Complex Variables Calculus

Chapter Ⅰ
Complex Number

In this chapter, we survey the algebraic and geometric structure

of the complex number system. We assume various
corresponding properties of real numbers to be known. The
positive integer number system, integer number system,
rational number system and real number system are denoted by

N, Z, Q and R , respectively.
 Chapter Ⅰ Complex Number

Teaching Outlines：Concepts, representations and operations of complex

numbers
Teaching Periods: 4 Periods
Teaching Contents：

 Introduction
 Definition of Complex Numbers
 Properties of Complex Numbers
 Conjugate & Absolute Value
 Geometric Representation
 Polar Representation
 Power & Power Roots
 Exponential Form & Euler’s Formula
§1.1. Sums and Products

1. Definiton of Complex Numbers

A complex number is defined as an ordered pair ( x, y ) of real
numbers x and y .
It is customary to denote a complex number ( x, y ) by z , so that
z  ( x, y ) . (1.1.1)
The real numbers x and y are called the real and imaginary parts of
z , respectively; and we write
Re z  x, Im z  y . (1.1.2)
Two complex numbers z1  ( x1 , y1 ) and z 2  ( x2 , y2 ) are equal
whenever they have the same real parts and the same imaginary parts.
2. Operations of Complex Numbers
The sum z1  z2 and the product z 1 z 2 of two complex numbers
z1  ( x1 , y1 ) and z 2  ( x2 , y2 ) are defined as follows:
( x1 , y1 )  ( x2 , y2 )  ( x1  x2 , y1  y2 ) , (1.1.3)
( x1 , y1 )( x2 , y2 )  ( x1 x2  y1 y2 , y1 x2  x1 y2 ) . (1.1.4)

3. The Relationship of Real Numbers and Complex Numbers

Note that the operations defined by equations (1.1.3) and (1.1.4) become
the usual operations of addition and multiplication when restricted to the
real numbers:
( x1 ,0)  ( x2 ,0)  ( x1  x2 ,0) , ( x1 ,0)( x2 ,0)  ( x1 x2 ,0) .
The complex number system is, therefore, a natural extension of the real
number system.
4. Alternative Representation of
Complex Numbers

Any complex number z  ( x, y )

can be written as z  ( x,0)  (0, y ) ,
and it is easy to see that
(0,1)( y,0)  (0, y ) . Hence
z  ( x,0)  (0,1)( y,0) ;
and, if we think of a real number x as
the complex number (x,0) , that is, we
identify a real number x with a
Fig. 1-1
corresponding complex number (x,0) , and let
i denote the imaginary number (0,1) ( Fig. 1-1)
it is clear that
z  x  iy , (1.1.5)
which is called the rectangular form of the number z . Thus, the complex
number system can be written as
C  {( x, y ) : x, y  R}  {x  iy : x, y  R} .
Also, with the convention z 2  zz , z 3  zz 2 , etc., we find that
i 2  (0,1)( 0,1)  ( 1,0)  1 . (1.1.6)
Thus, the equation z  1  0 has a root z  i in C .
2

In view of expression (1.1.5), definitions (1.1.3) and (1.1.4) become

( x1  iy1 )  ( x2  iy 2 )  ( x1  x2 )  i( y1  y2 ) , (1.1.7)
( x1  iy1 )( x2  iy 2 )  ( x1 x2  y1 y2 )  i( y1 x2  x1 y 2 ) .
(1.1.8)
Observe that the right-hand sides of these equations can be obtained by
2
formally manipulating the terms on the left replacing i by -1 when it
occurs.
§1.2. Basic Algebraic Properties

Various properties of addition and multiplication of complex numbers are

the same as for real numbers. We list here the more basic of these
algebraic properties and verify some of them. Most of the others are
verified in the exercises.

1. Commutative law
z1  z 2  z 2  z1 , z1 z 2  z 2 z1 (1.2.1)
2. Associative law
z1 z 2   z 3 z1  z2  z 3 , z1 z2 z3  z1 z2 z3  (1.2.2)
3. Distributive law
z( z1  z 2 )  zz1  zz 2 , (1.2.3)
 n   
n

nz  z  z    z and z  zz  z .
n
4. Identities
The additive identity 0  (0,0) and the multiplicative identity
1  (1,0) for real numbers carry over to the entire complex number
system. That is,
z  0  z and z 1  z (1.2.4)
for every complex number z . Furthermore, 0 and 1 are the only complex
numbers with such properties.
5. Additive inverse
For each complex number z  ( x, y ) , there is an additive inverse
 z  (  x,  y ) , (1.2.5)
6. Subtraction

z1  z2  z1( z2 ), z1, z2  C . (1.2.6)

So if z1  ( x1 , y1 ) and z2  ( x2 , y2 ) , then
z1  z 2  ( x1  x2 , y1  y2 )  ( x1  x2 )  i( y1  y2 ) . (1.2.7)
7. Multiplicative inverse
1 1
For z  ( x, y )  x  iy  0 , there is a number z such that zz  1 ,
called the multiplicative inverse of z . It is easy to find that the
multiplicative inverse of z  ( x, y )  x  iy is
 x y  x y
z 1   2 , 
2 
  i ( z  0) .
 x  y 2
x 2
 y  x 2
 y 2
x 2
 y 2

(1.2.8)
From the discussion above, we conclude that the set C of all
complex numbers becomes a field, called the field of complex numbers, or
the complex number field.
§1.3. Further Properties

In this section, we mention a number of other algebraic properties of

addition and multiplication of complex numbers that follow from the ones
already described in Sec.1.2. Because such properties continue to be
anticipated, the reader can easily pass to Sec.1.4 without serious
disruption.
1. Expunctive law
If z1 z 2  0 , then either z1  0 or z 2  0 ; or possibly both z1
and z 2 equal zero. Another way to state this result is that if two complex
numbers z1 and z 2 are nonzero, then so is their product z1 z 2 .
2. Division
Division by a nonzero complex number is defined as follows:
z1
 z1 z 21 ( z 2  0) (1.3.1)
z2
If z1  ( x1 , y1 )  x1  iy1 and z2  ( x2 , y2 )  x2  iy 2 , then

z1 x1 x2  y1 y 2 y1 x2  x1 y 2
 i ( z 2  0) . (1.3.2)
z2 x2  y 2
2 2
x22  y 22
Although expression (1.3.2) is not easy to remember, it can be obtained by
writing
z1 ( x1  iy1 )( x2  iy 2 )
 . (1.3.3)
z 2 ( x2  iy 2 )( x2  iy 2 )
3. Useful identities

1
 z 21 ( z 2  0) . (1.3.4)
z2
z1 1
 z1   ( z2  0) . (1.3.5)
z2  z2 
( z1 z2 )( z11 z21 )  ( z1 z11 )( z2 z21 )  1 ( z2  0) .
1  1  1 
 ( z1 z2 )  z1 z2    
1 1 1
( z1  0, z2  0) .
z1 z2  z1  z2 
(1.3.6)
z1 z 2  z1  z 2 
    ( z 3  0, z 4  0) . (1.3.7)
z 3 z 4  z 3  z 4 
 Example. Computations such as the following are now justified:
 1  1  1 1 5i 5i
      
 2  3i  1  i  ( 2  3i )(1  i ) 5  i 5  i (5  i )(5  i )
5i 5 i 5 1
     i.
26 26 26 26 26
4. Binomial formula
If z1 and z 2 are any two complex numbers, then
n
 n  n k k
( z1  z 2 )     z1 z 2
n
(n  1,2, ) (Binomial Formula)
k 0  k 
(1.3.8)
n n!
where    (k  0,1,2,  , n ) and where it is agreed that
 k  k! (n  k )!
0! 1.
§1.4. Moduli

It is natural to associate any nonzero complex number z  x  iy with the

directed line segment, or vector, from the origin to the point ( x, y ) that
represents z (Sec. 1.1) in the complex plane. In fact, we often refer to z as
the point z or the vector z . In Fig. 1-2, the number z  x  iy and
 2  i are displayed graphically as both points and radius vectors.

Fig. 1-2
 According to the definition of the sum of two complex numbers
z1  x1  iy1 and z 2  x2  iy 2 , z1  z 2 may be obtained vectorially
as shown in Fig. 1-3.
The difference z1  z 2  z1  ( z 2 ) corresponds to the sum of the
vectors z1 and  z 2 (Fig. 1-4).
1. Modulus
The modulus, or absolute value, of a complex number z  x  iy
is defined as the nonnegative real number x 2  y 2 and is denoted by
| z | ; that is,
| z | x 2  y 2 . (1.4.1)
Geometrically, the number | z | is the distance between the point ( x, y )
and the origin, or the length of the vector representing z . It reduces to
the usual absolute value in the real number system when y  0 .
2.Distance of complex numbers
The distance between two points z1  x1  iy1 and z 2  x2  iy 2
is defined by
| z1  z2 | ( x1  x2 ) 2  ( y1  y2 ) 2 .
 The complex numbers z corresponding to the points lying on the
circle with center z 0 and radius R thus satisfy the equation
| z  z 0 | R , and conversely. We refer to this set of these points simply
as the circle | z  z0 | R , denoted by C ( z0 , R) .
Example 2. The equation | z  1  3i | 2 represents the circle
whose center is the point z 0  (1,3) and whose radius is R  2 .
3.Relationshps of z, Re z and Im z
| z | 2  (Re z ) 2  (Im z ) 2 . (1.4.2)
Re z | Re z || z | and Im z | Im z || z | . (1.4.3)
4.Triangle inequality
| z1  z 2 || z1 |  | z 2 | , (1.4.4)
| z1  z2 | | z1 |  | z2 | . (1.4.5)
 Example 3. If a point z lies on the unit circle | z | 1 about the
origin, then
| z  2 || z | 2  3
and
| z  2 | | z | 2  1 .
The triangle inequality (1.4.4) can be generalized by means of
mathematical induction to sums involving any finite number of terms:
| z1  z2    zn || z1 |  | z2 |    | zn | (n  2,3, ) .
(1.4.6)
§1.5. Conjugates

1.Conjugate of a complex number

The conjugate of a complex number z  x  iy is defined as the
complex number x  iy and is denoted by z ; that is,
z  x  iy . (1.5.1)
The number z is represented by the point ( x, y ) , which is the
reflection in the real axis of the point ( x, y ) representing z (Fig. 1-5).

Fig. 1-5
2. Useful identities
z  z , | z || z |
z1  z2  z1  z2 . (1.5.2)
z1  z 2  z1  z 2 , (1.5.3)
z1 z 2  z1 z 2 , (1.5.4)
 z1  z1
   ( z 2  0) . (1.5.5)
 z2  z2
zz zz
Re z  , Im z  . (1.5.6)
2 2i
z z | z | 2 . (1.5.7)
 Example 1. As an illustration, we compute
 1  3i (1  3i )( 2  i )  5  5i  5  5i
    1  i .
2i (2  i )( 2  i ) | 2i | 2
5
See also the example near the end of Sec.1.3.
Identity (1.5.7) is especially useful in obtaining properties of moduli
from properties of conjugates noted above. We mention that
| z1 z 2 || z1 || z 2 | (1.5.8)
and
z1 | z1 |
 ( z2  0) . (1.5.9)
z2 | z2 |
Property (1.5.8) can be established by writing
| z1 z 2 | 2  ( z1 z 2 )( z1 z 2 )  ( z1 z 2 )( z1 z 2 )  ( z1 z1 )( z 2 z 2 ) | z1 | 2 | z 2 | 2  (| z1

and recalling that a modulus is never negative. Property (1.5.9) can be

verified in a similar way.
 Example 2. Property (1.5.8) tells us that | z | 2 | z | 2 and
| z |3 | z |3 . Hence if z is a point inside the circle centered at the origin
with radius 2, so that | z | 2 , it follows from the generalized form (1.4.9)
of the triangle inequality in Sec. 1.4 that
| z 3  3z 2  2 z  1 || z |3 3 | z |2 2 | z | 1  25 .
§1.6. Exponential Form

Let r and  be polar coordinates of the point ( x, y ) that

corresponds to a nonzero complex number z  x  iy . Since
x  r cos and y  r sin  , the number z can be written in polar
form as
z  r (cos   i sin  ) . (1.6.1)
If z  0 , the coordinate  is undefined; and so it is always understood
that z  0 whenever arg z or Arg z defined below is discussed.
In complex analysis, the real number r is not allowed to be
negative and is the length of the radius vector for z ; that is, r | z | .
The real number  represents the angle, measured in radians, that z
makes with the positive real axis when z is interpreted as a radius
vector, see Fig. 1-6.
 As in calculus,  has an infinite
number of possible values, including
negative ones, that differ by integral
multiples of 2 . Those values can be
determined from the equation
Fig. 1-6 tan   y / x ,
where the quadrant containing the argument
of z , and the set of all such values is
denoted by Arg z . The principal value of Arg z , denoted by arg z , is
the unique value  such that       . Note that
Arg z  {arg z  2n : n  0,1,2,} ,
simply, we write
Arg z  arg z  2n (n  0,1,2, ) . (1.6.2)
Also, when z is a negative real number, arg z has value  , not
 .
 Example 1. The complex number 1  i , which lies in the third
quadrant, has principal argument  3 / 4 . That is,
3
arg ( 1  i )   .
4
It must be emphasized that, because of the restriction      
of the principal argument  , it is not true that arg ( 1  i )  5 / 4 .
According to equation (1.6.2), we have
3
Arg ( 1  i )    2n ( n  0,1,2, ) .
4
Note that the term arg z on the right-hand side of equation (1.6.2) can
be replaced by any particular value of Arg z and that one can write, for
instance,
5
Arg ( 1  i )   2n ( n  0,1,2, ) .
4
Leonhard Euler
 The symbol e i , or exp( i ) , is defined by means of
Euler’s formula as
e i  cos  i sin  , (1.6.3)
where  is to be measured in radians. It enables us to write
the polar form (1.6.1) more compactly in exponential form as
z  re i (1.6.4)
i
The choice of the symbol e will be fully motivated later on
is Sec.2.8. Its use in Sec. 1.7 will, however, suggest that it is a
natural choice.
Example 2. The number 1  i in Example 1 has
exponential form
  3 
 1  i  2 exp i   . (1.6.5)
 4 
  i i (  )
Since e  e , this can also be written  1  i  2e i 3 / 4 .
Expression (1.6.5) is, of course, only one of an infinite number of
possibilities for the exponential form of 1  i :
  3 
 1  i  2 exp i    2n  (n  0,1,2, ) .
 4 
(1.6.6)
Note how expression (1.6.4) with r  1 tells us that the numbers
e i lie on the circle centered at the origin with radius unity, as shown in
i
Fig. 1-7. Values of e are, then, immediate from that figure, without
reference to Euler’s formula. It is, for instance, geometrically obvious that
ei  1, ei / 2  i, and e 14i  1 .
 Fig. 1-7 Fig.1-8

Note, too, that the equation Fig. 8

z  Re i (0    2) (1.6.7)
is a parametric representation of the circle | z | R , centered at the origin
with radius R . As the parameter  increases from   0 to   2 , the
point
 z starts from the positive real axis and traverses the circle once in the
counterclockwise direction. More generally, the circle | z  z 0 | R ,
whose center is z 0 and whose radius is R , has the parametric
representation
z  z0  Re i (0    2 ) . (1.6.8)

This can be seen vectorially (Fig. 1-8) by noting that a point z

traversing the circle
| z  z 0 | R
once in the counterclockwise direction corresponds to the sum of the
fixed vector z 0 and a vector of length R whose angle of inclination 
varies from   0 to   2 .
§1.7. Products and Quotients in Exponential Form

1. Products in Exponential Form

i i
.If z1  r1e 1 and z 2  r2 e 2 ,then the product z1 z 2 has exponential
form
z1 z 2  r1r2 e i1 e i 2  r1r2 e i (1  2 ) . (1.7.1)
2. Quotients in Exponential Form
z1 r1 e i1 e i 2 r1 e i (1  2 ) r1 i (1  2 )
  i 2 i 2   i0
 e . (1.7.2)
z 2 r2 e e r2 e r2
it is easy to find that the inverse of any nonzero complex number
z  re i is
1 1 1  i
z   e . (1.7.3)
z r
3. An important identity
Arg ( z1 z2 )  Argz1  Argz2 .
(1.7.4)

Statement (1.7.4) is not valid when

Arg is replaced everywhere by arg. See
the following example.
Example 1. When z1  1 and
z 2  i , we have

arg( z1 z 2 )  arg( i )   ,
2
but
 3
arg z1  arg z 2    
2 2
. Fig. 1-9
Statement (1.7.4) tells us that
z 
Arg  1   Arg ( z1 z21 )  Arg z1  Arg ( z21 ) , z1 z2  0 .
 z2 
and we can see from expression (1.7.3) that if 2  Argz2 , then
 2  Arg(1/ z2 ) ,
and so
Arg ( z21 )  {2  2n : n  Z}  {2  2m : m  Z}  Argz2 .
This shows that
Arg ( z21 )  Argz2 . (1.7.5)
Hence
 z1 
Arg    Argz1  Argz2 . (1.7.6)
 z2 
Example 2. In order to find the principal argument arg z when
2
z , observe that
1  3i
Arg z  Arg (2)  Arg (1  3i ) .
Since
Since

arg( 2)   and arg(1  3i )  ,
3
one value of Arg z is 2 / 3 ; and, because 2 / 3 is between  
and  , we find that arg z  2  / 3 .
Another important result that can be obtained formally by applying
i
rules for real number to z  re is
z n  r n ein (n  0,1,2, ) . (1.7.7)
It is easily verified for positive values of n by mathematical induction.
i
To be specific, we first note that if becomes z  re when n  1. Next,
we assume that it is valid when n  m , where m is any positive integer.
In view of expression (1.7.1) for the product of two nonzero complex
numbers in exponential form, it is then valid for n  m  1 :
z m1  zz m  re i r m e im  r m1e i ( m1) .
Expression (1.7.7) is thus verified when n is a positive integer. It also
holds when n  0 , with the convention that z  1 . If n  1,2,,
0

n
on the other hand, we define z in terms of the multiplicative inverse of
z by writing.
z n  ( z 1 ) m where m  n  1,2,  .
Then, since expression (1.7.7) is valid for positive integral powers, it
1
follows from the exponential form (1.7.3) of z that
m m n
 1 i (  )   1  im(  )  1  i (  n )(  ) n in
z  e
n
    e    e  r e
r  r r
( n  1,2, )
Expression (1.7.7) is now established for all integral powers.
Observe that if r  1 , expression (1.7.7) becomes
(ei ) n  ein (n  0,1,2, ) (1.7.8)
When written in the form

(cos   i sin ) n  cos n  i sin n (n  0,1,2, ) , (1.7.9)

this is known as de Moivre’s formula.

De Moivre

Abraham De Moivre was a French

Protestant who moved to England
in search of religious freedom.
He was most famous for his work
on probability and was an
acquaintance of Isaac Newton.
His theorem was possibly suggested
to him by Newton.
Example 3. In order to put ( 3  i )
7
in rectangular form, one need
only write

( 3  i ) 7  (2e i / 6 ) 7  2 7 e i 7 / 6  (2 6 e i )( 2e i / 6 )  64( 3  i ) .
§1.8. Roots of Complex Numbers
i
Consider now a point z  re , lying
on a circle centered at the origin with
radius r (Fig. 1-10). As  is
increased, z moves around the circle
in the counterclockwise direction. In
particular, when  is increased by
2 , we arrive at the original point; and
the same is true when  is decreased
by 2 . Fig. 1-10

1.Proposition
(1) Let  be a real number, then
ei  1    2k for some integer k.
i1
(2) Two nonzero complex numbers z1  r1e
i 2
and z 2  r2 e are equal if and only if r1  r2 and
 1 22k for some integer k .
2.Definition of roots of complex number
i
Let z 0  r0 e 0 be any nonzero complex number and n  2 be a
i
positive integer. A complex number z  re is said to be an n th root
of z 0 if it satisfies the equation z  z 0 .
n

Let z  re i be an n th root of z 0  r0 e i 0 , then

r n e in  r0 e i 0 ,so r  n r0 ,
 0  2k2k 0
   .
n n n
   0 2k 
Consequently, z  r0 exp i
n   for some integer k .
n n 
 On the other hand, it is obvious that the numbers
   0 2k 
ck  r0 exp i 
n
 (k  0,1,2,) . (1.8.1)
n n 
are the nth roots of z 0 ,so
 i ( 0  2k ) 
z 1/ n
0  r0 exp 
n
 (k  0,1,2,, n  1) . (1.8.2)
 n 
Examples in the next section serve to illustrate this method for finding
roots of complex numbers.
§1.9. Examples

In each of the examples here, we start with expression (1.8.3), Sec. 1.8,
and proceed in the manner described at the end of that section.
Example 1. In order to determine the nth roots of unity, we write
1  1exp[ i (0  2k )] ( k  0,1,2,  , n  1)
and find that
  0 2k   2k 
 1 exp i    exp  i  ( k  0,1,2,  , n  1) .
1/ n n
1
n n   n 
(1.9.1)
When n  2 , these roots are, of course,  1 . When n  3 , the regular
polygon at whose vertices the roots lie is inscribed in the unit circle
z  1, with one vertex corresponding to the principal root z  1(k  0) .
If we write
 2 
 n  exp  i  , (1.9.2)
 n 
 i
it follows from property (1.7.8), Sec.1.7, of e that
 2k 
 nk  exp  i  ( k  0,1,2,  , n  1) .
 n 
Hence, the distinct nth roots of unity just found are simply
1, n , n2 ,, nn 1 . See Fig. 1-12, where the cases n  3,4 , and
6 are illustrated. Note that  n  1 .
n

Fig. 1-12
 Finally, it is worthwhile observing that if c is any particular nth root
of z0 , then the set of nth roots of z0 can be put in the form
c, cn , cn2 ,, cnn 1 .
This is because multiplication of any nonzero complex number by n
increases the argument of that number by 2 / n , while leaving its
modulus unchanged.
Example 2. Let us find all values of (8i) , that is, the three cube
1/ 3

roots of 8i . To do this, we write

  
 8i  8 exp i   2k  (k  0,1,2,)
 2 
and see that the desired roots are
   2k 
c k  2 exp i    (k  0,1,2) . (1.9.3)
 6 3 
They lie at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, inscribed in the circle
| z | 2 . Clearly,
      
c0  2 exp i    2 cos  i sin   3  i .
  6   6 6
Without any further calculations, it is then evident that c1  2i ; and, since
c2 is symmetric to c0 with respect to the imaginary axis, we know that
c2   3  i .
These roots can, of course, be written c 0 , c0 3 , c 0 3 , where
2

3  exp i 2 / 3 . (See the remarks at the end of Example 1.)

 Fig. 1-13 Fig. 1-14

Example 3. The two values ck (k  0,1) of ( 3  i )

1/ 2
, which are the square
roots of ( 3  i ) , are found by writing
  
3  i  2 exp i  2k  ( k  0,1,2, )
6 
and (see Fig. 1-14)
  
ck  2 exp i  k  ( k  0,1) . (1.9.4)
  12 
Euler’s formula (See. 1.6) tells us that
      
c0  2 exp  i   2  cos  i sin  ,
 12   12 12 
and the trigonometric identities
   1  cos  2  1  cos 
cos   
2
, sin    (1.9.5)
2 2 2 2
enable us to write

1   1  3 2 3

cos 2
 1  cos   1 
12 2  6  2 2  4


1   1  3 2 3

sin 2
 1  cos   1 
12 2  6 2 2  4
.
Consequently,
 2 3   1
c0  2  i
2 3   2  3  i 2  3  .
 4 4  2  
 
Since c1  c0 , the two square roots of 3  i are
1 
  2  3  i 2  3  .
2 

ube roots are, in rectangular form, the numbers

 ( 3  1)  ( 3  1)i
c0 3  ,
2
( 3  1)  ( 3  1)i
c0 
2
3 .
2
§1.10. Regions in the Complex Plane

In this section, we are concerned with sets of complex numbers, or points

in the z -plane, and their closeness to one another.
1. Definiton of neighborhood of a complex number
An  -neighborhood of z 0 is defined as
N ( z0 , )  {z : z  z0  } (1.10.1)
where z 0 is a given point.
When the value of  is understood or is immaterial in the
discussion, the set (1.10.1) is often referred to as just a neighborhood.
2. Definiton of deleted neighborhood of a complex number
An deleted neighborhood of z 0 is defined as
N  ( z0 ,  )  {z : 0  z  z0   } , (1.10.2)
where z 0 is a given point.
 Fig. 1-15

2.Some concepts relating points

A point z0  C is said to be an interior point of a set S  C
Whenever there is some neighborhood of z 0 that contains only points
of S ; it is called an exterior point of S when there exists a
neighborhood of it containing no points of S .
 The set of all interior (resp. exterior) points of a set S is called the
 e
interior (resp. exterior) of S and denoted by S (resp. S ). If z 0 is
neither an interior point nor an exterior point of S , it is a boundary point
of S . The set of all boundary points of a set S is called the boundary
of S and denoted by S or S . A boundary point is, therefore, a
b

point all of whose neighborhoods contain points in S and points not in

S . The unit circle T  {z : z  1} , for instance, is the boundary of each
of the sets
D  {z : z  1} and D  {z : z  1} . (1.10.3)
It is easy to see that for any subset S of the complex plane C , we
have

C  S  Sb  Se .
3. Definiton of an open set
A set is said to be open if it contains none of its boundary points, i.e.,
S  Sb   .
Proposition 1.10.1. A set S  C is open if and only if each of its
points is an interior point, i.e., S  S .


4.Definiton of a closed set

A set S  C is said to be closed if it contains all of its boundary
points, i.e., S  S ; and the closure of a set S , denoted by S , is the
b

set consisting of all points in S together with the boundary of S , i.e.,

S  S  Sb .
Proposition 1.10.2. A set S  C is closed if and only if S  S .
5. Definiton of a connected set
A set S  C is called connected if each pair of points z1 and z 2
in it can be joined by a polygonal line, consisting of a finite number of
line segments joined end to end, that lies entirely in S . The set
 D  {z : z  1} is
connected. The annulus
{z : 1  z  2} is also
connected (see Fig. 1-16).

6. Definiton of a domain
An open set that is
connected is called a Fig. 1-16
domain. Note that any
neighborhood is a domain. A domain together with some, none, or all of
its boundary points is referred to as a region. Thus, a subset S of the
plane C is a region if and only if there are a domain D and a subset
E of the boundary D b such that S  D  E .
7. Definiton of a bounded set
A set S is called bounded if all points of S lie inside some circle
z  R , i.e.,
S  {z :| z | R} ;
otherwise, it is called unbounded. Both of the sets (1.10.3) are bounded
regions, and the right half plane {z : Re z  0} is unbounded.
8. Definiton of a accumulation point
A point z0 is said to be an accumulation point of a set S if each
deleted neighborhood of z 0 contains at least one point of S . In other
words, a point z0 is an accumulation point of a set S if
S  N  ( z0 ,  )  
for all positive number .
 Proposition 1.10.3. A set S  C is closed if and only if it
contains all of its accumulation points.
Proposition 1.10.4. A set S  C is closed if and only if its
complement S  C \ S with respective to C is open.
c