Jones, M. C.
(1999).
Distributional relationships arising from simple trigonometric formulas.
The American Statistician, 53(2)
pp. 99–102.
Abstract
The polar representation of a pair (X, Y) of spherically symmetrically distributed random variables provides an attractive route to the known fact that their ratio has a Cauchy distribution. In this note, a variety of other distributional relationships involving X and Y is observed to arise very straightforwardly from the simplest of trigonometric formulas, namely multiple-of-angle formulas and sum-of-angles formulas. Cos and sin formulas yield functions of X and Y-which may be independent standard normals-that have the same distribution as X, and tan formulas yield functions of Cauchy variables that remain Cauchy distributed.
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