PROCEEDINGS OF THE

AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY

Volume 135, Number 11, November 2007, Pages 3417–3424
S 0002-9939(07)09031-4
Article electronically published on July 3, 2007

THE ROGERS-RAMANUJAN CONTINUED FRACTION

AND A QUINTIC ITERATION FOR 1/π

HENG HUAT CHAN, SHAUN COOPER, AND WEN-CHIN LIAW

(Communicated by Jonathan M. Borwein)

Abstract. Properties of the Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction are used

to obtain a formula for calculating 1/π with quintic convergence.

1. Introduction
Let q be a complex number satisfying |q| < 1. The Rogers-Ramanujan continued
fraction is
q 1/5 q q2 q3
R(q) = .
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + ···
The purpose of this article is to use properties of the Rogers-Ramanujan continued
fraction to derive the following iteration for 1/π.
√
Theorem 1.1. Let g = (1 + 5)/2. Define sequences by

 1/5
s0 = g 10 + 1 − g 5 ,
k0 = 0,
 1/5
1 − g 5 s5n
rn+1 = ,
g 5 + s5n
1 − grn+1
sn+1 = ,
g + rn+1
(sn+1 + g)4 (g 2 s2n+1 + g 2 sn+1 + 1)
kn+1 = kn
g 2 (s2n+1 − g 2 sn+1 + g 2 )
2 × 5n−1/2 g 2 sn+1 (1 − gsn+1 )(g 2 s2n+1 − sn+1 + 1)
+ f (sn+1 ),
(sn+1 + g)(s2n+1 − g 2 sn+1 + g 2 )
where
f (s) = 4s4 − (2 + 5g)s3 + (5 − 3g)s2 + (6 + 7g)s + (5 + 3g).
Then kn converges to 1/π, and the rate of convergence is order 5.

Received by the editors December 9, 2005.

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 11Y60; Secondary 11F20, 11F27, 33E05.
The third author is grateful for the support from the National Science Council of Taiwan,
Republic of China, through Grant NSC95-2115-M-194-012.
c

2007 American Mathematical Society
Reverts to public domain 28 years from publication

3417
3418 HENG HUAT CHAN, SHAUN COOPER, AND WEN-CHIN LIAW

A cubic iteration for 1/π, based on Ramanujan’s cubic continued fraction

q 1/3 q + q2 q2 + q4 q3 + q6
G(q) = ,
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + ···
has been given by H. H. Chan and K. P. Loo [11]. Our Theorem 1.1 is the analogue
of [11, Theorem 2.1], for which the Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction takes the
role that Ramanujan’s cubic continued fraction played in [11]. The method, in both
the present work and in [11], is based on ideas developed in [10].
Theorem 1.1 is different from the quintic iterations of J. M. and P. B. Borwein in
[6, p. 175], [7] and [8, p. 202], which were obtained using quintic modular equations.
Other iterations for 1/π based on Dedekind’s η-function and modular functions
were given by J. M. Borwein and F. G. Garvan [9], and iterations based on elliptic
functions were given by Chan [10].

2. Some preliminary results

In this section, we collect some important results concerning the Rogers-Rama-
nujan continued fraction and some allied functions. Two good sources of informa-
tion about the Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction are the last chapter of the
introductory book by B. C. Berndt [4] and the expository article by W. Duke [13].
The first significant fact about the Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction is its
expression in terms of an infinite product:
∞
(1 − q 5j−4 )(1 − q 5j−1 )
(2.1) R(q) = q 1/5 .
j=1
(1 − q 5j−3 )(1 − q 5j−2 )

An outline of a proof of this result, together with references, can be found in

Berndt’s book [4].
Let
(2.2) X(q) = R5 (q),
(2.3) y(q) = R(q 5 ),
and
∞
(1 − q j )5
(2.4) Z(q) = .
j=1
(1 − q 5j )

When it is not necessary to emphasize the parameter q, we will simply write R, X,

y and Z for R(q), X(q), y(q) and Z(q), respectively.
We will use the golden ratio, which we denote by
√
1+ 5
g= .
2
We will require the formulas
1  (1 − q j/5 )
∞
1
(2.5) − 1 − R = 1/5
R q j=1
(1 − q 5j )

and
1  (1 − q j )6
∞
1
(2.6) − 11 − X = .
X q j=1 (1 − q 5j )6
 A QUINTIC ITERATION FOR 1/π 3419

Simple proofs of these results, using only the Jacobi triple product identity, have
been given by M. Hirschhorn [15]. More information about the identities (2.5) and
(2.6), and references to other proofs, can be found in the book by G. E. Andrews
and B. C. Berndt [1, pp. 11–12].
The function Z has a simple Lambert series expansion:
∞  
j jq j
(2.7) Z =1−5 ,
j=1
5 1 − qj

where 5j is the Legendre symbol. This formula was given by Ramanujan [16,
Chapter 19, Entry 9 (v)]. For proofs, see Berndt’s book [2, pp. 257–261] or the
papers by J. M. Dobbie [12] and Hirschhorn [14]. References to other proofs are
given in [2] and [14].
The functions R and R5 satisfy the modular properties [13, eqs. (3.2) and (7.3)]

 1 − gR(e−2πα )
(2.8) R e−2π/α = ,
g + R(e−2πα )

 1 − g 5 R5 (e−2πα )
(2.9) R5 e−2π/5α = 5 ,
g + R5 (e−2πα )

where α is any complex number satisfying Re(α) > 0. If we let α = t/5 and
rearrange, then (2.9) may be rewritten as


√ 

√ 
(2.10) g 5 + X e−2π t/5 g 5 + X e−2π/ 5t = 1 + g 10 .

This result appears in Ramanujan’s lost notebook [1, p. 91], [17, p. 364]. If we
replace α with 5α in (2.8) and combine the result with (2.9), we obtain a relation
between u = R(q) and v = R(q 5 ) given by
 5
1 − gv 1 − g 5 u5
(2.11) = 5 .
g+v g + u5
If we solve for u5 , we obtain
1 − 2v + 4v 2 − 3v 3 + v 4
(2.12) u5 = v .
1 + 3v + 4v 2 + 2v 3 + v 4
On the other hand, if we solve (2.11) for v, we obtain

5 5
1/5
u
1 − g 1−gg 5 +u5
(2.13) v=
1/5 .
5 u5
g + 1−gg 5 +u5

Equation (2.12) was given by Ramanujan in his first letter to Hardy [5, p. 29].
Equation (2.13) will be used in our iteration for 1/π.

3. A formula for 1/π

3.1. The functions A(q) and κ(t). Let
 √   
−2π t −2π
q = exp √ , p = exp √ , t > 0.
5 5t
3420 HENG HUAT CHAN, SHAUN COOPER, AND WEN-CHIN LIAW

If we logarithmically differentiate (2.2) and use (2.7), we obtain

⎛ ⎞
∞   j
dX j jq
(3.1) q = X ⎝1 − 5 j
⎠
dq j=1
5 1 − q
= ZX.
Differentiating (2.10) and using (3.1), we get
Z(q)X(q) Z(p)X(p)
(3.2) t 5
= 5 .
g + X(q) g + X(p)
We may rewrite (2.10) as
(g 5 + X(q))(1 − g 5 X(p))
(3.3) X(q) = ,
g 10 + 1
and replacing t with 1/t, we obtain
(g 5 + X(p))(1 − g 5 X(q))
(3.4) X(p) = .
g 10 + 1
Substituting (3.3) and (3.4) into (3.2), we deduce that
Z(q) Z(p)
(3.5) t 5
= .
1 − g X(q) 1 − g 5 X(p)
If we define
Z(q)
(3.6) A(q) = ,
1 − g 5 X(q)
then (3.5) reduces to
(3.7) tA(q) = A(p).
Differentiating (3.7) with respect to t, we find that
√
π t π 
A(q) − √ A(q) = √ A(p),
5 5t3
where
df
f(z) = z .
dz
Multiplying both sides by 2/πA(q), we deduce that
 √   
1 
2 t A(q) 1 
2 A(p)
(3.8) − √ + −√ = 0.
π 5 A(q) π 5t A(p)
If we define
√
1 
2 t A(q)
(3.9) κ(t) = − √ ,
πA(q) 5 A2 (q)
then (3.8) becomes, after dividing by A(q), simply
 
1
(3.10) κ(t) + tκ = 0.
t
 A QUINTIC ITERATION FOR 1/π 3421

3.2. The multiplier. Let

A(q)
(3.11) MN (q) = .
A(q N )
We will be particularly interested in M5 (q). Observe that by (3.6),
A(q)
M5 (q) =
A(q 5 )
Z(q) (1 − g 5 X(q 5 ))
= 5
(1 − g X(q)) Z(q 5 )
Z(q) (1 − g 5 y 5 )
= .
Z(q 5 ) (1 − g 5 X)
By (2.4), we have
⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞
∞
(1 − q j 5
) ∞
(1 − q 25j
) 5 5
M5 (q) = ⎝ ⎠⎝ ⎠ (1 − g y )
j=1
(1 − q 5j ) j=1
(1 − q 5j )5 (1 − g 5 X)
⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞
1 ∞ j 6
(1 − q ) ⎠ ⎝ ∞
(1 − q ) ⎠ (1 − g 5 y 5 )
25j
=⎝ q .
q j=1 (1 − q ) 5j 6
j=1
(1 − q j ) (1 − g 5 X)

By (2.5) and (2.6), we obtain

(X −1 − 11 − X) (1 − g 5 y 5 )
M5 (q) = .
(y −1 − 1 − y) (1 − g 5 X)
Now using (2.12) and the relations u5 = X and v = y, we may express X in terms
of y. The final result is
(y + g)4 (g 2 y 2 + g 2 y + 1)
(3.12) M5 (q) = .
g 2 (y 2 − g 2 y + g 2 )
Differentiating (3.12) gives
dM5 (y + g)3
(3.13) = 2 f (y),
dy (y − g 2 y + g 2 )2
where
(3.14) f (y) = 4y 4 − (2 + 5g)y 3 + (5 − 3g)y 2 + (6 + 7g)y + (5 + 3g).
By the chain rule, together with (2.2), (2.3) and (3.1), we obtain
dM5 dM5
q = Z(q 5 )y .
dq dy
Therefore, using (3.6), (3.12) and (3.13), we obtain
5 (q)
M Z(q 5 )y dM5
(3.15) =
M5 (q)A(q 5 ) M5 (q)A(q 5 ) dy
y(1 − g 5 y 5 ) dM5
=
M5 (q) dy
g y(1 − gy)(g 2 y 2 − y + 1)
2
= f (y).
(y + g)(y 2 − g 2 y + g 2 )
3422 HENG HUAT CHAN, SHAUN COOPER, AND WEN-CHIN LIAW

3.3. A functional equation for κ. In this section, we obtain a formula that

expresses κ(tN 2 ) in terms of κ(t). The iteration for 1/π is based on this formula.
Logarithmically differentiating (3.11), we get
N (q)
M 
A(q)  N)
A(q
= −N .
MN (q) A(q) A(q N )
Divide by A(q N ) and use (3.11) again to get
N (q)
M 
A(q)  N)
A(q
N
= N
−N 2 N
MN (q)A(q ) A(q)A(q ) A (q )

A(q)  N)
A(q
= MN (q) 2 −N 2 N .
A (q) A (q )

Now multiply by 2 t/5 and use (3.9) to get
  
t MN (q) 
t A(q)  N)
tN 2 A(q
2 = M N (q) 2 − 2
5 MN (q)A(q N ) 5 A2 (q) 5 A2 (q N )
   
1 1 2
= MN (q) − κ(t) − − κ(tN )
πA(q) πA(q N )
= κ(tN 2 ) − MN (q)κ(t).
Therefore,

t MN (q)
2
(3.16) κ(tN ) = MN (q)κ(t) + 2 .
5 MN (q)A(q N )
√
3.4. An iteration for 1/π. If we let α = 1/ 5 in (2.9) and solve the resulting
quadratic equation in R5 , we obtain

√ 
 1/5
R e−2π/ 5 = g 10 + 1 − g 5 .

Now let t = 1 in (3.10) to get

κ(1) = 0.
Define two sequences by
kn = κ(52n ),

√
2n−1

sn = R e−2π 5 ,

where n is a non-negative integer. By the calculations just done, we have

 1/5
k0 = 0, s0 = g 10 + 1 − g 5 .

Furthermore, expanding (3.9) in a series gives

  
1 √ 1 t √
κ(t) = − (1 + 5 5) + q + O( tq 2 ), as t → ∞.
π 2π 5
Therefore
   
1 √ 1 5n 2π n
(3.17) kn − ∼ −(1 + 5 5) +√ exp − √ 5 , as n → ∞.
π 2π 5 5
 A QUINTIC ITERATION FOR 1/π 3423

It follows that kn converges √to 1/π and the rate of convergence is order 5. The
2n−1
identity (2.13) with q = e−2π 5 gives

1/5
1−g 5 s5
1 − g g5 +s5n
(3.18) sn+1 =

n
1/5 .
1−g 5 s5n
g + g5 +s5
n

Let N = 5 and t = 52n in (3.16). We find that

√ 

√  5 e−2π 52n−1
M
2n−1
kn+1 = M5 e−2π 5 kn + 2 × 5n−1/2
√ 
√ .
M5 e−2π 52n−1 A e−2π 52n+1

Using (3.12) and (3.15), we have

(sn+1 + g)4 (g 2 s2n+1 + g 2 sn+1 + 1)
(3.19) kn+1 = kn
g 2 (s2n+1 − g 2 sn+1 + g 2 )
2 × 5n−1/2 g 2 sn+1 (1 − gsn+1 )(g 2 s2n+1 − sn+1 + 1)
+ f (sn+1 ).
(sn+1 + g)(s2n+1 − g 2 sn+1 + g 2 )
Identities (3.17), (3.18) and (3.19) imply Theorem 1.1.
Remark 3.1. The values of 1/k1 , 1/k2 , 1/k3 , 1/k4 and 1/k5 give π correct to 3, 27,
148, 758 and 3808 decimal places, respectively.

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Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 2,

Singapore 117543
E-mail address: matchh@nus.edu.sg

Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University–Albany,

Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
E-mail address: s.cooper@massey.ac.nz

Department of Mathematics, National Chung Cheng University, Minhsiung, Chiayi

621, Taiwan, Republic of China
E-mail address: wcliaw@math.ccu.edu.tw