Jacobi triple product


In mathematics, the Jacobi triple product is the mathematical identity:
for complex numbers x and y, with |x| < 1 and y ≠ 0.
It was introduced by in his work Fundamenta Nova Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum.
The Jacobi triple product identity is the Macdonald identity for the affine root system of type A1, and is the Weyl denominator formula for the corresponding affine Kac–Moody algebra.

Properties

The basis of Jacobi's proof relies on Euler's pentagonal number theorem, which is itself a specific case of the Jacobi Triple Product Identity.
Let and. Then we have
The Jacobi Triple Product also allows the Jacobi theta function to be written as an infinite product as follows:
Let and
Then the Jacobi theta function
can be written in the form
Using the Jacobi Triple Product Identity we can then write the theta function as the product
There are many different notations used to express the Jacobi triple product. It takes on a concise form when expressed in terms of q-Pochhammer symbols:
where is the infinite q-Pochhammer symbol.
It enjoys a particularly elegant form when expressed in terms of the Ramanujan theta function. For it can be written as

Proof

Let then. Since fx is meromorphic for |y| > 0 it has a Laurent series which satisfies so that and hence
Evaluating is more technical, one method is to set y=1 and show both the numerator and the denominator of are weight 1/2 modular under, since they are also 1-periodic and bounded on the upper half plane the quotient has to be constant so that.
A simple proof is given by G. E. Andrews based on two identities of Euler. For the analytic case, see Apostol, the first edition of which was published in 1976. Also see links below for a proof motivated with physics due to Borcherds.