What is the range of eccentricity of ellipse such that its foci don't subtend any right angle on its circumference?
I thought that the eccentricity would definitely be more than $0$ and less than $\frac{1}{\sqrt2}$ The latter value is for an ellipse with $ae=b$, in which a right angle is subtended on an endpoint of the minor axis.
Best Answer
Your answer is correct, except that $0$ should be included (there are no right angles subtended in a circle).
Here's a complete solution:
Using the parameterization $P=(a \cos\theta, b\sin\theta)$ for an origin-centered ellipse with major radius $a$ (in the $x$ direction) and minor radius $b$ (in the $y$ direction), consider the foci at points $F_{\pm}=(\pm c, 0)$, where $a^2 = b^2 + c^2$.
$\angle F_{+}PF_{-}$ will be a right angle if and only if
That is, $$\begin{align} 0 &= (c - a \cos\theta )(-c-a\cos\theta) + (0 - b \sin\theta)(0-b\sin\theta) \\[4pt] &= -c^2 + a^2 \cos^2\theta + b^2\sin^2\theta \\[4pt] &= -c^2+a^2\cos^2\theta + ( a^2-c^2)(1-\cos^2\theta) \\[4pt] &= a^2 - 2 c^2 + c^2 \cos^2\theta \tag{1} \end{align}$$ Writing $c = ae$, where $e$ is the eccentricity, we can factor-out $a^2$ to get $$e^2\cos^2\theta = 2 e^2 - 1 \tag{2}$$ In order for $(2)$ to be solvable for $\theta$, we obviously must have $e\neq 0$ (so that $\theta$ appears in the equation at all); then, for non-zero $e$, since $0\leq \cos^2\theta \leq 1$, the solvability of $(2)$ requires $$ 0 \leq 2-\frac{1}{e^2}\leq 1 \quad\to\quad 2 \geq \frac{1}{e^2}\geq 1 \quad\to\quad \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}} \leq e \leq 1 \tag{3}$$
In other words, the equation is not solvable for $\theta$ ---that is, there are no subtended right angles--- for $e < {1\over\sqrt{2}}$ or $e > 1$ (although we dismiss the latter possibility, as such eccentricities belong to hyperbolas). Therefore, the desired range of eccentricities is