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1:mod:`cmath` --- Mathematical functions for complex numbers
2===========================================================
3
4.. module:: cmath
5   :synopsis: Mathematical functions for complex numbers.
6
7--------------
8
9This module provides access to mathematical functions for complex numbers.  The
10functions in this module accept integers, floating-point numbers or complex
11numbers as arguments. They will also accept any Python object that has either a
12:meth:`__complex__` or a :meth:`__float__` method: these methods are used to
13convert the object to a complex or floating-point number, respectively, and
14the function is then applied to the result of the conversion.
15
16.. note::
17
18   On platforms with hardware and system-level support for signed
19   zeros, functions involving branch cuts are continuous on *both*
20   sides of the branch cut: the sign of the zero distinguishes one
21   side of the branch cut from the other.  On platforms that do not
22   support signed zeros the continuity is as specified below.
23
24
25Conversions to and from polar coordinates
26-----------------------------------------
27
28A Python complex number ``z`` is stored internally using *rectangular*
29or *Cartesian* coordinates.  It is completely determined by its *real
30part* ``z.real`` and its *imaginary part* ``z.imag``.  In other
31words::
32
33   z == z.real + z.imag*1j
34
35*Polar coordinates* give an alternative way to represent a complex
36number.  In polar coordinates, a complex number *z* is defined by the
37modulus *r* and the phase angle *phi*. The modulus *r* is the distance
38from *z* to the origin, while the phase *phi* is the counterclockwise
39angle, measured in radians, from the positive x-axis to the line
40segment that joins the origin to *z*.
41
42The following functions can be used to convert from the native
43rectangular coordinates to polar coordinates and back.
44
45.. function:: phase(x)
46
47   Return the phase of *x* (also known as the *argument* of *x*), as a
48   float.  ``phase(x)`` is equivalent to ``math.atan2(x.imag,
49   x.real)``.  The result lies in the range [-\ *π*, *π*], and the branch
50   cut for this operation lies along the negative real axis,
51   continuous from above.  On systems with support for signed zeros
52   (which includes most systems in current use), this means that the
53   sign of the result is the same as the sign of ``x.imag``, even when
54   ``x.imag`` is zero::
55
56      >>> phase(complex(-1.0, 0.0))
57      3.141592653589793
58      >>> phase(complex(-1.0, -0.0))
59      -3.141592653589793
60
61
62.. note::
63
64   The modulus (absolute value) of a complex number *x* can be
65   computed using the built-in :func:`abs` function.  There is no
66   separate :mod:`cmath` module function for this operation.
67
68
69.. function:: polar(x)
70
71   Return the representation of *x* in polar coordinates.  Returns a
72   pair ``(r, phi)`` where *r* is the modulus of *x* and phi is the
73   phase of *x*.  ``polar(x)`` is equivalent to ``(abs(x),
74   phase(x))``.
75
76
77.. function:: rect(r, phi)
78
79   Return the complex number *x* with polar coordinates *r* and *phi*.
80   Equivalent to ``r * (math.cos(phi) + math.sin(phi)*1j)``.
81
82
83Power and logarithmic functions
84-------------------------------
85
86.. function:: exp(x)
87
88   Return *e* raised to the power *x*, where *e* is the base of natural
89   logarithms.
90
91
92.. function:: log(x[, base])
93
94   Returns the logarithm of *x* to the given *base*. If the *base* is not
95   specified, returns the natural logarithm of *x*. There is one branch cut, from 0
96   along the negative real axis to -∞, continuous from above.
97
98
99.. function:: log10(x)
100
101   Return the base-10 logarithm of *x*. This has the same branch cut as
102   :func:`log`.
103
104
105.. function:: sqrt(x)
106
107   Return the square root of *x*. This has the same branch cut as :func:`log`.
108
109
110Trigonometric functions
111-----------------------
112
113.. function:: acos(x)
114
115   Return the arc cosine of *x*. There are two branch cuts: One extends right from
116   1 along the real axis to ∞, continuous from below. The other extends left from
117   -1 along the real axis to -∞, continuous from above.
118
119
120.. function:: asin(x)
121
122   Return the arc sine of *x*. This has the same branch cuts as :func:`acos`.
123
124
125.. function:: atan(x)
126
127   Return the arc tangent of *x*. There are two branch cuts: One extends from
128   ``1j`` along the imaginary axis to ``∞j``, continuous from the right. The
129   other extends from ``-1j`` along the imaginary axis to ``-∞j``, continuous
130   from the left.
131
132
133.. function:: cos(x)
134
135   Return the cosine of *x*.
136
137
138.. function:: sin(x)
139
140   Return the sine of *x*.
141
142
143.. function:: tan(x)
144
145   Return the tangent of *x*.
146
147
148Hyperbolic functions
149--------------------
150
151.. function:: acosh(x)
152
153   Return the inverse hyperbolic cosine of *x*. There is one branch cut,
154   extending left from 1 along the real axis to -∞, continuous from above.
155
156
157.. function:: asinh(x)
158
159   Return the inverse hyperbolic sine of *x*. There are two branch cuts:
160   One extends from ``1j`` along the imaginary axis to ``∞j``,
161   continuous from the right.  The other extends from ``-1j`` along
162   the imaginary axis to ``-∞j``, continuous from the left.
163
164
165.. function:: atanh(x)
166
167   Return the inverse hyperbolic tangent of *x*. There are two branch cuts: One
168   extends from ``1`` along the real axis to ``∞``, continuous from below. The
169   other extends from ``-1`` along the real axis to ``-∞``, continuous from
170   above.
171
172
173.. function:: cosh(x)
174
175   Return the hyperbolic cosine of *x*.
176
177
178.. function:: sinh(x)
179
180   Return the hyperbolic sine of *x*.
181
182
183.. function:: tanh(x)
184
185   Return the hyperbolic tangent of *x*.
186
187
188Classification functions
189------------------------
190
191.. function:: isfinite(x)
192
193   Return ``True`` if both the real and imaginary parts of *x* are finite, and
194   ``False`` otherwise.
195
196   .. versionadded:: 3.2
197
198
199.. function:: isinf(x)
200
201   Return ``True`` if either the real or the imaginary part of *x* is an
202   infinity, and ``False`` otherwise.
203
204
205.. function:: isnan(x)
206
207   Return ``True`` if either the real or the imaginary part of *x* is a NaN,
208   and ``False`` otherwise.
209
210
211.. function:: isclose(a, b, *, rel_tol=1e-09, abs_tol=0.0)
212
213   Return ``True`` if the values *a* and *b* are close to each other and
214   ``False`` otherwise.
215
216   Whether or not two values are considered close is determined according to
217   given absolute and relative tolerances.
218
219   *rel_tol* is the relative tolerance -- it is the maximum allowed difference
220   between *a* and *b*, relative to the larger absolute value of *a* or *b*.
221   For example, to set a tolerance of 5%, pass ``rel_tol=0.05``.  The default
222   tolerance is ``1e-09``, which assures that the two values are the same
223   within about 9 decimal digits.  *rel_tol* must be greater than zero.
224
225   *abs_tol* is the minimum absolute tolerance -- useful for comparisons near
226   zero. *abs_tol* must be at least zero.
227
228   If no errors occur, the result will be:
229   ``abs(a-b) <= max(rel_tol * max(abs(a), abs(b)), abs_tol)``.
230
231   The IEEE 754 special values of ``NaN``, ``inf``, and ``-inf`` will be
232   handled according to IEEE rules.  Specifically, ``NaN`` is not considered
233   close to any other value, including ``NaN``.  ``inf`` and ``-inf`` are only
234   considered close to themselves.
235
236   .. versionadded:: 3.5
237
238   .. seealso::
239
240      :pep:`485` -- A function for testing approximate equality
241
242
243Constants
244---------
245
246.. data:: pi
247
248   The mathematical constant *π*, as a float.
249
250
251.. data:: e
252
253   The mathematical constant *e*, as a float.
254
255
256.. data:: tau
257
258   The mathematical constant *τ*, as a float.
259
260   .. versionadded:: 3.6
261
262
263.. data:: inf
264
265   Floating-point positive infinity. Equivalent to ``float('inf')``.
266
267   .. versionadded:: 3.6
268
269
270.. data:: infj
271
272   Complex number with zero real part and positive infinity imaginary
273   part. Equivalent to ``complex(0.0, float('inf'))``.
274
275   .. versionadded:: 3.6
276
277
278.. data:: nan
279
280   A floating-point "not a number" (NaN) value.  Equivalent to
281   ``float('nan')``.
282
283   .. versionadded:: 3.6
284
285
286.. data:: nanj
287
288   Complex number with zero real part and NaN imaginary part. Equivalent to
289   ``complex(0.0, float('nan'))``.
290
291   .. versionadded:: 3.6
292
293
294.. index:: module: math
295
296Note that the selection of functions is similar, but not identical, to that in
297module :mod:`math`.  The reason for having two modules is that some users aren't
298interested in complex numbers, and perhaps don't even know what they are.  They
299would rather have ``math.sqrt(-1)`` raise an exception than return a complex
300number. Also note that the functions defined in :mod:`cmath` always return a
301complex number, even if the answer can be expressed as a real number (in which
302case the complex number has an imaginary part of zero).
303
304A note on branch cuts: They are curves along which the given function fails to
305be continuous.  They are a necessary feature of many complex functions.  It is
306assumed that if you need to compute with complex functions, you will understand
307about branch cuts.  Consult almost any (not too elementary) book on complex
308variables for enlightenment.  For information of the proper choice of branch
309cuts for numerical purposes, a good reference should be the following:
310
311
312.. seealso::
313
314   Kahan, W:  Branch cuts for complex elementary functions; or, Much ado about
315   nothing's sign bit.  In Iserles, A., and Powell, M. (eds.), The state of the art
316   in numerical analysis. Clarendon Press (1987) pp165--211.
317