Equation of Circle

Theorem
The equation of a circle with radius $R$ and center $(a,b)$ is
 * $(x - a)^2 + (y - b)^2 = R^2$ in Cartesian coordinates
 * $x = a + R\cos t, y = b + R\sin t$ as a parametric equation

In polar coordinates, it does not make sense to refer to a point by $x$ and $y$ coordinates. Instead, the center of a circle is commonly denoted $(r_0,\varphi)$, where $r_0$ is the distance from the origin and $\varphi$ is the angle from the polar axis in the counterclockwise direction. The equation for a circle with radius $R$ of this type is (note that $r$ is a function of $\theta$)
 * $r^2 - 2 r r_0 \cos(\theta - \varphi) + (r_0)^2 = R^2$

Cartesian
Let the point $(x,y)$ satisfy the equation $(x - a)^2 + (y - b)^2 = R^2$.

The distance between this point and the center of the circle is $\sqrt{(x - a)^2 + (y - b)^2}$ by the Distance Formula.

But from the equation, this quantity equals $R$, so the distance between points satisfying the equation and the center is constant and equal to the radius.

Parametric
Let the point $(x,y)$ satisfy the equations:
 * $x = a + R \cos t$
 * $y = b + R \sin t$

The distance between this point and the center of the circle is:
 * $\sqrt{[(a + R\cos t) - a]^2 + [(b + R\sin t) - b]^2}$

by the Distance Formula.

This simplifies to:
 * $\sqrt{R^2 \cos^2 t + R^2 \sin^2 t} = R \sqrt{\cos^2 t + \sin^2 t}$

Then by the Pythagorean trigonometric identity, this distance equals $R$, so the distance between points satisfying the equation and the center is constant and equal to the radius.

Polar
Let the point $(r,\theta)_\text{Polar}$ satisfy the equation $r^2 - 2 r r_0 \cos(\theta - \varphi) + (r_0)^2 = R^2$.

The first thing we have to do is rewrite the points $(r,\theta)$ and $r_0,\varphi$ in Cartesian coordinates:
 * $(r,\theta)_\text{Polar} = (r\cos\theta,r\sin\theta)_\text{Cartesian}$ and
 * $(r_0,\varphi)_\text{Polar} = (r_0\cos\varphi,r_0\sin\varphi)_\text{Cartesian}$.

Thus the distance between the point $(r,\theta)_\text{Polar}$ the center of the circle is:
 * $\sqrt{(r\cos\theta - r_0\cos\varphi)^2 + (r\sin\theta - r_0\sin\theta)^2}$

So:

But from the equation, this quantity equals $R$, so the distance between points satisfying the equation and the center is constant and equal to the radius.