SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 2411.19864

An Elementary Proof of a Remarkable Relation Between the Squircle and Lemniscate

Abstract

It is well known that there is a somewhat mysterious relation between the area of the quartic Fermat curve $x^4+y^4=1$, aka squircle, and the arc length of the lemniscate $(x^2+y^2)^2=x^2-y^2$. The standardproof of this fact uses relations between elliptic integrals and the gamma function. In this article we generalize this result to relate areas of sectors of the squircle to arc lengths of segments of the lemniscate. We provide a geometric interpretation of this relation and an elementary proof of the relation, which only uses basic integral calculus. We also discuss an alternate version of this kind of relation, which is implicit in a calculation of Siegel.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Zbigniew Fiedorowicz, Muthu Veerappan Ramalingam. 2024-11-29. An Elementary Proof of a Remarkable Relation Between the Squircle and Lemniscate. https://doi.org/10.1080/0025570x.2026.2649689

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Perspectives on the unit distance problem

This is a survey on an old open problem in combinatorics called the unit distance problem, and the field of mathematics around it, called incidence geometry. What do we know about the problem? Why is it difficult? How does it connect with other parts of math?

math.HO

A Categorical Approach to Euclidean Ratios and Proportions

A categorial approach to the non-metric geometry in Books V and VI of Euclid's \textit{Elements} is presented. Specifically, we introduce a diagrammatic syntax that can be overlaid immediately on his diagrams, thus bridging intuitive presentation with fidelity to Euclid's arguments. This syntax makes complicated definitions like V.5, and indeed the arguments throughout books V and VI, including arguments about similar figures, intuitively clear. We show in an appendix that this syntax can be used to solve a puzzle regarding ancient mathematics. Finally, we offer evidence that this approach to Euclidean diagrams is rooted in the Aristotelian tradition itself, and that a similar syntax was utilized, in antiquity, for related questions of numeric and proportions. Thus the syntax is plausibly faithful to Euclid's own thought-world, and not an outside-imposition.

math.HO

Some Early Results by Tutte Regarding the Cycle Double Cover Conjecture in 1948

OpenAI recently announced a proof of the Cycle Double Cover (CDC) Conjecture. Most media reports have characterized it as a 50-year-old open problem. In reality, according to a 1987 letter from Tutte to Fleischner, the Cycle Double Cover Problem has been open for at least 80 years. Two early results regarding the CDC conjecture were established in one of Tutte's 1949 publications.

math.HO