Hyperbolic function Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-14
Hyperbolic functions combine the exponential function to describe a hyperbola much as trigonometric functions describe a circle. Their two basic members are the hyperbolic cosine and hyperbolic sine, defined for every real number by
Their derivatives exchange the two functions:
These formulas follow by applying differentiation to the exponential function definitions. [ref]
Adding and subtracting gives and . Multiplying these equalities proves the hyperbolic Pythagorean identity:
Consequently the parametric equation traverses the entire right branch of the unit hyperbola , where . For example, gives , while gives approximately . Compare on the unit circle, where the squared coordinates add to one. The minus sign changes the geometry from a closed circle to an unbounded hyperbola.
Figure 1.
Hyperbolic cosine and sine become the coordinates of the right branch of a unit hyperbola
. The same inputs are marked on both function graphs and the unit hyperbola. The shaded region has area and corresponds to hyperbolic angle . Details.
The other members are ratios and reciprocals: hyperbolic tangent is , hyperbolic cotangent is , and hyperbolic secant is ; denominators must be nonzero. The hyperbolic sine and hyperbolic cosine both solve the second-order linear differential equation . In fact has and , making this basis convenient for an initial value problem. Their geometry also makes hyperbolic substitution useful for integrals containing , and the hyperbolic cosine gives the physical catenary of a hanging chain.
Inverse hyperbolic sine 2026-10-25
The real inverse of the hyperbolic sine is defined on all real numbers and has derivative . It appears in arc length and in integrals involving square roots of sums of squares, where a hyperbolic substitution can simplify the expression.
For , increases from , while decreases from . They meet at , after which their order reverses. In particular, their positive separation on is .
Figure 1.
The two curves and their enclosed positive area on , with crossing at
. Details.
Use the hyperbolic substitution , . With , the definite integral for the area becomes
Since , and , the answer is
For the open matter-dominated Friedmann solution, write , so . The present Friedmann equation gives . With and , the expanding equation becomes
Choose the hyperbolic substitution
Then and . Their product gives
Take the Big Bang to be , , and integrate. The parametric solution is
The parameter is determined explicitly by
Thus is conformal time multiplied by , with its origin at the Big Bang; it is not equal to unscaled cosmic time. In particular today . Small gives and , hence . Large gives , in agreement with the curvature-dominated universe limit.
For the graph of a differentiable function, the arc length is . Since ,
Use the hyperbolic substitution : then and . The hyperbolic functions yields
Here is the inverse hyperbolic sine.