Asymptote

In analytic geometry, an asymptote

(/ˈæsɪmptoʊt/) of a curve is a line such
that the distance between the curve and
the line approaches zero as one or both
of the x or y coordinates tends to infinity.
In projective geometry and related
contexts, an asymptote of a curve is a
line which is tangent to the curve at a
point at infinity.[1][2]
 The graph of a function with a horizontal
(y = 0), vertical (x = 0), and oblique
asymptote (purple line, given by y = 2x).

A curve intersecting an asymptote infinitely

many times.

The word asymptote is derived from the

Greek ἀσύμπτωτος (asumptōtos) which
means "not falling together", from ἀ priv.
+ σύν "together" + πτωτ-ός "fallen".[3] The
term was introduced by Apollonius of
Perga in his work on conic sections, but
in contrast to its modern meaning, he
used it to mean any line that does not
intersect the given curve.[4]

There are three kinds of asymptotes:

horizontal, vertical and oblique. For curves
given by the graph of a function y = ƒ(x),
horizontal asymptotes are horizontal
lines that the graph of the function
approaches as x tends to +∞ or −∞.
Vertical asymptotes are vertical lines
near which the function grows without
bound. An oblique asymptote has a slope
that is non-zero but finite, such that the
graph of the function approaches it as x
tends to +∞ or −∞.

More generally, one curve is a curvilinear

asymptote of another (as opposed to a
linear asymptote) if the distance between
the two curves tends to zero as they tend
to infinity, although the term asymptote
by itself is usually reserved for linear
asymptotes.

Asymptotes convey information about

the behavior of curves in the large, and
determining the asymptotes of a function
is an important step in sketching its
graph.[5] The study of asymptotes of
functions, construed in a broad sense,
forms a part of the subject of asymptotic
analysis.
Introduction

graphed on Cartesian coordinates. The

x and y-axis are the asymptotes.

The idea that a curve may come

arbitrarily close to a line without actually
becoming the same may seem to
counter everyday experience. The
representations of a line and a curve as
marks on a piece of paper or as pixels on
a computer screen have a positive width.
So if they were to be extended far enough
they would seem to merge, at least as far
as the eye could discern. But these are
physical representations of the
corresponding mathematical entities; the
line and the curve are idealized concepts
whose width is 0 (see Line). Therefore,
the understanding of the idea of an
asymptote requires an effort of reason
rather than experience.

Consider the graph of the function

shown in this section. The

coordinates of the points on the curve

are of the form where x is a

number other than 0. For example, the

graph contains the points (1, 1), (2, 0.5),
(5, 0.2), (10, 0.1), ... As the values of
become larger and larger, say 100, 1,000,
10,000 ..., putting them far to the right of
the illustration, the corresponding values
of , .01, .001, .0001, ..., become
infinitesimal relative to the scale shown.
But no matter how large becomes, its

reciprocal is never 0, so the curve

never actually touches the x-axis.

Similarly, as the values of become
smaller and smaller, say .01, .001, .0001,
..., making them infinitesimal relative to
the scale shown, the corresponding
values of , 100, 1,000, 10,000 ...,
become larger and larger. So the curve
extends farther and farther upward as it
comes closer and closer to the y-axis.
Thus, both the x and y-axis are
asymptotes of the curve. These ideas are
part of the basis of concept of a limit in
mathematics, and this connection is
explained more fully below.[6]

Asymptotes of functions

The asymptotes most commonly

encountered in the study of calculus are
of curves of the form y = ƒ(x). These can
be computed using limits and classified
into horizontal, vertical and oblique
asymptotes depending on their
orientation. Horizontal asymptotes are
horizontal lines that the graph of the
function approaches as x tends to +∞ or
−∞. As the name indicates they are
parallel to the x-axis. Vertical asymptotes
are vertical lines (perpendicular to the x-
axis) near which the function grows
without bound. Oblique asymptotes are
diagonal lines such that the difference
between the curve and the line
approaches 0 as x tends to +∞ or −∞.

Vertical asymptotes

The line x = a is a vertical asymptote of

the graph of the function y = ƒ(x) if at
least one of the following statements is
true:
 1.

2.

where is the limit as x approaches

the value a from the left (from lesser

values), and is the limit as x

approaches a from the right.

For example, if ƒ(x) = x/(x–1), the

numerator approaches 1 and the
denominator approaches 0 as x
approaches 1. So
and the curve has a vertical asymptote x
= 1.

The function ƒ(x) may or may not be

defined at a, and its precise value at the
point x = a does not affect the
asymptote. For example, for the function

has a limit of +∞ as x → 0+, ƒ(x) has the

vertical asymptote x = 0, even though
ƒ(0) = 5. The graph of this function does
intersect the vertical asymptote once, at
(0, 5). It is impossible for the graph of a
function to intersect a vertical asymptote
(or a vertical line in general) in more than
one point. Moreover, if a function is
continuous at each point where it is
defined, it is impossible that its graph
does intersect any vertical asymptote.

A common example of a vertical

asymptote is the case of a rational
function at a point x such that the
denominator is zero and the numerator is
non-zero.

If a function has a vertical asymptote,

then it isn't necessarily true that the
derivative of the function has a vertical
asymptote at the same place. An
example is

at .
This function has a vertical asymptote at
because

and

The derivative of is the function

For the sequence of points

 for

that approaches both from the

left and from the right, the values
are constantly . Therefore, both one-
sided limits of at can be neither
nor . Hence doesn't
have a vertical asymptote at .

Horizontal asymptotes

The arctangent function has two different asymptotes

Horizontal asymptotes are horizontal

lines that the graph of the function
approaches as x → ±∞. The horizontal
line y = c is a horizontal asymptote of the
function y = ƒ(x) if

or .

In the first case, ƒ(x) has y = c as

asymptote when x tends to −∞, and in the
second ƒ(x) has y = c as an asymptote as
x tends to +∞.

For example, the arctangent function

satisfies

and
So the line y = –π/2 is a horizontal
asymptote for the arctangent when x
tends to –∞, and y = π/2 is a horizontal
asymptote for the arctangent when x
tends to +∞.

Functions may lack horizontal

asymptotes on either or both sides, or
may have one horizontal asymptote that
is the same in both directions. For
example, the function ƒ(x) = 1/(x2+1) has
a horizontal asymptote at y = 0 when x
tends both to −∞ and +∞ because,
respectively,
Other common functions that have one
or two horizontal asymptotes include
x ↦ 1/x (that has an hyperbola as it
graph), the Gaussian function
the error function, and
the logistic function.

Oblique asymptotes

In the graph of , the y-

axis (x = 0) and the line y = x are both
asymptotes.

When a linear asymptote is not parallel to

the x- or y-axis, it is called an oblique
asymptote or slant asymptote. A function
ƒ(x) is asymptotic to the straight line
y = mx + n (m ≠ 0) if

In the first case the line y = mx + n is an

oblique asymptote of ƒ(x) when x tends to
+∞, and in the second case the line
y = mx + n is an oblique asymptote of ƒ(x)
when x tends to −∞.

An example is ƒ(x) = x + 1/x, which has

the oblique asymptote y = x (that is m = 1,
n = 0) as seen in the limits
Elementary methods for
identifying asymptotes

The asymptotes of many elementary

functions can be found without the
explicit use of limits (although the
derivations of such methods typically use
limits).
General computation of oblique
asymptotes for functions

The oblique asymptote, for the function

f(x), will be given by the equation y = mx +
n. The value for m is computed first and
is given by

where a is either or depending

on the case being studied. It is good
practice to treat the two cases
separately. If this limit doesn't exist then
there is no oblique asymptote in that
direction.
Having m then the value for n can be
computed by

where a should be the same value used

before. If this limit fails to exist then
there is no oblique asymptote in that
direction, even should the limit defining
m exist. Otherwise y = mx + n is the
oblique asymptote of ƒ(x) as x tends to a.

For example, the function

ƒ(x) = (2x2 + 3x + 1)/x has

and then
so that y = 2x + 3 is the asymptote of ƒ(x)
when x tends to +∞.

The function ƒ(x) = ln x has

and then

, which does not exist.

So y = ln x does not have an asymptote

when x tends to +∞.
Asymptotes for rational functions

A rational function has at most one

horizontal asymptote or oblique (slant)
asymptote, and possibly many vertical
asymptotes.

The degree of the numerator and degree

of the denominator determine whether or
not there are any horizontal or oblique
asymptotes. The cases are tabulated
below, where deg(numerator) is the
degree of the numerator, and
deg(denominator) is the degree of the
denominator.
The cases of horizontal and oblique asymptotes for rational functions
deg(numerator) Asymptote for
Asymptotes in general Example
−deg(denominator) example

<0

y = the ratio of leading

=0
coefficients

y = the quotient of the

Euclidean division of the
=1
numerator by the
denominator

no linear asymptote,
>1 none but a curvilinear
asymptote exists

The vertical asymptotes occur only when

the denominator is zero (If both the
numerator and denominator are zero, the
multiplicities of the zero are compared).
For example, the following function has
vertical asymptotes at x = 0, and x = 1,
but not at x = 2.
Oblique asymptotes of rational functions

Black: the graph of .

Red: the asymptote . Green: difference between
the graph and its asymptote for

When the numerator of a rational

function has degree exactly one greater
than the denominator, the function has
an oblique (slant) asymptote. The
asymptote is the polynomial term after
dividing the numerator and denominator.
This phenomenon occurs because when
dividing the fraction, there will be a linear
term, and a remainder. For example,
consider the function

shown to the right. As the value of x

increases, f approaches the asymptote y
= x. This is because the other term,
1/(x+1), approaches 0.

If the degree of the numerator is more

than 1 larger than the degree of the
denominator, and the denominator does
not divide the numerator, there will be a
nonzero remainder that goes to zero as x
increases, but the quotient will not be
linear, and the function does not have an
oblique asymptote.

Transformations of known functions

If a known function has an asymptote

(such as y=0 for f(x)=ex), then the
translations of it also have an asymptote.

If x=a is a vertical asymptote of f(x),

then x=a+h is a vertical asymptote of
f(x-h)
If y=c is a horizontal asymptote of f(x),
then y=c+k is a horizontal asymptote
of f(x)+k

If a known function has an asymptote,

then the scaling of the function also have
an asymptote.

If y=ax+b is an asymptote of f(x), then

y=cax+cb is an asymptote of cf(x)

For example, f(x)=ex-1+2 has horizontal

asymptote y=0+2=2, and no vertical or
oblique asymptotes.

General definition

(sec(t), cosec(t)), or x2 + y2 = (xy)2,

with 2 horizontal and 2 vertical
asymptotes.

Let A : (a,b) → R2 be a parametric plane

curve, in coordinates A(t) = (x(t),y(t)).
Suppose that the curve tends to infinity,
that is:

A line ℓ is an asymptote of A if the

distance from the point A(t) to ℓ tends to
zero as t → b.[7] From the definition, only
open curves that have some infinite
branch can have an asymptote. No
closed curve can have an asymptote.

For example, the upper right branch of

the curve y = 1/x can be defined
parametrically as x = t, y = 1/t (where t >
0). First, x → ∞ as t → ∞ and the
distance from the curve to the x-axis is
1/t which approaches 0 as t → ∞.
Therefore, the x-axis is an asymptote of
the curve. Also, y → ∞ as t → 0 from the
right, and the distance between the curve
and the y-axis is t which approaches 0 as
t → 0. So the y-axis is also an asymptote.
A similar argument shows that the lower
left branch of the curve also has the
same two lines as asymptotes.

Although the definition here uses a

parameterization of the curve, the notion
of asymptote does not depend on the
parameterization. In fact, if the equation
of the line is then the
distance from the point A(t) = (x(t),y(t)) to
the line is given by
if γ(t) is a change of parameterization
then the distance becomes

which tends to zero simultaneously as

the previous expression.

An important case is when the curve is

the graph of a real function (a function of
one real variable and returning real
values). The graph of the function y = ƒ(x)
is the set of points of the plane with
coordinates (x,ƒ(x)). For this, a
parameterization is

This parameterization is to be considered

over the open intervals (a,b), where a can
be −∞ and b can be +∞.

An asymptote can be either vertical or

non-vertical (oblique or horizontal). In the
first case its equation is x = c, for some
real number c. The non-vertical case has
equation y = mx + n, where m and are
real numbers. All three types of
asymptotes can be present at the same
time in specific examples. Unlike
asymptotes for curves that are graphs of
functions, a general curve may have
more than two non-vertical asymptotes,
and may cross its vertical asymptotes
more than once.

Curvilinear asymptotes

x2+2x+3 is a parabolic asymptote

to (x3+2x2+3x+4)/x

Let A : (a,b) → R2 be a parametric plane

curve, in coordinates A(t) = (x(t),y(t)), and
B be another (unparameterized) curve.
Suppose, as before, that the curve A
tends to infinity. The curve B is a
curvilinear asymptote of A if the shortest
distance from the point A(t) to a point on
B tends to zero as t → b. Sometimes B is
simply referred to as an asymptote of A,
when there is no risk of confusion with
linear asymptotes.[8]

For example, the function

has a curvilinear asymptote

y = x2 + 2x + 3, which is known as a
parabolic asymptote because it is a
parabola rather than a straight line.[9]
Asymptotes and curve
sketching

Asymptotes are used in procedures of

curve sketching. An asymptote serves as
a guide line to show the behavior of the
curve towards infinity.[10] In order to get
better approximations of the curve,
curvilinear asymptotes have also been
used [11] although the term asymptotic
curve seems to be preferred.[12]
Algebraic curves

A cubic curve, the folium of Descartes

(solid) with a single real asymptote
(dashed).

The asymptotes of an algebraic curve in

the affine plane are the lines that are
tangent to the projectivized curve
through a point at infinity.[13] For
example, one may identify the
asymptotes to the unit hyperbola in this
manner. Asymptotes are often
considered only for real curves,[14]
although they also make sense when
defined in this way for curves over an
arbitrary field.[15]

A plane curve of degree n intersects its

asymptote at most at n−2 other points,
by Bézout's theorem, as the intersection
at infinity is of multiplicity at least two.
For a conic, there are a pair of lines that
do not intersect the conic at any complex
point: these are the two asymptotes of
the conic.

A plane algebraic curve is defined by an

equation of the form P(x,y) = 0 where P is
a polynomial of degree n
where Pk is homogeneous of degree k.
Vanishing of the linear factors of the
highest degree term Pn defines the
asymptotes of the curve: setting Q = Pn,
if Pn(x, y) = (ax − by) Qn−1(x, y), then the
line

is an asymptote if and
are not both zero. If
and
, there is no asymptote,
but the curve has a branch that looks like
a branch of parabola. Such a branch is
called a parabolic branch, even when it
does not have any parabola that is a
curvilinear asymptote. If
the curve has a singular point at infinity
which may have several asymptotes or
parabolic branches.

Over the complex numbers, Pn splits into

linear factors, each of which defines an
asymptote (or several for multiple
factors). Over the reals, Pn splits in
factors that are linear or quadratic
factors. Only the linear factors
correspond to infinite (real) branches of
the curve, but if a linear factor has
multiplicity greater than one, the curve
may have several asymptotes or
parabolic branches. It may also occur
that such a multiple linear factor
corresponds to two complex conjugate
branches, and does not corresponds to
any infinite branch of the real curve. For
example, the curve x4 + y2 - 1 = 0 has no
real points outside the square
, but its highest order
term gives the linear factor x with
multiplicity 4, leading to the unique
asymptote x=0.

Asymptotic cone

Hyperbolas, obtained cutting the

same right circular cone with a plane
and their asymptotes.
The hyperbola

has the two asymptotes

The equation for the union of these two

lines is

Similarly, the hyperboloid

is said to have the asymptotic cone[16][17]

The distance between the hyperboloid
and cone approaches 0 as the distance
from the origin approaches infinity.

More generally, consider a surface that

has an implicit equation

where the are homogeneous

polynomials of degree and .
Then the equation
defines a cone which is centered at the
origin. It is called an asymptotic cone,
because the distance to the cone of a
point of the surface tends to zero when
the point on the surface tends to infinity.
See also

Big O notation

References

General references

Kuptsov, L.P. (2001) [1994],

"Asymptote" (https://www.encyclopedi
aofmath.org/index.php?title=Asymptot
e) , Encyclopedia of Mathematics, EMS
Press
Specific references

1. Williamson, Benjamin (1899),

"Asymptotes" (https://books.google.com/
books?id=znsXAAAAYAAJ&pg=241) , An
 elementary treatise on the differential
calculus
2. Nunemacher, Jeffrey (1999), "Asymptotes,
Cubic Curves, and the Projective Plane",
Mathematics Magazine, 72 (3): 183–192,
CiteSeerX 10.1.1.502.72 (https://citeseer
x.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.
1.1.502.72) , doi:10.2307/2690881 (http
s://doi.org/10.2307%2F2690881) ,
JSTOR 2690881 (https://www.jstor.org/st
able/2690881)
3. Oxford English Dictionary, second edition,
1989.
4. D.E. Smith, History of Mathematics, vol 2
Dover (1958) p. 318
5. Apostol, Tom M. (1967), Calculus, Vol. 1:
One-Variable Calculus with an
Introduction to Linear Algebra (https://arc
hive.org/details/calculus01apos)
(2nd ed.), New York: John Wiley & Sons,
ISBN 978-0-471-00005-1, §4.18.
6. Reference for section: "Asymptote" (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=HTwi2M
37rQAC&pg=PA541) The Penny
Cyclopædia vol. 2, The Society for the
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1841)
Charles Knight and Co., London p. 541
7. Pogorelov, A. V. (1959), Differential
geometry, Translated from the first
Russian ed. by L. F. Boron, Groningen: P.
Noordhoff N. V., MR 0114163 (https://mat
hscinet.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=
0114163) , §8.
 8. Fowler, R. H. (1920), The elementary
differential geometry of plane curves (http
s://archive.org/details/elementarydiffer00
fowlrich) , Cambridge, University Press,
hdl:2027/uc1.b4073882 (https://hdl.handl
e.net/2027%2Fuc1.b4073882) , ISBN 0-
486-44277-2, p. 89ff.
9. William Nicholson, The British
enciclopaedia, or dictionary of arts and
sciences; comprising an accurate and
popular view of the present improved
state of human knowledge, Vol. 5, 1809
10. Frost, P. An elementary treatise on curve
tracing (1918) online (https://archive.org/
details/elementarytreati00fros)
11. Fowler, R. H. The elementary differential
geometry of plane curves Cambridge,
University Press, 1920, pp 89ff.(online at
archive.org (https://archive.org/details/el
ementarydiffer00fowlrich) )
12. Frost, P. An elementary treatise on curve
tracing, 1918, page 5
13. C.G. Gibson (1998) Elementary Geometry
of Algebraic Curves, § 12.6 Asymptotes,
Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-
64140-3,
14. Coolidge, Julian Lowell (1959), A treatise
on algebraic plane curves, New York:
Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-49576-0,
MR 0120551 (https://mathscinet.ams.or
g/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0120551) , pp.
40–44.
15. Kunz, Ernst (2005), Introduction to plane
algebraic curves, Boston, MA: Birkhäuser
Boston, ISBN 978-0-8176-4381-2,
MR 2156630 (https://mathscinet.ams.or
g/mathscinet-getitem?mr=2156630) , p.
121.
16. L.P. Siceloff, G. Wentworth, D.E. Smith
Analytic geometry (1922) p. 271 (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=YMU0AAAA
MAAJ)
17. P. Frost Solid geometry (1875) (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=fGg4AAAAMA
AJ) This has a more general treatment of
asymptotic surfaces.

External links

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