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Using the connection between the cosine and secant functions gives the following table of values of the secant function for angles between 0 and 2 π:
For real values of argument  , the values of  are real.
In the points  , the values of  are algebraic. In several cases they can be integers  ,  , 1, or 2:
The values of  can be expressed using only square roots if  and  is a product of a power of 2 and distinct Fermat primes {3, 5, 17, 257, …}.
The function  is an analytical function of  that is defined over the whole complex  ‐plane and does not have branch cuts and branch points. It has an infinite set of singular points:
(a)  are the simple poles with residues  .
(b)  is an essential singular point.
It is a periodic function with a real period  :
The function  is an even function with mirror symmetry:
The first derivative of  has simple representations using either the  function or the  function:
The   derivative of  has much more complicated representations than symbolic   derivatives for  and  :
where  is the Kronecker delta symbol:  and  .
The function  satisfies the following first-order nonlinear differential equation:
The function  has the following series expansion at the origin that converges for all finite values  with  :
where  are the Euler numbers.
The secant function  can also be presented using other kinds of series by the following formulas:
The function  has a well-known integral representation through the following definite integral along the positive part of the real axis:
The famous infinite product representation for  can be easily rewritten as the following product representation for the secant function:
The secant function has the following limit representation:
Indefinite integrals of expressions involving the secant function can sometimes be expressed using elementary functions. However, special functions are frequently needed to express the results even when the integrands have a simple form (if they can be evaluated in closed form). Here are some examples:
Definite integrals that contain the secant function are sometimes simple and their values can be expressed through elementary functions. Here is one example:
Some special functions can be used to evaluate more complicated definite integrals. For example, polygamma and gamma functions and the Catalan constant are needed to express the following integrals:
Finite sums that contain the secant function have the following simple values:
The evaluation limit of the last formula in the previous subsubsection for  gives the following value for the corresponding infinite sum:
The following finite product from the secant can be represented through the cosecant function:
The following infinite product from the secant can be represented through the cosecant function:
The secants of a sum and a difference can be represented by the following formulas that are derived from the cosines of a sum and a difference:
In the case of multiple arguments  ,  ,  , …, the function  can be represented as a rational function including powers of a secant. Here are two examples:
The secant of a half‐angle can be represented by the following simple formula that is valid in a vertical strip:
To make this formula correct for all complex  , a complicated prefactor is needed:
where  contains the unit step, real part, imaginary part, and the floor functions.
The sum and difference of two secant functions can be described by the following formulas:
The product of two secants and the product of a secant and a cosecant have the following representations:
One of the most famous inequalities for a secant function is the following:
There are simple relations between the function  and its inverse function  :
The second formula is valid at least in the vertical strip  . Outside of this strip a much more complicated relation (containing the unit step, real part, and the floor functions) holds:
Secant and cosecant functions are connected by a very simple formula that contains the linear function in the argument:
The secant function can also be represented using other trigonometric functions by the following formulas:
The secant function has representations using the hyperbolic functions:
The secant function is used throughout mathematics, the exact sciences, and engineering.
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