# Can an irrational number raised to an irrational power be rational?

Can an irrational number raised to an irrational power be rational?

If it can be rational, how can one prove it?

#### Solutions Collecting From Web of "Can an irrational number raised to an irrational power be rational?"

There is a classic example here. Consider $A=\sqrt{2}^\sqrt{2}$. Then A is either rational or irrational. If it is irrational, we have $A^\sqrt{2}=\sqrt{2}^2=2$.

Yes, it can, $$e^{\log 2} = 2$$

Summary of edits: If $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are algebraic and irrational, then
$\alpha^\beta$ is not only irrational but transcendental.

Looking at your other question, it seems worth discussing what happens with square roots, cube roots, algebraic numbers in general. I heartily recommend Irrational Numbers by Ivan Niven, NIVEN.

So, the more precise question is about numbers such as $${\sqrt 2}^{\sqrt 2}.$$ For quite a long time the nature of such a number was not known. Also, it is worth pointing out that such expressions have infinitely many values, given by all the possible values of the expression
$$\alpha^\beta = \exp \, ( \beta \log \alpha )$$
in $\mathbb C.$ The point is that any specific value of $\log \alpha$ can be altered by $2 \pi i,$ thus altering $\beta \log \alpha$ by $2 \beta \pi i,$ finally altering the chosen interpretation of $\alpha^\beta.$ Of course, if $\alpha$ is real and positive, people use the principal branch of the logarithm, where $\log \alpha$ is also real, so just the one meaning of $\alpha^\beta$ is intended.

Finally, we get to the Gelfond-Schneider theorem, from Niven page 134: If $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are algebraic numbers with $\alpha \neq 0, \; \alpha \neq 1$ and $\beta$ is not a real rational number, then any value of $\alpha^\beta$ is transcendental.

In particular, any value of $${\sqrt 2}^{\sqrt 2}$$ is transcendental, including the “principal” and positive real value that a calculator will give you for $\alpha^\beta$ when both $\alpha, \; \beta$ are positive real numbers, defined as usual by $e^{\beta \log \alpha}$.

There is a detail here that is not often seen. One logarithm of $-1$ is $i \pi,$ this is Euler’s famous formula
$$e^{i \pi} + 1 = 0.$$ And $\alpha = -1$ is permitted in Gelfond-Schneider. Suppose we have a positive real, and algebraic but irrational $x,$ so we may take $\beta = x.$ Then G-S says that
$$\alpha^\beta = (-1)^x = \exp \,(x \log (-1)) = \exp (i \pi x) = e^{i \pi x} = \cos \pi x + i \sin \pi x$$ is transcendental. Who knew?

If $r$ is any positive rational other than $1$, then for all but countably many positive reals $x$ both $x$ and $y = \log_x r = \ln(r)/\ln(x)$ are irrational (in fact transcendental), and $x^y = r$.

Consider, for example, $2^{1/\pi}=x$, where $x$ should probably be irrational but $x^\pi=2$. More generally, 2 and $\pi$ can be replaced by other rational and irrational numbers, respectively.