By definition, .
The forward transformation CIELUV is based on CIEUVW and is another attempt to define an encoding with uniformity in the perceptibility of
color differences. : \begin{align} L^* &= \begin{cases} \bigl(\tfrac{29}{3}\bigr)^3 Y / Y_n,& Y / Y_n \le \bigl(\tfrac{6}{29}\bigr)^3, \\[3mu] 116 \sqrt[3]{ Y / Y_n } - 16,& Y / Y_n > \bigl(\tfrac{6}{29}\bigr)^3, \end{cases}\\[5mu] u^* &= 13 L^*\cdot (u^\prime - u_n^\prime), \\[3mu] v^* &= 13 L^*\cdot (v^\prime - v_n^\prime). \end{align} The quantities
u′
n and
v′
n are the chromaticity coordinates of a "specified white object" – which may be termed the
white point – and
Yn is its luminance. In reflection mode, this is often (but not always) taken as the of the
perfect reflecting diffuser under that illuminant. (For example, for the
2° observer and
standard illuminant C, , .) Equations for
u′ and
v′ are given below: :\begin{alignat}{3} u^\prime &= \frac{4 X}{X + 15 Y + 3 Z} &&= \frac{4 x}{-2 x + 12 y + 3}, \\[5mu] v^\prime &= \frac{9 Y}{X + 15 Y + 3 Z} &&= \frac{9 y}{-2 x + 12 y + 3}. \end{alignat}
The reverse transformation The transformation from to is: :\begin{align} x &= \frac{9u^\prime}{6u^\prime - 16v^\prime + 12}\\[5mu] y &= \frac{4v^\prime}{6u^\prime - 16v^\prime + 12} \end{align} The transformation from CIELUV to XYZ is performed as follows: :\begin{align} u^\prime&= \tfrac1{13}(u^*/L^*) + u^\prime_n, \\[3mu] v^\prime&=\tfrac1{13}(v^*/L^*) + v^\prime_n, \\[5mu] Y &= \begin{cases} \bigl(\frac{3}{29}\bigr)^3 L^*~\! Y_n, & L^* \le 8, \\[3mu] \bigl(\tfrac1{116}(L^* + 16)\bigr)^3\, Y_n, & L^* > 8, \end{cases}\\[5mu] X &= \frac{9u^\prime}{4v^\prime} Y, \\[5mu] Z &= \frac{12 - 3u^\prime - 20v^\prime}{4v^\prime} Y. \end{align} ==Cylindrical representation (CIELCh)==