambert's continued fraction for $\tan x.$ ^[6]

Cartwright's proof

Harold Jeffreys wrote that this proof was set as an example in an exam at Cambridge University in 1945 by Mary Cartwright, but that she had not traced its origin.^[7] It still remains on the 4th problem sheet today for the Analysis IA course at Cambridge University.^[8]

Consider the integrals

I_{n}(x)=\int _{-1}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,dz,

where $n$ is a non-negative integer.

Two integrations by parts give the recurrence relation

x^{2}I_{n}(x)=2n(2n-1)I_{n-1}(x)-4n(n-1)I_{n-2}(x).\qquad (n\geq 2)

If

J_{n}(x)=x^{2n+1}I_{n}(x),

then this becomes

J_{n}(x)=2n(2n-1)J_{n-1}(x)-4n(n-1)x^{2}J_{n-2}(x).

Furthermore, $J_{0}(x)=2\sin x$ and $J_{1}(x)=-4x\cos x+4\sin x.$ Hence for all $n\in \mathbb {Z} _{+},$

J_{n}(x)=x^{2n+1}I_{n}(x)=n!{\bigl (}P_{n}(x)\sin(x)+Q_{n}(x)\cos(x){\bigr )},

where $P_{n}(x)$ and $Q_{n}(x)$ are polynomials of degree $\leq n,$ and with integer coefficients (depending on $n$ ).

Take $x={\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi ,$ and suppose if possible that ${\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi =a/b$ where $a$ and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b} are natural numbers (i.e., assume that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } is rational). Then

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\frac {a^{2n+1}}{n!}}I_{n}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi {\bigr )}=P_{n}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi {\bigr )}b^{2n+1}.}

The right side is an integer. But Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0<I_{n}{\bigl (}{\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi {\bigr )}<2} since the interval Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle [-1,1]} has length Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2} and the function being integrated takes only values between $0$ and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 1.} On the other hand,

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\frac {a^{2n+1}}{n!}}\to 0\quad {\text{ as }}n\to \infty .}

Hence, for sufficiently large Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n}

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0<{\frac {a^{2n+1}I_{n}\left({\frac {\pi }{2}}\right)}{n!}}<1,}

that is, we could find an integer between Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 1.} That is the contradiction that follows from the assumption that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } is rational.

This proof is similar to Hermite's proof. Indeed,

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}J_{n}(x)&=x^{2n+1}\int _{-1}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,dz\\[5pt]&=2x^{2n+1}\int _{0}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,dz\\[5pt]&=2^{n+1}n!A_{n}(x).\end{aligned}}}

However, it is clearly simpler. This is achieved by omitting the inductive definition of the functions Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A_{n}} and taking as a starting point their expression as an integral.

Niven's proof

This proof uses the characterization of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } as the smallest positive zero of the sine function.^[9]

Suppose that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } is rational, i.e. Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi =a/b} for some integers Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b} which may be taken without loss of generality to both be positive. Given any positive integer Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n,} we define the polynomial function:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x)={\frac {x^{n}(a-bx)^{n}}{n!}}}

and, for each Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x\in \mathbb {R} } let

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(x)=f(x)-f''(x)+f^{(4)}(x)+\cdots +(-1)^{n}f^{(2n)}(x).}

Claim 1: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(0)+F(\pi )} is an integer.

Proof: Expanding Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} as a sum of monomials, the coefficient of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x^{k}} is a number of the form Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle c_{k}/n!} where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle c_{k}} is an integer, which is Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0} if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k<n.} Therefore, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(k)}(0)} is Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0} when Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k<n} and it is equal to Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (k!/n!)c_{k}} if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n\leq k\leq 2n} ; in each case, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(k)}(0)} is an integer and therefore Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(0)} is an integer.

On the other hand, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(\pi -x)=f(x)} and so Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (-1)^{k}f^{(k)}(\pi -x)=f^{(k)}(x)} for each non-negative integer Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k.} In particular, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (-1)^{k}f^{(k)}(\pi )=f^{(k)}(0).} Therefore, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(k)}(\pi )} is also an integer and so Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(\pi )} is an integer (in fact, it is easy to see that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(\pi )=F(0)} ). Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(0)} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(\pi )} are integers, so is their sum.

Claim 2:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx=F(0)+F(\pi )}

Proof: Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(2n+2)}} is the zero polynomial, we have

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F''+F=f.}

The derivatives of the sine and cosine function are given by sin' = cos and cos' = −sin. Hence the product rule implies

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (F'\cdot \sin {}-F\cdot \cos {})'=f\cdot \sin }

By the fundamental theorem of calculus

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \left.\int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx={\bigl (}F'(x)\sin x-F(x)\cos x{\bigr )}\right|_{0}^{\pi }.}

Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sin 0=\sin \pi =0} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \cos 0=-\cos \pi =1} (here we use the above-mentioned characterization of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } as a zero of the sine function), Claim 2 follows.

Conclusion: Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x)>0} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sin x>0} for Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0<x<\pi } (because Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } is the smallest positive zero of the sine function), Claims 1 and 2 show that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(0)+F(\pi )} is a positive integer. Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0\leq x(a-bx)\leq \pi a} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0\leq \sin x\leq 1} for Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0\leq x\leq \pi ,} we have, by the original definition of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f,}

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx\leq \pi {\frac {(\pi a)^{n}}{n!}}}

which is smaller than Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 1} for large Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n,} hence Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(0)+F(\pi )<1} for these Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n,} by Claim 2. This is impossible for the positive integer Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F(0)+F(\pi ).} This shows that the original assumption that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } is rational leads to a contradiction, which concludes the proof.

The above proof is a polished version, which is kept as simple as possible concerning the prerequisites, of an analysis of the formula

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx=\sum _{j=0}^{n}(-1)^{j}\left(f^{(2j)}(\pi )+f^{(2j)}(0)\right)+(-1)^{n+1}\int _{0}^{\pi }f^{(2n+2)}(x)\sin(x)\,dx,}

which is obtained by Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2n+2} integrations by parts. Claim 2 essentially establishes this formula, where the use of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F} hides the iterated integration by parts. The last integral vanishes because Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(2n+2)}} is the zero polynomial. Claim 1 shows that the remaining sum is an integer.

Niven's proof is closer to Cartwright's (and therefore Hermite's) proof than it appears at first sight.^[6] In fact,

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}J_{n}(x)&=x^{2n+1}\int _{-1}^{1}(1-z^{2})^{n}\cos(xz)\,dz\\&=\int _{-1}^{1}\left(x^{2}-(xz)^{2}\right)^{n}x\cos(xz)\,dz.\end{aligned}}}

Therefore, the substitution Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle xz=y} turns this integral into

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \int _{-x}^{x}(x^{2}-y^{2})^{n}\cos(y)\,dy.}

In particular,

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}J_{n}\left({\frac {\pi }{2}}\right)&=\int _{-\pi /2}^{\pi /2}\left({\frac {\pi ^{2}}{4}}-y^{2}\right)^{n}\cos(y)\,dy\\[5pt]&=\int _{0}^{\pi }\left({\frac {\pi ^{2}}{4}}-\left(y-{\frac {\pi }{2}}\right)^{2}\right)^{n}\cos \left(y-{\frac {\pi }{2}}\right)\,dy\\[5pt]&=\int _{0}^{\pi }y^{n}(\pi -y)^{n}\sin(y)\,dy\\[5pt]&={\frac {n!}{b^{n}}}\int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx.\end{aligned}}}

Another connection between the proofs lies in the fact that Hermite already mentions^[3] that if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is a polynomial function and

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle F=f-f^{(2)}+f^{(4)}\mp \cdots ,}

then

\int f(x)\sin(x)\,dx=F'(x)\sin(x)-F(x)\cos(x)+C,

from which it follows that

\int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx=F(\pi )+F(0).

Bourbaki's proof

Bourbaki's proof is outlined as an exercise in his calculus treatise.^[10] For each natural number b and each non-negative integer $n,$ define

A_{n}(b)=b^{n}\int _{0}^{\pi }{\frac {x^{n}(\pi -x)^{n}}{n!}}\sin(x)\,dx.

Since $A_{n}(b)$ is the integral of a function defined on $[0,\pi ]$ that takes the value $0$ at $0$ and $\pi$ and which is greater than $0$ otherwise, $A_{n}(b)>0.$ Besides, for each natural number $b,$ $A_{n}(b)<1$ if $n$ is large enough, because

x(\pi -x)\leq \left({\frac {\pi }{2}}\right)^{2}

and therefore

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A_{n}(b)\leq \pi b^{n}{\frac {1}{n!}}\left({\frac {\pi }{2}}\right)^{2n}=\pi {\frac {(b\pi ^{2}/4)^{n}}{n!}}.}

On the other hand, repeated integration by parts allows us to deduce that, if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} and $b$ are natural numbers such that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi =a/b} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is the polynomial function from Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle [0,\pi ]} into Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbb {R} } defined by

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x)={\frac {x^{n}(a-bx)^{n}}{n!}},}

then:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}A_{n}(b)&=\int _{0}^{\pi }f(x)\sin(x)\,dx\\[5pt]&={\Big [}{-f(x)\cos(x)}{\Big ]}_{x=0}^{x=\pi }\,-{\Big [}{-f'(x)\sin(x)}{\Big ]}_{x=0}^{x=\pi }+\cdots \\[5pt]&\ \qquad \pm {\Big [}f^{(2n)}(x)\cos(x){\Big ]}_{x=0}^{x=\pi }\,\pm \int _{0}^{\pi }f^{(2n+1)}(x)\cos(x)\,dx.\end{aligned}}}

This last integral is Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0,} since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(2n+1)}} is the null function (because Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is a polynomial function of degree Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2n} ). Since each function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f^{(k)}} (with Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0\leq k\leq 2n} ) takes integer values at Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } and since the same thing happens with the sine and the cosine functions, this proves that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A_{n}(b)} is an integer. Since it is also greater than Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0,} it must be a natural number. But it was also proved that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A_{n}(b)<1} if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n} is large enough, thereby reaching a contradiction.

This proof is quite close to Niven's proof, the main difference between them being the way of proving that the numbers Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A_{n}(b)} are integers.

Laczkovich's proof

Miklós Laczkovich's proof is a simplification of Lambert's original proof.^[11] He considers the functions

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k}(x)=1-{\frac {x^{2}}{k}}+{\frac {x^{4}}{2!k(k+1)}}-{\frac {x^{6}}{3!k(k+1)(k+2)}}+\cdots \quad (k\notin \{0,-1,-2,\ldots \}).}

These functions are clearly defined for any real number Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x.} Besides

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{1/2}(x)=\cos(2x),}

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{3/2}(x)={\frac {\sin(2x)}{2x}}.}

Claim 1: The following recurrence relation holds for any real number Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} :

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\frac {x^{2}}{k(k+1)}}f_{k+2}(x)=f_{k+1}(x)-f_{k}(x).}

Proof: This can be proved by comparing the coefficients of the powers of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x.}

Claim 2: For each real number Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x,}

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lim _{k\to +\infty }f_{k}(x)=1.}

Proof: In fact, the sequence Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x^{2n}/n!} is bounded (since it converges to Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0} ) and if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle C} is an upper bound and if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k>1,} then

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \left|f_{k}(x)-1\right|\leqslant \sum _{n=1}^{\infty }{\frac {C}{k^{n}}}=C{\frac {1/k}{1-1/k}}={\frac {C}{k-1}}.}

Claim 3: If Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x\neq 0,} Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x^{2}} is rational, and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k\in \mathbb {Q} \smallsetminus \{0,-1,-2,\ldots \}} then

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k}(x)\neq 0\quad {\text{ and }}\quad {\frac {f_{k+1}(x)}{f_{k}(x)}}\notin \mathbb {Q} .}

Proof: Otherwise, there would be a number Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle y\neq 0} and integers Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b} such that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k}(x)=ay} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k+1}(x)=by.} To see why, take Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle y=f_{k+1}(x),} Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a=0,} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b=1} if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k}(x)=0} ; otherwise, choose integers Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b} such that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k+1}(x)/f_{k}(x)=b/a} and define Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle y=f_{k}(x)/a=f_{k+1}(x)/b.} In each case, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle y} cannot be Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0,} because otherwise it would follow from claim 1 that each Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k+n}(x)} (Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n\in \mathbb {N} } ) would be Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0,} which would contradict claim 2. Now, take a natural number Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle c} such that all three numbers Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle bc/k,} Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle ck/x^{2},} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle c/x^{2}} are integers and consider the sequence

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n}={\begin{cases}f_{k}(x)&n=0\\{\dfrac {c^{n}}{k(k+1)\cdots (k+n-1)}}f_{k+n}(x)&n\neq 0\end{cases}}}

Then

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{0}=f_{k}(x)=ay\in \mathbb {Z} y\quad {\text{ and }}\quad g_{1}={\frac {c}{k}}f_{k+1}(x)={\frac {bc}{k}}y\in \mathbb {Z} y.}

On the other hand, it follows from claim 1 that

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}g_{n+2}&={\frac {c^{n+2}}{x^{2}k(k+1)\cdots (k+n-1)}}\cdot {\frac {x^{2}}{(k+n)(k+n+1)}}f_{k+n+2}(x)\\[5pt]&={\frac {c^{n+2}}{x^{2}k(k+1)\cdots (k+n-1)}}f_{k+n+1}(x)-{\frac {c^{n+2}}{x^{2}k(k+1)\cdots (k+n-1)}}f_{k+n}(x)\\[5pt]&={\frac {c(k+n)}{x^{2}}}g_{n+1}-{\frac {c^{2}}{x^{2}}}g_{n}\\[5pt]&=\left({\frac {ck}{x^{2}}}+{\frac {c}{x^{2}}}n\right)g_{n+1}-{\frac {c^{2}}{x^{2}}}g_{n},\end{aligned}}}

which is a linear combination of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n+1}} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n}} with integer coefficients. Therefore, each Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n}} is an integer multiple of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle y.} Besides, it follows from claim 2 that each Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n}} is greater than Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0} (and therefore that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n}\geq |y|} ) if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n} is large enough and that the sequence of all Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g_{n}} converges to Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0.} But a sequence of numbers greater than or equal to Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |y|} cannot converge to Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 0.}

Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{1/2}({\tfrac {1}{4}}\pi )=\cos {\tfrac {1}{2}}\pi =0,} it follows from claim 3 that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{16}}\pi ^{2}} is irrational and therefore that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi } is irrational.

On the other hand, since

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \tan x={\frac {\sin x}{\cos x}}=x{\frac {f_{3/2}(x/2)}{f_{1/2}(x/2)}},}

another consequence of Claim 3 is that, if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x\in \mathbb {Q} \smallsetminus \{0\},} then Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \tan x} is irrational.

Laczkovich's proof is really about the hypergeometric function. In fact, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f_{k}(x)={}_{0}F_{1}(k-x^{2})} and Gauss found a continued fraction expansion of the hypergeometric function using its functional equation.^[12] This allowed Laczkovich to find a new and simpler proof of the fact that the tangent function has the continued fraction expansion that Lambert had discovered.

Laczkovich's result can also be expressed in Bessel functions of the first kind Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle J_{\nu }(x)} . In fact, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \Gamma (k)J_{k-1}(2x)=x^{k-1}f_{k}(x)} (where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \Gamma } is the gamma function). So Laczkovich's result is equivalent to: If Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x\neq 0,} Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x^{2}} is rational, and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k\in \mathbb {Q} \smallsetminus \{0,-1,-2,\ldots \}} then

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\frac {xJ_{k}(x)}{J_{k-1}(x)}}\notin \mathbb {Q} .}

References

^ Lindemann, Ferdinand von (2004) [1882], "Ueber die Zahl $π$ ", in Berggren, Lennart; Borwein, Jonathan M.; Borwein, Peter B. (eds.), Pi, a source book (3rd ed.), New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 194–225, ISBN 0-387-20571-3.
^ Lambert, Johann Heinrich (2004) [1768], "Mémoire sur quelques propriétés remarquables des quantités transcendantes circulaires et logarithmiques", in Berggren, Lennart; Borwein, Jonathan M.; Borwein, Peter B. (eds.), Pi, a source book (3rd ed.), New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 129–140, ISBN 0-387-20571-3.
^ ^3.0 ^3.1 Hermite, Charles (1873). "Extrait d'une lettre de Monsieur Ch. Hermite à Monsieur Paul Gordan". Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik (in français). 76: 303–311.
^ Hermite, Charles (1873). "Extrait d'une lettre de Mr. Ch. Hermite à Mr. Carl Borchardt". Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik (in français). 76: 342–344.
^ Hermite, Charles (1912) [1873]. "Sur la fonction exponentielle". In Picard, Émile (ed.). Œuvres de Charles Hermite (in français). Vol. III. Gauthier-Villars. pp. 150–181.
^ ^6.0 ^6.1 Zhou, Li (2011). "Irrationality proofs à la Hermite". The Mathematical Gazette. 95 (534): 407–413. arXiv:0911.1929. doi:10.1017/S0025557200003491. S2CID 115175505.
^ Jeffreys, Harold (1973), Scientific Inference (3rd ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 268, ISBN 0-521-08446-6
^ "Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics". www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
^ Niven, Ivan (1947), "A simple proof that $π$ is irrational" (PDF), Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, vol. 53, no. 6, p. 509, doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1947-08821-2
^ Bourbaki, Nicolas (1949), Fonctions d'une variable réelle, chap. I–II–III, Actualités Scientifiques et Industrielles (in français), vol. 1074, Hermann, pp. 137–138
^ Laczkovich, Miklós (1997), "On Lambert's proof of the irrationality of $π$ ", American Mathematical Monthly, vol. 104, no. 5, pp. 439–443, doi:10.2307/2974737, JSTOR 2974737
^ Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1811–1813), "Disquisitiones generales circa seriem infinitam", Commentationes Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Gottingensis Recentiores (in Latina), 2

[1] Lindemann, Ferdinand von (2004) [1882], "Ueber die Zahl $π$ ", in Berggren, Lennart; Borwein, Jonathan M.; Borwein, Peter B. (eds.), Pi, a source book (3rd ed.), New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 194–225, ISBN 0-387-20571-3.

[2] Lambert, Johann Heinrich (2004) [1768], "Mémoire sur quelques propriétés remarquables des quantités transcendantes circulaires et logarithmiques", in Berggren, Lennart; Borwein, Jonathan M.; Borwein, Peter B. (eds.), Pi, a source book (3rd ed.), New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 129–140, ISBN 0-387-20571-3.

[Hermite-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Hermite, Charles (1873). "Extrait d'une lettre de Monsieur Ch. Hermite à Monsieur Paul Gordan". Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik (in français). 76: 303–311.

[4] Hermite, Charles (1873). "Extrait d'une lettre de Mr. Ch. Hermite à Mr. Carl Borchardt". Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik (in français). 76: 342–344.

[5] Hermite, Charles (1912) [1873]. "Sur la fonction exponentielle". In Picard, Émile (ed.). Œuvres de Charles Hermite (in français). Vol. III. Gauthier-Villars. pp. 150–181.

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