Complex Analysis

1 The eld of complex numbers

The set of complex numbers is denoted by C. The cartesian representation of z C is z = x+iy
with x, y R and i
2
= 1. The real and imaginary parts of z are Re (z) = x and Im(z) = y,
respectively. Addition and multiplication of complex numbers (dened in a predictable way)
satisfy all the properties we would have expected meaning that C is a eld. The polar
representation of z C is z = re
i
with r 0 and R. We call r = |z| the modulus
of z and = arg(z) not necessarily unique an argument of z. We have r =
_
x
2
+ y
2
and tan() = y/x. De Moivres theorem states that (cos() + i sin())
n
= cos(n) + i sin(n),
or in simplied form, that (e
i
)
n
= e
in
this uses Euler formula e
i
= cos() + i sin().
Note also the identities cos() = (e
i
+ e
i
)/2 and sin() = (e
i
e
i
)/(2i). In general, one
has Re (z) = (z + z)/2, Im(z) = (z z)/(2i), and |z|
2
= z z. Here z = x iy = re
i
is the
complex conjugate of z. The fundamental theorem of algebra ensures that every nonconstant
polynomial p(z) = a
n
z
n
+ + a
1
z + a
0
has a complex roots (in turn, that every polynomial
with complex coefcients has all its roots in C, i.e., C is algebraically closed).
A possible argument goes along those lines: pick z
0
C such that |p(z
0
)| = min
zC
|p(z)| and
suppose |p(z
0
)| > 0; write that p equals its Taylor polynomial at z
0
, i.e., p(z
0
) +

n
j=k
b
j
(z z
0
)
j
where b
k
= 0; note that

n
j=k+1
|b
j
|
j
< |b
k
|
k
< |p(z
0
)| for > 0 sufciently small; observe
that p(z
0
) + b
k
(z z
0
)
k
describes k times the circle {| p(z
0
)| = |b
k
|
k
} when z describes the
circle {|z z
0
| = }, hence there exists z
1
with |z
1
z
0
| = such that p(z
0
) + b
k
(z
1
z
0
)
k
lies
between 0 and p(z
0
), so that |p(z
0
) + b
k
(z
1
z
0
)
k
| = |p(z
0
)| |b
k
|
k
; derive a contradiction from
|p(z
1
)| |p(z
0
) + b
k
(z
1
z
0
)
k
| +|
n

j=k+1
b
j
(z
1
z
0
)
j
| |p(z
0
)| |b
k
|
k
+
n

j=k+1
|b
j
|
j
< |p(z
0
)|.
Another possible argument involves Cauchy formula for holomorphic functions (see below):
suppose that p does not vanish on C, so that q = 1/p is holomorphic on C; for R > 0 sufciently
large to have |p(z)| (|a
n
| |a
n1
|/|z| |a
0
|/|z|
n
)|z|
n
|a
n
||z|
n
/2 whenever |z| = R, a
contradiction follows from
0 < |q(0)| =

1
2i
_
|z|=R
q(z)dz
z

1
2
_
|z|=R
dz
|z||p(z)|

1
2
_
|z|=R
2 dz
|a
n
|R
n+1
=
2
|a
n
|R
n

R
0.
2 Holomorphic functions
A function f dened on an open subset of C is differentiable at z
0
if one can make sense of
f

(z) = lim
zz
0
f(z) f(z
0
)
z z
0
.
In particular, the limit is independent of how z
0
is approached. If the function f of the variable
z = x + iy is differentiable at z
0
= x
0
+ iy
0
, then it satises the CauchyRiemann equations
Re f
x
(x
0
, y
0
) =
Imf
y
(x
0
, y
0
) and
Re f
y
(x
0
, y
0
) =
Imf
x
(x
0
, y
0
).
A converse holds provided the rst-order partial derivatives are continuous.
1
A function f is called holomorphic at z
0
if it is differentiable in some neighborhood of z
0
(i.e.,
whenever |z z
0
| < r for some r > 0). Every power series

n=0
c
n
(z z
0
)
n
with radius of
convergence R > 0 denes a holomorphic function on {|z z
0
| < R}. Conversely, every holo-
morphic function is analytic, i.e., locally representable by powers series (hence holomorphic
and analytic are synonymous terms for complex functions). This fact shows that holomorphic
functions are innitely differentiable and that their zeros are isolated (unless the function
vanishes everywhere).
Let G be a simply connected open region, let be a simple closed path oriented counterclock-
wise and contained in G, and let z
0
C be inside . If f is holomorphic in G, then it satises
Cauchy integral formulas
(1)
_

f(z)dz = 0,
_

f(z)dz
z z
0
= 2if(z
0
),
_

f(z)dz
(z z
0
)
n
= 2if
(n)
(z
0
) for all integer n 0.
Cauchy formula implies Liouvilles theorem, which states that a function f holomorphic and
bounded on C is constant. Indeed, if is the circular contour oriented counterclockwise with
center 0 and radius R large enough so that |z z
0
|, |z z
1
| R/2, then, for all z
0
, z
1
C,
|f(z
0
) f(z
1
)| =

1
2i
_

f(z)
_
1
z z
0

1
z z
1
_
dz

z
0
z
1
2i
_

f(z)
(z z
0
)(z z
1
)
dz

|z
0
z
1
|
2
_

max(|f|)
(R/2)
2
dz =
4|z
0
z
1
| max(|f|)
R

R
0.
Cauchy formula also implies the maximum principle, which sates that, if f is homomorphic
on {|z z
0
| r}, then
max
|zz
0
|r
|f(z)| = max
|zz
0
|=r
|f(z)|.
3 Meromorphic functions
If a function is holomorphic on an annulus A = {r < |z z
0
| < R} for some R > r 0, then f
has a unique Laurent expansion at z
0
of the form
f(z) =

n=
c
n
(z z
0
)
n
, z A.
A function f holomorphic in some punctured neighborhood of z
0
(i.e., an annulus where r = 0)
but not at z
0
is said to have an isolated singularity at z
0
. These can be of three different
kinds: removable singularity if c
n
= 0 for all n < 0 (for instance sin(z)/z at z
0
= 0), poles if
c
m
= 0 and c
n
= 0 for all n < m, in which case m is called the order of the pole (for instance
rational functions at z
0
equal to a zero of the denominator), and essential singularities if
inf{n : c
n
= 0} = . A function which is holomorphic in an open subset G of C except
possibly for poles is said to be meromorphic in G.
2
Let G be a a simply connected open region and let be a simple closed path oriented counter-
clockwise and contained in G. Cauchy residue theorem states that, if f is meromorphic in G
with all its poles z
1
, . . . , z
N
inside , then
_

f(z)dz = 2i
N

k=1
Res(f, z
k
),
where the residue Res(f, z
k
) of f at z
k
is dened as the coefcient c
1
of (z z
k
)
1
in the
Laurent expansion of f at z
k
. It follows that, if f is holomorphic on G and does not vanish
on , then the number of zeros of f inside equals
1
2i
_

(z)
f(z)
dz. From here, we can deduce
Rouch es theorem which states that, if f and g are holomorphic in G and if |f(z)| > |g(z)| on ,
then f and f + g have the same number of zeros (counting multiplicity) inside .
4 Exercises
Ex.1: Find the set of all z C
n
such that |z| +|z + 1| = 2.
Ex.2: Prove the identity
cos
n
() =
1
2
n
n

k=0
_
n
k
_
cos((n 2k)).
Ex.3: Prove the necessity of the CauchyRiemann equations.
Ex.4: Establish the fundamental integral
_
(z
0
,r)
(z z
0
)
n
dz =
_
0 if n = 1,
2i if n = 1,
where (z
0
, r) denotes the circular contour oriented counterclockwise with center z
0
and
radius r. Derive (informally) formulas (1) with = (z
0
, r) for analytic functions.
Ex.5: Use the maximum principle to prove Schwarz lemma: if f is holomorphic on {|z| = 1},
if M := max
||=1
|f()|, and if f(0) = 0, then |f(z)| M |z| whenever |z| 1.
Ex.6: Use Cauchy residue theorem to evaluate
_

dz
1 + z
4
,
where is the semicircle {|z| = R, Im(z) 0} [R, R] oriented counterclockwise.
Deduce the value of the integral
_

0
dx
1 + x
4
.
3