10
$\begingroup$

Can anyone help me find a formal reference for the following identity about the summation of squared tangent function:

$ \sum_{k=1}^m\tan^2\frac{k\pi}{2m+1} = 2m^2+m,\quad m\in\mathbb{N}^+. $

I have proved it, however, the proof is too long to be included in a paper. So I just want to refer to some books or published articles.

I also found it to be a special case of the following identity,

$ \sum_{k=1}^{\lfloor\frac{n-1}{2}\rfloor}\tan^2\frac{k\pi}{n} = \frac16(n-1)(-(-1)^n (n + 1) + 2 n - 1),\quad n\in\mathbb{N}^+ $

which is provided by Wolfram.

Thank you very much!

  • 0
    It's similar to Proof 9 in [Robin Chapman's list of ways to evaluate $\zeta(2)$](http://empslocal.ex.ac.uk/people/staff/rjchapma/etc/zeta2.pdf).2013-07-31

2 Answers 2

3

Jolley, Summation of Series, formula 445 is $\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\tan^2\left(\theta+{k\pi\over n}\right)=n^2\cot^2\left({n\pi\over2}+n\theta\right)+n(n-1)$ Let $\displaystyle\theta={\pi\over2m+1}$, $n=2m+1$ and we almost have your sum; we have twice your sum, since the angles here go from just over zero to just under $\pi$, while in your sum they go from just over zero to just under $\pi/2$, and $\tan^2\theta=\tan^2(\pi-\theta)$.

Jolley's reference is to page 73 of S L Loney, Plane Trigonometry, Cambridge University Press, 1900. This book is best known from its part in Ramanujan's early education.

2

In fact, this type of formula is related to binomial coefficients. I give a proof of the general case I found in my post Tan binomial formulas from a set S and its k-subset