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    Pi Irrational

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    Jhonsmith

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Pi Irrational

    Uploaded by

    Jhonsmith
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    pi-irrational

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    Pi Irrational

    Uploaded by

    Jhonsmith

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    A proof that π is irrational

    Gilles Cazelais

    The first rigorous proof that π is irrational is from Johann Heinrich Lambert in 1761. He proved that if
    x 6= 0 is rational, then tan x must be irrational. Since tan π4 = 1 is rational, then π must be irrational.
    The simpler proof given here is due to Ivan Niven in 1947. It only assumes a knowledge of basic Calculus.

    We will prove that π 2 is irrational. This stronger result implies that π is irrational. The proof uses the
    function
    xn (1 − x)n
    f (x) = .
    n!
    Lemma. For any integer n ≥ 1,
    2n
    1 X
    (i) f (x) is a polynomial of the form f (x) = ci xi and all the coefficients ci are integers.
    n! i=n

    1
    (ii) For 0 < x < 1, we have 0 < f (x) < .
    n!
    (iii) The derivatives f (k) (0) and f (k) (1) are integers for all k ≥ 0.
    Proof. By expanding the binomial (1 − x)n and multiplying each term by xn , we get the polynomial
         
    n n n n n+1 n n+2 n n
    x (1 − x) = x − x + x − · · · + (−1) x2n
    1 2 n

    where all coefficients are integers. It then follows that part (i) holds. To see that part (ii) holds, observe
    that for any 0 < x < 1, we have

    xn (1 − x)n
    0 < xn < 1 and 0 < (1 − x)n < 1 =⇒ 0< < 1.
    n!
    Let’s now show that part (iii) holds. From part (i) it is clear that

    f (k) (0) = 0, if k < n or k > 2n.


    k!
    For n ≤ k ≤ 2n, we have f (k) (0) = n! ck which is an integer. Since

    f (x) = f (1 − x),

    we have
    f (k) (x) = (−1)k f (k) (1 − x).
    Therefore, f (k) (1) = (−1)k f (k) (0) is also an integer for all k.

    1
    Theorem. π 2 is irrational.
    Proof. Assume that π 2 is rational, i.e., π 2 = a/b for two positive integers a and b. Let
     
    F (x) = bn π 2n f (x) − π 2n−2 f (2) (x) + π 2n−4 f (4) (x) − · · · + (−1)n f (2n) (x) . (1)

    Observe that for all 0 ≤ k ≤ n,


     a n−k
    bn π 2n−2k = bn (π 2 )n−k = bn = an−k bk
    b
    is an integer. Since f (k) (0) and f (k) (1) are integers, we see that F (0) and F (1) are integers. Differentiating
    F twice gives
     
    F 00 (x) = bn π 2n f (2) (x) − π 2n−2 f (4) (x) + π 2n−4 f (6) (x) − · · · + (−1)n f (2n+2) (x) . (2)

    Observe that f (2n+2) (x) = 0. From (1) and (2), we get


    F 00 (x) + π 2 F (x) = bn π 2n+2 f (x) = π 2 an f (x). (3)
    By differentiation, we get
    d
    (F 0 (x) sin πx − πF (x) cos πx) = (
    πF(0 ((((
    (x) cos πx + F 00 (x) sin πx − ( 0 ((((
    πF((x) cos πx + π 2 F (x) sin πx
    dx
    = F 00 (x) + π 2 F (x) sin πx
    

    = π 2 an f (x) sin πx, from (3).


    From the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, we get
    Z 1 1
    π 2 an f (x) sin πx dx = (F 0 (x) sin πx − πF (x) cos πx)
    0 0

    = F 0 (1) sin π − πF (1) cos π − F 0 (0) sin 0 + πF (0) cos 0


    = π (F (1) + F (0)) .
    Thus, Z 1
    πan f (x) sin πx dx = F (1) + F (0)
    0
    is an integer. Since 0 < f (x) < 1/n! for 0 < x < 1, then
    1
    0 < f (x) sin πx < , for 0 < x < 1.
    n!
    Therefore, for any integer n ≥ 1 we have
    1
    πan
    Z
    n
    0 < πa f (x) sin πx dx < .
    0 n!
    Since for any number a, we have
    an
    =0 lim
    n→∞ n!
    n
    we can choose n large enough so that πa
    n! < 1. This gives us
    Z 1
    0 < πan f (x) sin πx dx < 1
    0
    R1
    which is a contradiction since πan 0 f (x) sin πx dx is an integer. Therefore π 2 is irrational.

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