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TheoremProved

Euler's reflection formula

Statement

For every zz with 0<Re⁡(z)<10 < \operatorname{Re}(z) < 1, Γ(z)Γ(1−z)=πsin⁡(πz)\Gamma(z)\Gamma(1-z) = \dfrac{\pi}{\sin(\pi z)}.

Why is it true?

It links a purely algebraic-looking object (a ratio of two Gamma values) to trigonometry, and it is exactly the identity that makes the poles of Γ\Gamma at non-positive integers line up with the zeros of sin⁡(πz)\sin(\pi z) at all integers — the residue calculus from contour integration is what produces the sine on the right-hand side.

Proof sketch

Step 1 (Reduce to the Beta function). Using B(x,y)=Γ(x)Γ(y)Γ(x+y)B(x,y) = \dfrac{\Gamma(x)\Gamma(y)}{\Gamma(x+y)} with y=1−zy=1-z, Γ(z)Γ(1−z)=B(z,1−z)=∫01tz−1(1−t)−z dt\Gamma(z)\Gamma(1-z) = B(z,1-z) = \int_0^1 t^{z-1}(1-t)^{-z}\,dt. Substituting u=t/(1−t)u = t/(1-t) turns this into ∫0∞uz−11+u du\displaystyle\int_0^\infty \dfrac{u^{z-1}}{1+u}\,du for 0<Re⁡(z)<10<\operatorname{Re}(z)<1.

Step 2 (Set up a keyhole contour). To evaluate I=∫0∞uz−11+u duI=\int_0^\infty \dfrac{u^{z-1}}{1+u}\,du, use the branch of wz−1w^{z-1} cut along the positive real axis and integrate wz−11+w\dfrac{w^{z-1}}{1+w} around a keyhole contour: outward just above the cut, a large circle of radius RR, back just below the cut, and a small circle of radius ε\varepsilon around 00.

Step 3 (Residue at the only pole). The only singularity of wz−11+w\dfrac{w^{z-1}}{1+w} inside the contour is the simple pole at w=−1w=-1, where (using the branch with argument π\pi there) Res=(−1)z−1=eiπ(z−1)\mathrm{Res} = (-1)^{z-1} = e^{i\pi(z-1)}, so the residue theorem gives the keyhole integral as 2πi eiπ(z−1)2\pi i\, e^{i\pi(z-1)}.

Step 4 (Compare the two sides of the cut and let R→∞R\to\infty, ε→0\varepsilon\to 0). The large and small circles vanish for 0<Re⁡(z)<10<\operatorname{Re}(z)<1, and the two straight segments differ by the phase picked up by wz−1w^{z-1} crossing the cut, giving I(1−e2πi(z−1))=2πi eiπ(z−1)I\big(1 - e^{2\pi i(z-1)}\big) = 2\pi i\, e^{i\pi(z-1)}. Solving for II and simplifying the exponentials using sin⁡θ=eiθ−e−iθ2i\sin\theta = \frac{e^{i\theta}-e^{-i\theta}}{2i} gives I=πsin⁡(πz)I = \dfrac{\pi}{\sin(\pi z)}, so combining with Step 1, Γ(z)Γ(1−z)=πsin⁡(πz)\Gamma(z)\Gamma(1-z) = \dfrac{\pi}{\sin(\pi z)}.

Topics that use this theorem

Step-by-step proofs

No step-by-step proof yet for this theorem.

References

  1. Frank W. J. Olver, Ronald F. Boisvert, Daniel W. Lozier, Charles W. Clark (eds.) (2023). NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions, Chapter 5: Gamma Function
  2. Frank W. J. Olver, Ronald F. Boisvert, Daniel W. Lozier, Charles W. Clark (eds.) (2023). NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions, Chapter 25: Zeta and Related Functions
  3. David J. Platt, Timothy S. Trudgian (2021). The Riemann Hypothesis Is True Up to 3×10^12 · arXiv:2004.09765