Complex numbers De Moivre's theorem

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving relationships involving sums of sine and cosine functions, specifically expressed in terms of complex numbers and De Moivre's theorem. The original poster presents a problem involving the sums \(C\) and \(S\) defined by trigonometric series.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the derivation of \(C + iS\) using exponential forms of sine and cosine. There are questions regarding the correctness of the final expressions and whether the real and imaginary parts are equal.

Discussion Status

Some participants confirm the correctness of the derivation while noting that the real and imaginary parts are not equal. There is also a focus on the clarity of notation in the expressions presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants emphasize the importance of proper notation in mathematical expressions, particularly regarding the use of parentheses in trigonometric functions and the formatting of function names.

iDimension
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Homework Statement


If
$$C = 1+cos\theta+...+cos(n-1)\theta,$$
$$S = sin\theta+...+sin(n-1)\theta,$$prove that
$$C=\frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}} cos\frac{(n-1)\theta}{2} \enspace and \enspace S = \frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}}sin\frac{(n-1)\theta}{2}$$

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


$$C+iS = 1+(cos\theta+isin\theta)+...+(cos(n-1)\theta+isin(n-1)\theta)$$
$$=1+e^{i\theta}+...+e^{i(n-1)\theta}$$
$$=1+z+...+z^{n-1}, \enspace where \enspace z=e^{i\theta}$$
$$=\frac{1-z^n}{1-z}, \enspace if \enspace z\neq1$$
$$=\frac{1-e^{in\theta}}{1-e^{i\theta}}=\frac{e^\frac{in\theta}{2}(e^\frac{-in\theta}{2}-e^\frac{in\theta}{2})}{e\frac{i\theta}{2}(e\frac{-i\theta}{2}-e\frac{i\theta}{2})}$$
$$=e^{i(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2}}\frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}}$$
$$=(cos(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2}+isin(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2})\frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}}$$

Is this correct? I'm not sure about the final solution. The final result is that the real parts equal the imaginary parts?
 
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iDimension said:

Homework Statement


If
$$C = 1+cos\theta+...+cos(n-1)\theta,$$
$$S = sin\theta+...+sin(n-1)\theta,$$prove that
$$C=\frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}} cos\frac{(n-1)\theta}{2} \enspace and \enspace S = \frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}}sin\frac{(n-1)\theta}{2}$$

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


$$C+iS = 1+(cos\theta+isin\theta)+...+(cos(n-1)\theta+isin(n-1)\theta)$$
$$=1+e^{i\theta}+...+e^{i(n-1)\theta}$$
$$=1+z+...+z^{n-1}, \enspace where \enspace z=e^{i\theta}$$
$$=\frac{1-z^n}{1-z}, \enspace if \enspace z\neq1$$
$$=\frac{1-e^{in\theta}}{1-e^{i\theta}}=\frac{e^\frac{in\theta}{2}(e^\frac{-in\theta}{2}-e^\frac{in\theta}{2})}{e\frac{i\theta}{2}(e\frac{-i\theta}{2}-e\frac{i\theta}{2})}$$
$$=e^{i(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2}}\frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}}$$
$$=(cos(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2}+isin(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2})\frac{sin\frac{n\theta}{2}}{sin\frac{\theta}{2}}$$

Is this correct? I'm not sure about the final solution. The final result is that the real parts equal the imaginary parts?

Yes, your derivation is correct, but the the real part is not equal to the imaginary part.
 
Correct. But I have an important word-smithing note:
Throughout the entire post, you should put parentheses around all the angles that you take sins and cos of.
Not
$$=cos(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2}$$
but
$$=cos((n-1)\frac{\theta}{2})$$
 
FactChecker said:
Correct. But I have an important word-smithing note:
Throughout the entire post, you should put parentheses around all the angles that you take sins and cos of.
Not
$$=cos(n-1)\frac{\theta}{2}$$
but
$$=cos((n-1)\frac{\theta}{2})$$

Also: do not write ##sin \theta## and ##cos \theta## (ugly and hard to read); instead, write ##\sin \theta## and ##\cos \theta## (easy to read and looks good). To do it, just put a "\" before your sin or cos, so say "\sin" instead of "sin", etc. This holds as well for all the other trig functions, as well as 'log', 'ln', 'lim', 'max', 'min', 'exp' and several others.
 

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