SymPy - Symbolic Mathematics in Python

Overview

SymPy is a Python library for symbolic mathematics that enables exact computation using mathematical symbols rather than numerical approximations. This skill provides comprehensive guidance for performing symbolic algebra, calculus, linear algebra, equation solving, physics calculations, and code generation using SymPy.

Installation

Tested against SymPy 1.14.0 (stable; April 2025). Requires Python 3.9+.

# Install SymPy using uv
uv pip install "sympy>=1.14"

# Optional: for lambdify and plotting examples
uv pip install numpy scipy matplotlib

Check your version:

import sympy
print(sympy.__version__)

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Solving equations symbolically (algebraic, differential, systems of equations)
• Performing calculus operations (derivatives, integrals, limits, series)
• Manipulating and simplifying algebraic expressions
• Working with matrices and linear algebra symbolically
• Doing physics calculations (mechanics, quantum mechanics, vector analysis)
• Number theory computations (primes, factorization, modular arithmetic)
• Geometric calculations (2D/3D geometry, analytic geometry)
• Converting mathematical expressions to executable code (Python, C, Fortran)
• Generating LaTeX or other formatted mathematical output
• Needing exact mathematical results (e.g., sqrt(2) not 1.414...)

Core Capabilities

1. Symbolic Computation Basics

Creating symbols and expressions:

from sympy import symbols, Symbol
x, y, z = symbols('x y z')
expr = x**2 + 2*x + 1

# With assumptions
x = symbols('x', real=True, positive=True)
n = symbols('n', integer=True)

Simplification and manipulation:

from sympy import simplify, expand, factor, cancel
simplify(sin(x)**2 + cos(x)**2)  # Returns 1
expand((x + 1)**3)  # x**3 + 3*x**2 + 3*x + 1
factor(x**2 - 1)    # (x - 1)*(x + 1)

For detailed basics: See references/core-capabilities.md

2. Calculus

Derivatives:

from sympy import diff
diff(x**2, x)        # 2*x
diff(x**4, x, 3)     # 24*x (third derivative)
diff(x**2*y**3, x, y)  # 6*x*y**2 (partial derivatives)

Integrals:

from sympy import integrate, oo
integrate(x**2, x)              # x**3/3 (indefinite)
integrate(x**2, (x, 0, 1))      # 1/3 (definite)
integrate(exp(-x), (x, 0, oo))  # 1 (improper)

Limits and Series:

from sympy import limit, series
limit(sin(x)/x, x, 0)  # 1
series(exp(x), x, 0, 6)  # 1 + x + x**2/2 + x**3/6 + x**4/24 + x**5/120 + O(x**6)

For detailed calculus operations: See references/core-capabilities.md

3. Equation Solving

Algebraic equations:

from sympy import solveset, solve, Eq
solveset(x**2 - 4, x)  # {-2, 2}
solve(Eq(x**2, 4), x)  # [-2, 2]

Systems of equations:

from sympy import linsolve, nonlinsolve
linsolve([x + y - 2, x - y], x, y)  # {(1, 1)} (linear)
nonlinsolve([x**2 + y - 2, x + y**2 - 3], x, y)  # (nonlinear)

Differential equations:

from sympy import Function, dsolve, Derivative
f = symbols('f', cls=Function)
dsolve(Derivative(f(x), x) - f(x), f(x))  # Eq(f(x), C1*exp(x))

For detailed solving methods: See references/core-capabilities.md

4. Matrices and Linear Algebra

Matrix creation and operations:

from sympy import Matrix, eye, zeros
M = Matrix([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
M_inv = M**-1  # Inverse
M.det()        # Determinant
M.T            # Transpose

Eigenvalues and eigenvectors:

eigenvals = M.eigenvals()  # {eigenvalue: multiplicity}
eigenvects = M.eigenvects()  # [(eigenval, mult, [eigenvectors])]
P, D = M.diagonalize()  # M = P*D*P^-1

Solving linear systems:

A = Matrix([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
b = Matrix([5, 6])
x = A.solve(b)  # Solve Ax = b

For comprehensive linear algebra: See references/matrices-linear-algebra.md

5. Physics and Mechanics

Classical mechanics:

from sympy.physics.mechanics import dynamicsymbols, LagrangesMethod
from sympy import symbols

# Define system
q = dynamicsymbols('q')
m, g, l = symbols('m g l')

# Lagrangian (T - V)
L = m*(l*q.diff())**2/2 - m*g*l*(1 - cos(q))

# Apply Lagrange's method
LM = LagrangesMethod(L, [q])

Vector analysis:

from sympy.physics.vector import ReferenceFrame, dot, cross
N = ReferenceFrame('N')
v1 = 3*N.x + 4*N.y
v2 = 1*N.x + 2*N.z
dot(v1, v2)  # Dot product
cross(v1, v2)  # Cross product

Quantum mechanics:

from sympy.physics.quantum import Ket, Bra, Operator, Commutator
A, B = Operator('A'), Operator('B')
psi = Ket('psi')
comm = Commutator(A, B).doit()

For detailed physics capabilities: See references/physics-mechanics.md

6. Advanced Mathematics

The skill includes comprehensive support for:

• Geometry: 2D/3D analytic geometry, points, lines, circles, polygons, transformations
• Number Theory: Primes, factorization, GCD/LCM, modular arithmetic, Diophantine equations
• Combinatorics: Permutations, combinations, partitions, group theory
• Logic and Sets: Boolean logic, set theory, finite and infinite sets
• Statistics: Probability distributions, random variables, expectation, variance
• Special Functions: Gamma, Bessel, orthogonal polynomials, hypergeometric functions
• Polynomials: Polynomial algebra, roots, factorization, Groebner bases

For detailed advanced topics: See references/advanced-topics.md

7. Code Generation and Output

Convert to executable functions:

from sympy import lambdify
import numpy as np

expr = x**2 + 2*x + 1
f = lambdify(x, expr, 'numpy')  # Create NumPy function
x_vals = np.linspace(0, 10, 100)
y_vals = f(x_vals)  # Fast numerical evaluation

Generate C/Fortran code:

from sympy.utilities.codegen import codegen
[(c_name, c_code), (h_name, h_header)] = codegen(
    ('my_func', expr), 'C'
)

LaTeX output:

from sympy import latex
latex_str = latex(expr)  # Convert to LaTeX for documents

For comprehensive code generation: See references/code-generation-printing.md

Working with SymPy: Best Practices

1. Always Define Symbols First

from sympy import symbols
x, y, z = symbols('x y z')
# Now x, y, z can be used in expressions

2. Use Assumptions for Better Simplification

x = symbols('x', positive=True, real=True)
sqrt(x**2)  # Returns x (not Abs(x)) due to positive assumption

Common assumptions: real, positive, negative, integer, rational, complex, even, odd

3. Use Exact Arithmetic

from sympy import Rational, S
# Correct (exact):
expr = Rational(1, 2) * x
expr = S(1)/2 * x

# Incorrect (floating-point):
expr = 0.5 * x  # Creates approximate value

4. Numerical Evaluation When Needed

from sympy import pi, sqrt
result = sqrt(8) + pi
result.evalf()    # 5.96371554103586
result.evalf(50)  # 50 digits of precision

5. Convert to NumPy for Performance

# Slow for many evaluations:
for x_val in range(1000):
    result = expr.subs(x, x_val).evalf()

# Fast:
f = lambdify(x, expr, 'numpy')
results = f(np.arange(1000))

6. Use Appropriate Solvers

• solveset: Algebraic equations (primary)
• linsolve: Linear systems
• nonlinsolve: Nonlinear systems
• dsolve: Differential equations
• solve: General purpose (legacy, but flexible)

Reference Files Structure

This skill uses modular reference files for different capabilities:

1. core-capabilities.md: Symbols, algebra, calculus, simplification, equation solving

   • Load when: Basic symbolic computation, calculus, or solving equations

2. matrices-linear-algebra.md: Matrix operations, eigenvalues, linear systems

   • Load when: Working with matrices or linear algebra problems

3. physics-mechanics.md: Classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, vectors, units