Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / ia / Paper 1 / 1A / iii

Using the exponential definition of the hyperbolic cosine and the complex exponential function,ThusFor real $x$, the hyperbolic sine vanishes only at $x=0$. Also $|y|\le 1<\pi$, so the only zero of sine available to $y$ is $y=0$. The product therefore vanishes exactly when $b=0$ or $4-b^2=0$:There are three possible parameter values. At $b=0$ the roots are $\pm i$ and $\cosh (\pm i)=\cos 1$ is real; at $b=\pm 2$ the roots themselves are real.