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Covariance of coordinates at eight equally spaced angles

Question

An angle θ\theta is chosen uniformly from the eight values 0,π4,π2,…,7π40,\tfrac{\pi}{4},\tfrac{\pi}{2},\dots,\tfrac{7\pi}{4}, and we set X=cos⁡θX=\cos\theta, Y=sin⁡θY=\sin\theta. Find Cov⁡(X,Y)\operatorname{Cov}(X,Y).

Short answer

00. By symmetry E[X]=E[Y]=0\mathbb{E}[X]=\mathbb{E}[Y]=0, and E[XY]=12E[sin⁡2θ]=0\mathbb{E}[XY]=\tfrac12\mathbb{E}[\sin2\theta]=0 because sin⁡2θ\sin 2\theta sums to zero over these points. XX and YY are uncorrelated yet clearly dependent, since X2+Y2=1X^2+Y^2=1.

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