COMPLEX NUMBERS

Introduction:

A real number a can be graphically displayed as a point on a real number line

-1 0 1 a

Similarly, we can display a complex number a + i b as a point in a complex plane

Imaginary axis

b a+ib
r
θ
a
Real axis

Instead of using Cartesian x, y - type coordinates in the complex plane, we can use polar
r, θ coordinates to represent a complex number: a + i b = r (cos θ + i sin θ). The radius
r is also called the magnitude of the number, and is denoted a + i b .

We operate with complex numbers using all the rules of algebra that we are accustomed
to, but with the extra feature that i 2 = -1.

Basic arithmetic operations:

The four basic arithmetic operations can be described both algebraically and graphically

Algebraically Geometric interpretation

Addition:
 a   c   a+c 
(a + i b) + (c + i d) = (a + c) + i (b + d) Vector addition   +  = 
 b   d   b+d 
 Subtraction:
 a   c   a−c 
(a + i b) - (c + i d) = (a - c) + i (b - d) Vector subtraction   −  = 
 b   d   b−d 

Multiplication:
(a + i b) · (c + i d) = ac + iad + ibc +i2bd = If the polar form of the factors are (r1, θ1)
= (ac - bd) + i (ad + bc) and (r2, θ2), that of the product is
(r1r2, θ1+ θ2).
(This follows from Euler's formula given below;
(r 1 e i θ 1 ) ⋅ (r 2 e i θ 2 ) = (r 1 r 2 ) e i ( θ 1 +θ 2 ) ).

Division:
a + i b = (a + i b) (c − i d) = If the polar form of the factors are (r 1 , θ 1 )
c + id (c + i d) (c − i d) and (r 2 , θ 2 ), that of the product is
(ac + bd) + i (bc − ad) (r 1 /r 2 , θ 1 − θ 2 ).
= (Follows again from Euler’s formula;
c2 + d2 (r 1 e i θ 1 ) / ( r 2 e i θ2 ) = (r 1/ r 2 ) e i ( θ1 −θ 2) ).

If b and d (the imaginary parts) are both zero, all the operations reduce to what we are
used to from standard real numbers (The complex plane is an extension of the real number
line - operations along it remain the same).

We can now easily verify that all the rules we are used to from real numbers (such as z1·z2
= z2·z1 , z1 (z2 + z3) = z1·z2 + z1·z3 , etc.) all still hold also when the numbers are complex.

Analytic functions, Euler's formula:

Complex numbers can be used instead of real numbers in all functions that possess a
Taylor expansion. For ex. we can let z be complex in the RHS of any of the expansions
below. The convergent sums can be taken as definitions of the extensions of the functions
to the complex plane (they are then called analytic functions):
2 3 4
ez = 1+z+ z + z + z +…
2! 3! 4!
2 4
cos z = 1 − z + z − + …
2! 4!
3 5
sin z = z − z + z − + …
3! 5!

Form these three expansions follow Euler's formula

e i x = cos x + i sin x (1)

(the Taylor expansions of both sides work out to be the same). Noting that (1) implies
 e - i x = cos x - i sin x (2)

we get, by adding and subtracting (1) and (2), two useful additional formulas:
−i x −i x
cos x = e + e sin x = e − e
ix ix
, .
2 2i

Utility of complex numbers and of analytic functions:

If we work with complex numbers (instead of with only real ones), a quadratic equation
has always two solutions. A polynomial equation of degree n has precisely n roots - much
easier rules to work with than if we accept real solutions only. More importantly to us,
'temporary excursions' out in the complex world, often involving Euler's formula, can
make the algebra very much simpler in many cases where both the original problem and its
final answer are purely real. Later on in this course, we will see that solving ODEs is a
very good example of the utility of complex numbers. For now, let's illustrate the utility
with a few examples from trigonometry and calculus:

 cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β

Example 1: Derive the addition theorems  .
 sin (α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β

Solution: The exponential function satisfies e i (α+β) = e i α e i β . Expressing each

exponential with Euler's formula gives

cos(α + β) + i sin(α + β) = (cos α + i sin α)(cos β + i sin β)

Now we need only multiply out the product in the RHS, and then make use
of the fact that both the real and imaginary parts must match between the
two sides.

 cos 3α = 4 cos 3 α − 3 cos α

Example 2: Derive the multiple angle formulas  .
 sin 3α = 3 sin α − 4 sin α
3

Solution: Note that e 3 i α = (e i α )3, then express each exponential through Euler's
formula, expand out the RHS, and again equate the real and the imaginary
parts.

 ∫ e α x cos βx dx = e αx ( α cos βx + β sin βx)

 α2 + β 2
Example 3: Evaluate the integrals  e αx (−β cos βx + α sin βx) .
 ∫ e α x sin βx dx = 2
 α + β2
Solution: The 'standard' procedure requires integration by parts twice. The following
is a lot simpler: The integrals we want are the real and imaginary parts of
(α+i β) x
∫ e α x (cos βx + i sin βx) dx = ∫ e α x e i β x dx = ∫ e (α+i β) x dx = e
α + iβ
=

= e α x (α − i β) e i β x = e α x (α − iβ)(cos βx + i sin βx) .

(α + iβ) (α − i β) α2 + β 2

It now remains only to multiply out the complex product, and separate it in
real and imaginary parts.

 1 + cos x + cos 2x + cos 3x + … + cos (n − 1)x

Example 4: Evaluate the finite sums  .
 sin x + sin 2x + sin 3x + … + sin (n − 1)x

Solution: The two sums form the real and imaginary part of

s = 1 + e i x + e 2 ix + e 3 ix + … + e i (n−1) x . (3)

If we don't remember the sum of a finite geometric progression, we form

s e i x = e i x + e 2 ix + e 3 ix + … + e i (n−1) x + e i n x (4)

and then subtract (3) from (4) to get s (e i x − 1) = (e i n x − 1) and thus

(e i 2 − e − i 2 ) e i 2 sin 2 
nx nx nx nx
s = e ix − 1 =
inx (n−1) x (n−1) x 
= cos + i sin .
e −1 (e i 2 − e − i 2 ) e i 2 sin 2x  2 
x x x 2

More advanced results about analytic functions lead to very easy ways to evaluate many
∞
integrals of the form ∫ −∞ f(x) dx (or infinite sums Σ ∞k=−∞ f(k) ), even if we can not find an
anti-derivative to f(x) (i.e. a function F(x) satisfying F (x) = f(x) ).

Since complex numbers are so useful, one might try to generalize further still, maybe to
something like a + i b + j c , corresponding to points in a 3-D space. However, it turns
out that it then becomes impossible to preserve all the usual rules of algebra. The utility of
such number systems becomes much more limited.
Complex conjugation:

The complex conjugate of z = a + i b is z = a − i b ; just a swap of the sign for the

imaginary part.

The magnitude z of a complex number satisfies z 2

= a2 + b2 = z ⋅ z .

One can easily verify that if z1 and z2 are complex numbers, then

z1 + z2 = z1 + z2

z1 − z2 = z1 − z2

z1 ⋅ z2 = z1 ⋅ z2

z1 / z2 = z1 / z2

This leads to the following important result

Theorem: If a polynomial pn(z) = z n + a 1 z n−1 + … + a n has real coefficients, then its

roots zk, k = 1, 2, ... , n , are either real or they come in complex
conjugated pairs z k = a + i b, z k+1 = a − i b.

Proof: Assume z1 is a complex root. Then conjugating 0 = z n1 + a 1 z n−1

1 + … + an
gives

0 = z n1 + a 1 z n−1
1 + … + an = z1 + a1 z1 + … + an = z1 + a1 z1
n n−1 n n−1
+ … + an ,

showing that z 1 is also a root to pn(z).

The result can be generalized significantly:

Theorem: Let f(z) be an analytic function which is real when z is real. Then
f(z) = f(z).