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2 Journal of Integer Sequences, Vol. 13 (2010),

3
47 6
Article 10.5.7
23 11

Full Description of Ramanujan

Cubic Polynomials

Roman Witula
Institute of Mathematics
Silesian University of Technology
Kaszubska 23
Gliwice 44-100
Poland
roman.witula@polsl.pl

Dedicated to Vladimir Shevelev – for his inspiration

Abstract
We give a full description of the Ramanujan cubic polynomials, introduced and first
investigated by V. Shevelev. We also present some applications of this result.

1 Introduction
Shevelev [2] called the cubic polynomial
x3 + p x 2 + q x + r (1)
a Ramanujan cubic polynomial (RCP), if it has real roots x1 , x2 , x3 and the condition
p r1/3 + 3 r2/3 + q = 0 (2)
is satisfied. It should be noticed, that if x1 , x2 , x3 are roots of RCP of the form (1), then the
following formulas hold (see [2, 5]):
 1/3
1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3
x1 + x2 + x3 = −p − 6 r + 3 (9 r − p q) , (3)
 1/3
(x1 x2 )1/3 + (x1 x3 )1/3 + (x2 x3 )1/3 = q + 6 r2/3 − 3 (9 r2 − p q r)1/3 , (4)

1
and Shevelev’s formula [2]:
 x 1/3  x 1/3  x 1/3  x 1/3  x 1/3  x 1/3  p q 1/3
1 2 1 3 2 3
+ + + + + = −9 . (5)
x2 x1 x3 x1 x3 x2 r
We note that (3) easily implies all three Ramanujan equalities
 1 1/3  2 1/3  4 1/3 √
3

1/3
− + = 2−1 , (6)
9 9 9 √
 2 π 1/3  4 π 1/3  8 π 1/3  5 − 3 3 7 1/3
cos + cos + cos = , (7)
7 7 7 √ 2
 2 π 1/3  4 π 1/3  8 π 1/3  3 3 9 − 6 1/3
cos + cos + cos = , (8)
9 9 9 2
since the following decompositions of polynomials hold: (19), which implies (6) after some
algebraic transformations for every r ∈ R \ {0} (the equality (6) we obtain by setting r =
8/729), (28), which implies (7) and at last (10), which implies (8).
In [2] many interesting and fundamental properties of RCP’s are presented.
The object of this paper is to prove the following fact
Theorem 1. All RCP’s have the following form
P (γ − 1) P (2 − γ)
x3 − r1/3 x2 − r2/3 x + r =
(γ − 1) (γ − 2) (1 − γ) (2 − γ)
 r1/3    2 − γ 1/3 
= x− x − (γ − 1) r1/3 x − r , (9)
2−γ 1−γ
where r ∈ R \ {0}, γ ∈ R \ {1, 2}, and
3
 2π 4π 8π
P (γ) := γ − 3 γ + 1 = γ − 2 cos γ − 2 cos γ − 2 cos . (10)
9 9 9
Corollary 2. From formulas (3), (4) and (5) for the sums of the real cube root of the roots
of polynomial (9), the following equalities can be generated

2
p
γ 3 − 9 γ − 1 + 3 γ 2 − 3 γ + 3 3 (γ − 1) (γ − 2) =
p p p 3
= 3 3 2 3 2
1 − γ − (2 − γ) (1 − γ) + (2 − γ) , (11)

p
γ 3 − 9 γ + 9 − 3 γ 2 − 3 γ + 3 3 (γ − 1) (γ − 2) =
p p p 3
= 3 3 2 3 2
2 − γ − (1 − γ) (2 − γ) − (1 − γ) , (12)

which, after replacing γ := 3 − γ, is equivalent to (11);

s s
1 p3 1 − γ 2−γ
+ (2 − γ) (1 − γ) − 3
+ 3
+
(2 − γ)2 (1 − γ)2
p
3
(2 − γ) (1 − γ)
s s !3
(1 − γ) 2 (2 − γ) 2 P (γ − 1) P (2 − γ)
+ 3 − 3 =9− , (13)
2−γ 1−γ (γ − 1)2 (2 − γ)2

2
i.e.,
3
γ 2 − 3 γ + 3 = 9 (γ − 1)2 (2 − γ)2 − P (γ − 1) P (2 − γ). (14)
The above relations essentially supplement the set of identities presented in [1]. Further-
more, (11)–(14) entail Ramanujan’s equalities (6)–(8), as well as all the other expressions of
this type discussed in [2, 4, 5].
In the second part of this paper we will discuss an important Shevelev parameter prq
of RCP’s having the form (1). We note, that from (17) the following Shevelev inequality
follows:
pq 9
≤ . (15)
r 4
We remark that for every a ∈ R, a ≤ 49 , there exist at most six different sets of RCP’s,
depending only on values r and having the same value of prq , equal to a. In the sequel,
there exist only two sets of RCP’s, depending on r ∈ R, having the value prq = 2 (see the
descriptions (40) and (41)). However, there is only one family of RCP’s, depending on r ∈ R
with prq = 49 (see the descriptions (19)). This fact is proven in Section 2, but it independently
results from (31), (9), (14) and from the following identity

3
pq (γ − 1) (γ − 2) + 1
=9−
2 . (16)
r (γ − 1) (γ − 2)

From (16) we get

pq 9 n 1 o n 3 o
= ⇔ t := (γ − 1) (γ − 2) ∈ − , 2 ⇔ γ ∈ 0, , 3 ,
r 4 4 2
since we have
d (t + 1)3  (t + 1)2
9− = t (2 − t) .
dt t2 t4
 3
All three values γ ∈ 0, 2 , 3 generate the same set of RCP’s of the form (19).

2 Proof of Theorem 1
Let us indicate that from condition (2) the following equality follows (see [2]):
9 p q 3 p 2
− = + 1/3 . (17)
4 r 2 r
Let  3  1/3
p := α − r .
2
By (17) we have
pq 9
= − α2 ,
r 4
 3  2/3
q =− α+ r .
2

3
In other words, an RCP has the form
3
 3  1/3 2  3  2/3
x + α− r x − α+ r x+r (18)
2 2
for some α, r ∈ R. If α = 0, the following decomposition holds
3 3  1 
x3 − r1/3 x2 − r2/3 x + r = x − r1/3 x + r1/3 x − 2 r1/3 .



(19)
2 2 2
Accordingly, the roots x1 , x2 , x3 of the polynomial (18) have the form (r 6= 0):
1 
+ β r1/3 , x2 = −1 + γ r1/3 , x3 = 2 + δ r1/3



x1 = (20)
2
for certain β, γ, δ ∈ R. Then from Vieta’s formulae the following equations can be obtained


α=− β+γ+δ , (21)
1 
1 


3
+ β −1 + γ + + β 2 + δ + −1 + γ 2 + δ = −α − , (22)
2 2 2
1 


+ β −1 + γ 2 + δ = 1. (23)
2
From (21) and (22) we receive
3
(δ − γ) − δ γ
β= 2 , (24)
δ+γ
which, by (23), implies
δ 2 γ 2 − 3 γ + 2 + δ 3 γ 2 − 7 γ + 3 + 2 γ 2 − 3 γ = 0.

Hence, after some manipulations, we get

2
∆δ = γ 2 − 3 γ + 3 ,
and next
γ 3 − 2γ
δ= or δ= . (25)
1−γ γ−2
γ γ
If we choose δ = 1−γ , then by (24) we have β = 2 (2−γ)
, and by (20) we obtain
r1/3 2 − γ 1/3
x1 = , x2 = (γ − 1) r1/3 , x3 = r ,
2−γ 1−γ
(26)
 γ γ  −2 γ 3 + 9 γ 2 − 9 γ
α=− +γ+ = .
2 (2 − γ) 1−γ 2 (γ − 1) (γ − 2)
Finally
−γ 3 + 3 γ 2 − 3 1/3 2 γ 3 − 6 γ 2 + 9 γ − 3 2/3
x3 + r x + r x+r =
(γ − 1) (γ − 2) (γ − 1) (γ − 2)
 r1/3    2 − γ 1/3 
= x− x − (γ − 1) r1/3 x − r , (27)
2−γ 1−γ
which is compatible with (9).
On the other hand, if we choose δ = 3−2 γ−2
γ
, then β = γ−3
2 (γ−1)
, and we obtain the same
values of x1 , x2 , x3 and α as in (26) above. 

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Example 3. Since
 2π 4π 8π
x − 2 cos x − 2 cos x − 2 cos = x3 + x2 − 2 x − 1 (28)
7 7 7
is the RCP [4], then, from (9) the following relations can be deduced
2π
γ = 1 − 2 cos , r = −1,
7
P (γ − 1) P (2 − γ)
= 1 and = 2,
(1 − γ) (2 − γ) (1 − γ) (2 − γ)

which implies the equalities

1 4π γ−2 8π
= 2 cos , = 2 cos ,
γ−2 7 1−γ 7

cos 27π + cos 29π cos 27π + cos 49π cos 27π + cos 89π




1
2π 2π

=− , (29)
cos 7 1 + 2 cos 7 4
and the equivalent one
1
+ cos 27π − cos 29π 1
+ cos 27π − cos 49π 1
+ cos 27π − cos 89π




2 2 2 1
= . (30)
cos 27π 1 + 2 cos 27π


2

pq
3 Values of for RCP’s
r
By (9) we obtain
pq P (γ − 1) P (2 − γ)
= . (31)
r (γ − 1)2 (2 − γ)2
pq
The examples of RCP’s, which are given in [4, 5] (see also [2]), are produced by r
equal
only to 2, −40, −180.
The following theorem holds.

Theorem 4. For every a ≤ 49 there exist at most six different sets of RCP’s, depending on
r ∈ R, having the same value of prq , equal to a.

Proof. The proof of this theorem results easily from inequality (15) and from relation (31).

pq
We will present now a series of remarks, connected with the parameter a = r
.

Remark 5. Let us consider the following equation

P (γ − 1) P (2 − γ)
=a (a ∈ R). (32)
(γ − 1)2 (2 − γ)2

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This equation, by (16), after substitution t := (γ − 1) (γ − 2), is equivalent to the following
one
R(t) := t3 + (a − 6) t2 + 3 t + 1 = 0. (33)
a−6
If we replace t in (33) by τ − 3
, then the canonical form of R(t) can be generated

1
2
2
τ3 + 3 − a−6 τ+ (a − 6)3 − (a − 6) + 1. (34)
3 27
But the polynomial (34) has only one real root, if and only if

1 2
2 1 1
2
3
(a − 6)3 − (a − 6) + 1 + 3− a−6 > 0 ⇐⇒
4 27 27 3
4 1  9
⇐⇒ (a − 6)3 − (a − 6)2 − 2 (a − 6) + 5 > 0 ⇐⇒ (a − 9)2 a − > 0.
27 3 4
9
Since the case a = 4
was discussed in (19), the polynomial R(t) has three real roots for every
a ≤ 94 .

Remark 6. If γ0 ∈ C is a root of equation (32) (for fixed a ∈ C) then also γ = 3 − γ0

γ0
and γ = 1−γ 0
are roots of this one. We note, that the last fact derives from the following
identities  1 
(1 − γ)3 P = P (2 − γ)
γ−1
and γ − 2
(1 − γ)3 P = P (γ − 1).
γ−1
Consequently, the roots of (32) are also
3 − γ0 3 − γ0 γ0 3 − 4 γ0 3 − γ0 4 γ0 − 9
γ= = , γ =3− = , γ =3− = .
1 − (3 − γ0 ) γ0 − 2 1 − γ0 1 − γ0 γ0 − 2 γ0 − 2

Remark 7. Let us separately discuss equation (32) for a = 2. After substitution t = 1−τ
in (33), the following equation is derived

τ 3 + τ 2 − 2 τ − 1 = 0, (35)

i.e. (see [4]):

 2π 4π 8π
τ − 2 cos τ − 2 cos τ − 2 cos = 0. (36)
7 7 7
Hence, equation (32) for a = 2 is equivalent to each of the following three equations
2π 4π 4π
(γ − 1) (γ − 2) = 1 − 2 cos ⇐⇒ γ − 1 = −2 cos ∨ γ − 2 = 2 cos , (37)
7 7 7
or
4π 8π 8π
(γ − 1) (γ − 2) = 1 − 2 cos ⇐⇒ γ − 1 = −2 cos ∨ γ − 2 = 2 cos , (38)
7 7 7

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or
8π 2π 2π
(γ − 1) (γ − 2) = 1 − 2 cos ⇐⇒ γ − 1 = −2 cos ∨ γ − 2 = 2 cos . (39)
7 7 7
For the values n 2k π o
γ ∈ 1 − 2 cos : k = 1, 2, 3 ,
7
we obtain the same set of RCP’s

x3 + r1/3 x2 − 2 r2/3 x − r, r ∈ R. (40)

On the other hand, for values

n 2k π o
γ ∈ 2 + 2 cos : k = 1, 2, 3 ,
7
we obtain the following set of RCP’s

x3 − 2 r1/3 x2 − r2/3 x + r, r ∈ R. (41)

We note, that RCP of the form (see [2, 4]):

x3 + 7 x2 − 98 x − 343 =
  
2π  2π 8 π 3 4π  2π 4 π 3
= x − 128 cos sin sin x − 128 cos sin sin ·
7 7 7 7 7 7
 
8π  4π 8 π 3
· x − 128 cos sin sin
7 7 7
pq
belongs to the set (40) of RCP’s with r
= 2 for r = 73 , because of the following remark.
Remark 8. Suppose, that α ∈ { 2π
7
, 4π
7
, 8π
7
}. Then, we have sin α = sin 8α, which implies

sin 2α
2 sin 2α sin α
3
3

14 cos α = 7 = 8 sin α sin 2α sin 4α = 64 sin 2α sin 4α =
sin α sin α sin 4α
sin 8α
3
3
3
= 64 sin 2α sin 4α = 128 cos 4α sin 2α sin 4α .
sin 4α

References
[1] B. C. Berndt, H. H. Chan and L.-Ch. Zhang, Radicals and units in Ramanujan’s work,
Acta Arith. 87 (1998), 145–158.

[2] V. Shevelev, On Ramanujan Cubic Polynomials, preprint,

http://arxiv.org/abs/0711.3420, 2007.

[3] N. J. A. Sloane, The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, available electronically

at http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/, 2010.

7
 [4] R. Witula and D. Slota, New Ramanujan-type formulas and quasi-Fibonacci numbers
of order 7, J. Integer Seq. 10 (2007), Article 07.5.6.

[5] R. Witula, Ramanujan type trigonometric formulas: the general form for the argument
2π
7
, J. Integer Seq. 12 (2009), Article 09.8.5.

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 11C08; Secondary 11B83, 33B10.

Keywords: Ramanujan cubic polynomial.

Received December 1 2009; revised versions received March 2 2010; May 4 2010. Published
in Journal of Integer Sequences, May 5 2010.

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