English

On refinements of two-term Machin-like formulas

Number Theory 2026-01-16 v1

Abstract

We develop a refinement process for two-term Machin-like formulas: a0arctanu0+a1arctanu1=π4a_0 \arctan{u_0} + a_1 \arctan{u_1} = \frac{\pi}{4} (where a0,a1Za_0 , a_1 \in \mathbb{Z}, u0,u1Q+u_0 , u_1 \in \mathbb{Q}_+^*, u0>u1u_0 > u_1) by exploiting the continued fraction expansion of the ratio α:=arctanu0arctanu1\alpha := \frac{\arctan{u_0}}{\arctan{u_1}}. This construction yields a sequence of derived two-term Machin-like formulas: anarctanun+an+1arctanun+1=π4a_{- n} \arctan{u_n} + a_{- n + 1} \arctan{u_{n + 1}} = \frac{\pi}{4} (nNn \in \mathbb{N}) with positive rational arguments unu_n decreasing to zero and corresponding integer coefficients ana_{- n}. We derive closed forms and estimates for ana_{-n} and unu_n in terms of the convergents of α\alpha and prove that the associated rational sequence (anun+an+1un+1)n(a_{- n} u_n + a_{- n + 1} u_{n + 1})_n converges to π/4\pi/4 with geometric decay. The method is illustrated using Euler's two-term Machin-like formula : arctan(1/2)+arctan(1/3)=π/4\arctan(1/2) + \arctan(1/3) = \pi/4.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.10300,
  title  = {On refinements of two-term Machin-like formulas},
  author = {Bakir Farhi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.10300},
  year   = {2026}
}

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10 pages