Contour of

integration for Bernoulli numbers.

At 2 we have a simple pole with a residue 2 . When is odd, the residue

from 2 exactly cancels that from 2 and 0 3 5 7, and so on.
For even the residues add, giving
1
2 2
2 2
1

1 22 1 22
even (7.80)
2 2
1

where is the Riemann zeta function introduced in Section 5.9. Equation (7.80) corre-
sponds to Eq. (5.152) of Section 5.9.

7.1.1 Determine the nature of the singularities of each of the following functions and evaluate
the residues 0.
1 1
(a) 2 2
. (b) 2 2 2
.
2 sin 1
(c) 2 2 2
. (d) 2 2
.

(e) 2 2
. (f) 2 2

(g) . (h) 0 1.
2 2 1
Hint. For the point at innity, use the transformation 1 for 0. For the
residue, transform into and look at the behavior of .
7.1.2 Locate the singularities and evaluate the residues of each of the following functions.

(a) 1 1 0,
2
(b) .
1 2

(c) Find a closed-form expression (that is, not a sum) for the sum of the nite-plane
singularities.
(d) Using the result in part (c), what is the residue at ?

Hint. See Section 5.9 for expressions involving Bernoulli numbers. Note that Eq. (5.144)
cannot be used to investigate the singularity at , since this series is only valid for
2 .
7.1.3 The statement that the integral halfway around a singular point is equal to one-half the
integral all the way around was limited to simple poles. Show, by a specic example,
that
1
Semicircle 2 Circle
does not necessarily hold if the integral encircles a pole of higher order.
Hint. Try 2.

7.1.4 A function is analytic along the real axis except for a third-order pole at 0.
The Laurent expansion about 0 has the form
3 1
3
0 0
with analytic at 0. Show that the Cauchy principal value technique is applica-
ble, in the sense that

0
(a) lim is nite.
0 0

(b) 1,
0
where 0 denotes a small semicircle about 0.

7.1.5 The unit step function is dened as (compare Exercise 1.15.13)

0
1
Show that has the integral representations

1
(a) lim ,
0 2