I have tried
sage: assume(0<u<pi/2)
But I still get
sage: simplify(1-cos(u)^2)
-cos(u)^2 + 1
|   | 1 |  initial version  | 
I have tried
sage: assume(0<u<pi/2)
But I still get
sage: simplify(1-cos(u)^2)
-cos(u)^2 + 1
 Copyright Sage, 2010. Some rights reserved under creative commons license. Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.
 
                
                Copyright Sage, 2010. Some rights reserved under creative commons license. Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.