1.

Complex numbers

A complex number z is defined as an ordered pair

z = (x, y) ,
where x and y are a pair of real numbers. In usual notation, we
write
z = x + iy ,
where i is a symbol. The operations of addition and multiplication
of complex numbers are defined in a meaningful manner, which force
i2 = 1. The set of all complex numbers is denoted by C. Write
Re z = x ,

Im z = y .

Since complex numbers are defined as ordered pairs, two complex

numbers (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are equal if and only if both their real
parts and imaginary parts are equal. Symbolically,
(x1, y1) = (x2, y2)

if and only if

x1 = x2

and

y1 = y2 .

A complex number z = (x, y), or as z = x + iy, is defined by a pair

of real numbers x and y; so does for a point (x, y) in the x-y plane.
We associate a one-to-one correspondence between the complex
number z = x + iy and the point (x, y) in the x-y plane. We refer
the plane as the complex plane or z-plane.

Polar coordinates
x = r cos
Modulus of z :

|z| = r =

and

y = r sin

x2 + y 2 .

z = ( x, y )
|z|
arg z
x

Vectorical representation of a complex number in the complex plane

Obviously, Re z |z|

and

Im z |z|; and

z = x + iy = r(cos + i sin ),
where is called the argument of z, denoted by arg z.
The principal value of arg z, denoted by Arg z, is the particular value
of arg z chosen within the principal interval (, ]. We have
arg z = Arg z + 2k

k any integer,

Arg z (, ] .

Note that arg z is a multi-valued function.

Complex conjugate
The complex conjugate z of z = x + iy is defined by
z = x iy .
In the complex plane, the conjugate z = (x, y) is the reflection of
the point z = (x, y) with respect to the real axis.
Standard results on conjugates and moduli
(i) z1 + z2 = z1 + z2,

(iv) |z1z2| = |z1| |z2|

(ii) z1z2 = z1 z2,

z
(iii) 1 =
z2

z1
,
z2

 
z 
|z1|
 1
(v)  =
.
 z2 
|z2|
5

Example
Find the square roots of a + ib, where a and b are real constants.
Solution
Let u + iv be a square root of a + ib; and so (u + iv)2 = a + ib.
Equating the corresponding real and imaginary parts, we have
u2 v 2 = a

and

2uv = b .

By eliminating v, we obtain a fourth degree equation for u:

4u4 4au2 b2 = 0 .
The two real roots for u are found to be
u=

v
q
u
u
t a + a2 + b2

From the relation v 2 = u2 a, we obtain

v=

vq
u
u
t a2 + b2 a

Apparently, there are four possible values for u + iv. However, there
can be only two values of the square root of a + ib. By virtue of the
relation 2uv = b, one must choose u and v such that their product
has the same sign as b. This leads to
v
q
u
u
t a + a2 + b2
b
+
i
u + iv =

|b|

vq
u
u
t a2 + b2 a
,

provided that b 6= 0. The special case where b = 0 is trivial. As a

numerical example, take a = 3, b = 4, then
s

3+5
5 3
i
= (2 i).
2
2
7

De Moivres theorem
Any complex number with unit modulus can be expressed as cos +
i sin . By virtue of the complex exponential function, we have
ei = cos + i sin .
The above formula is called the Euler formula. As motivated by the
Euler formula, one may deduce that
(cos + i sin )n = (ei )n = ein = cos n + i sin n,
where n can be any positive integer.
The complex exponential function is defined by

ez = ex+iy = ex(cos y + i sin y),

z = x + iy.

To prove the theorem, we consider the following cases:

(i) The theorem is trivial when n = 0.
(ii) When n is a positive integer, the theorem can be proven easily
by mathematical induction.
(iii) When n is a negative integer, let n = m where m is a positive
integer. We then have
n

(cos + i sin )

1
1
=
=
(cos + i sin )m
cos m + i sin m
cos m i sin m
=
(cos m + i sin m)(cos m i sin m)
= cos m i sin m = cos n + i sin n.

How do we generalize the formula to (cos + i sin )s, where s is a

rational number?
Let s = p/q, where p and q are irreducible integers. Note that the
modulus of cos + i sin is one, so does (cos + i sin )s. Hence, the
polar representation of (cos + i sin )s takes the form cos + i sin
for some . Now, we write
cos + i sin = (cos + i sin )s = (cos + i sin )p/q .
Taking the power of q of both sides
cos q + i sin q = cos p + i sin p,

10

which implies
q = p + 2k

or

p + 2k
=
,
q

k = 0, 1, , q 1.

The value of corresponding to k that is beyond the above set

of integers would be equal to one of those values defined in the
equation plus some multiple of 2.
There are q distinct roots of (cos + i sin )p/q , namely,
p + 2k
cos
q

p + 2k
+ i sin
,
q

k = 0, 1, , q 1.

11

nth root of unity

By definition, any nth roots of unity satisfies the equation
zn = 1 .
By de Moivres theorem, the n distinct roots of unity are
z = ei2k/n = cos

2k
2k
+ i sin
,
n
n

k = 0, 1, ..., n 1 .

2, ..., n1.
If we write n = ei2/n , then the n roots are 1, n, n
n

Alternatively, if we pick any one of the nth roots and call it , then
2, ..., n1. This is obvious
the other n1 roots are given by n, n
n
since each of these roots satisfies
k n
n k
(n
) = n(n
) = 1,

k = 0, 1, , n 1.

12

In the complex plane, the n roots of unity correspond to the n

vertices of a regular n-sided polygon inscribed inside the unit circle,
with one vertex at the point z = 1. The vertices are equally spaced
on the circumference of the circle. The successive vertices are
obtained by increasing the argument by an equal amount of 2/n
of the preceding vertex.
Suppose the complex number in the polar form is represented by
r(cos + i sin ), its nth roots are given by


+ 2k
+ 2k
1/n
r
cos
+ i sin
n
n

k = 0, 1, 2, ..., n 1,

where r1/n is the real positive nth root of the real positive number
r. The roots are equally spaced along the circumference with one
vertex being at r1/n[cos(/n) + i sin(/n)].

13

Triangle inequalities
For any two complex numbers z1 and z2, we can establish
|z1 + z2|2 = (z1 + z2)(z1 + z2)
= z1 z1 + z2 z2 + z1 z2 + z2 z1
= |z1|2 + |z2|2 + 2Re(z1z2) .
By observing that Re(z1z2) |z1z2|, we have
|z1 + z2|2 |z1|2 + |z2|2 + 2|z1z2|
= |z1|2 + |z2|2 + 2|z1||z2| = (|z1| + |z2|)2 .
Since moduli are non-negative, we take the positive square root on
both sides and obtain
|z1 + z2| |z1| + |z2| .

14

To prove the other half of the triangle inequalities, we write

|z1| = |(z1 + z2) + (z2)| |z1 + z2| + | z2|
giving
|z1| |z2| |z1 + z2| .
By interchanging z1 and z2 in the above inequality, we have
|z2| |z1| |z1 + z2| .
Combining all results together






|z1| |z2| |z1 + z2| |z1| + |z2|.



15

Example
Find an upper bound for |z 5 4| if |z| 1.
Solution
Applying the triangle inequality, we get
|z 5 4| |z 5| + 4 = |z|5 + 4 1 + 4 = 5,
since |z| 1. Hence, if |z| 1, an upper bound for |z 5 4| is 5.
In general, the triangle inequality is considered as a crude inequality,
which means that it will not yield least upper bound estimate. Can
we find a number smaller than 5 that is also an upper bound, or is
5 the least upper bound?
Yes, we may use the Maximum Modulus Theorem (to be discussed
later). The upper bound of the modulus will correspond to a complex number that lies on the boundary, where |z| = 1.
16

Example
For a non-zero z and < Arg z , show that

Solution







|z 1| |z| 1+|z| |Arg z|.









z |z| + (|z| 1)




 


 


 

|z 1|
z |z|+ |z| 1

 







= |z| | cos + i sin 1| + |z| 1, = Arg z




q




2
2
= |z| (cos 1) + sin + |z| 1



 









 




= |z|2 sin +|z| 1 |z||Arg z| + |z| 1,




2 


2

2
2
2
2
2
2
since (cos 1) +sin = 1 2 sin
1 + 4 sin
cos
= 4 sin
2
2
2
2


 




 
and sin   .

2
2
17

Take |z| > 1 as an illustration

Geometric interpretation: Consider the triangle whose vertices are

1, z and |z|, by the Triangle Inequality, we have

 


 


 

|z 1| |z| 1+z |z|.

 


The chord joining |z| and z is always shorter than the circular arc
joining the same two points. Note that the arc length is given by
|z| |Arg z|.
18

Geometric applications
How to find the equation of the perpendicular bisector of the line
segment joining the two points z1 and z2? Since any point z on
the bisector will be equidistant from z1 and z2, the equation of the
bisector can be represented by
|z z1| = |z z2| .
For a given equation f (x, y) = 0 of a geometric curve, if we set
x = (z + z)/2 and y = (z z)/2i, the equation can be expressed in
terms of the pair of conjugate complex variables z and z as


z+z zz
= F (z, z) = 0 .
f (x, y) = f
,
2
2i
For example, the unit circle centered at the origin as represented by
the equation x2 + y 2 = 1 can be expressed as zz = 1.

19

Further examples
(i) The set {z : |z a| < r}, a C, r R, represents the set of points
inside the circle centered at a with radius r but excluding the
boundary.
(ii) The set {z : r1 |z a| r2}, a C, r1 R, r2 R, represents
the annular region centered at a and bounded by circles of radii
r1 and r2. Here, the boundary circles are included.
(iii) The set of points z such that |z | + |z | 2d, and C
and d R, is the set of all points on or inside the ellipse with
foci and and with length of semi-major axis equals d. What
is the length of the semi-minor axis?

20

Example
Find the region in the complex plane that is represented by
0 < Arg

z1
< .
z+1
4

Solution
z1
x2 + y 2 1 + 2iy
Let z = x + iy, and consider Arg
= Arg
,
z+1
(x + 1)2 + y 2
whose value lies between 0 and /4 if and only if the following
3 conditions are satisfied
(i) x2 + y 2 1 > 0,

(ii) y > 0 and (iii)

2y
< 1.
2
2
x +y 1

These 3 conditions correspond to

z1
Re
> 0,
z+1

z1
Im
>0
z+1

and

z1

Arg
< .
z+1
4
21

The last inequality can be expressed as x2 + (y 1)2 > 2. For

y > 0, the region outside the circle: x2 + (y 1)2 = 2 is contained
completely inside the region outside the circle: x2 + y 2 = 1. Hence,
the region represented by the above 3 inequalities is
R = {x + iy : x2 + (y 1)2 > 2

and

y > 0}.

This is the region which is outside the circle x2 + (y 1)2 = 2 and

lying in the upper half-plane.

22

Example
If z1, z2 and z3 represent the vertices of an equilateral triangle, show
that
z12 + z22 + z32 = z1z2 + z2z3 + z3z1.
Solution
From the figure, we observe that
z2 z1 = ei/3(z3 z1)
z1 z3 = ei/3(z2 z3).

Taking the division

z2 z1
z3 z1
=
z1 z3
z2 z3
so that
z12 + z22 + z32 = z1z2 + z2z3 + z3z1.
23

Example
Suppose z1 + z2 + z3 = 0 and |z1| = |z2| = |z3| = 1, show that
z2 = z1

and

z3 = 2 z1 ,

where is a root of the quadratic equation: z 2 + z + 1 = 0. Note

that is a cube root of unity. Also, the other root is given by 2.
Hence, explain why z1, z2 and z3 are the vertices of an equilateral
triangle inscribed inside the unit circle: |z| = 1.
Solution
Since |z1| = |z2| = |z3| = 1, so z2 = eiz1 and z3 = ei z1, where
and are chosen within (, ]. Substituting into z1 + z2 + z3 = 0,
we obtain
ei + ei + 1 = 0.
24

Equating the respective real and imaginary parts

cos + cos + 1 = 0

and

sin + sin = 0,

we obtain = and cos = 1/2.

Without loss of generality, we take to be positive and obtain
= 2/3 and = 2/3. Both e2i/3 and e2i/3 are the roots of
2 + + 1 = 0. Indeed, one is the square of the other, and vice
versa.
Suppose we write = e2i/3, then 2 = e2i/3. Hence, z2 = z1
and z3 = 2z1. The 3 points z1, z2 and z3 all lie on the unit circle
|z| = 1 since |z1| = |z2| = |z3| = 1.

25

Consider the triangle formed by these 3 points: z1, z3 and z3. If z1 is

one vertex, then z2 is obtained by rotating the position vector of z1
by 2/3 in anti-clockwise sense. Likewise, z3 is obtained by rotating
the position vector of z2 by the same amount. Hence, z1, z2 and
z3 are the vertices of an equilateral triangle inscribed on the unit
circle: |z| = 1.

26

Symmetry with respect to a circle

Given a point in the complex plane, we would like to construct the
symmetry point of with respect to the circle CR : |z| = R. The
symmetry point of is defined to be = R2/. Conversely, since we
may write = R2/, we can as well consider to be the symmetry
point of . The two points and are said to be symmetric with
respect to the circle CR .

Construction of a pair of symmetric points with respect to the circle

CR.
27

Geometric properties of symmetric points

(i) Assume that || < R and so the inversion point will be outside
the circle CR. Observe that
R2
1
= Arg
= -Arg = Arg ,
Arg = Arg

one concludes that and both lie on the same ray emanating
from the origin.
The inversion point can be constructed as follows: draw the
circle CR and a ray L from the origin through . We then draw
a perpendicular to L through which intersects the circle CR
at P . The point of intersection of the tangent line to the circle
CR at P and the ray L then gives . By the property of similar
triangles, we have
R
||
=
.
R
||
28

(ii) When || = R, the inversion point is just itself. This is because

R2
when || = R, we have || =
= R. Together with Arg =
||
Arg , we obtain = .
(iii) When || > R, the inversion point will be inside the circle CR .
In fact, may be considered as the inversion point of .
To reverse the method of construction, we find a tangent to the
circle which passes through and call the point of tangency P .
A ray L is the drawn from the origin through and a perpendicular is dropped from P to L. The point of intersection of the
perpendicular with the ray L then gives .

29

Limit points
Neighborhood of z0, denoted by N (z0; ), is defined as
N (z0; ) = {z : |z z0| < }.
Sometimes, N (z0; ) may be called an open disc centered at z0 with
radius . A deleted neighborhood of z0 is N (z0; )\{z0}. Write it as
c(z ; ).
N
0

A point z0 is a limit point or an accumulation point of a point set

S if every neighborhood of z0 contains a point of S other than z0.
c(z ; ) S 6= , for any .
That is, N
0

Since this is true for any neighborhood of z0, S must contain

infinitely many points. In other words, if S consists of discrete
number of points, then there is no limit point of S.
A limit point z0 may or may not belong to the set S.
30

Example
Show that z = 1 is a limit point of the following point set:


n
A = z : z = (1)n
, n is an integer .
n+1
Solution
Given any > 0, we want to show that there exists one point in A
other than z = 1. In fact, there exist an infinite number of points
such that




n
(1)n
1 < .

n+1
1
If we choose n to be even and positive and n + 1 > , then



 n



1 < . Therefore, for any , N (1; ) contains at least one

n + 1

point in A other than z = 1.
31

Some topological definitions

A point z0 is called an interior point of a set S if there exists a
neighborhood of z0 with all of these points belong to S.
If every neighborhood of
not belonging to S then

z0 contains points of S and also points

z0 is called a boundary point.

The set of all boundary points of a set S is called the boundary

of S. If a point is neither an interior nor a boundary point, then
it is called an exterior point of S.
Remark
If z0 is not a boundary point, then there exists a neighborhood of
z0 such that it is completely inside S or completely outside S. In
the former case, it is an interior point. In the latter case, it is an
exterior point.
32

Example
Show that the boundary of
Br (z0) = {z : |z z0| < r}
is the circle: |z z0| = r.
Solution
Pick a point z1 on the circle |z z0| = r. Every disk that is centered
at z1 will contain (infinitely many) points in Br (z0) and (infinitely
many) points not in Br (z0). Hence, every point on the circle |z
z0| = r is a boundary point of Br (z0).

33

No other points are boundary points

Since points inside the circle are interior points, they cannot be
boundary points.
Given a point outside the circle, we can enclose it in a disk that
does not intersect the disk Br (z0). Hence, such a point is not
boundary point.
In this example, none of the boundary points of Br (z0) belong to
Br (z0).

34

Open and closed sets

A set which consists only of interior points is called an open set.
Every point of an open set has a neighborhood contained completely in the set.
A set is closed if it contains all its boundary points.
The closure S of a set S is the closed set consisting of all points
in S together with the boundary of S.
We may think of any two-dimensional set without a boundary as an
open set. For example, the set S = {z : |z| < 1} is an open set. The
closure S is the set {z : |z| 1}.

35

Example
The set R = {z : Re z > 0} is an open set. To see this, for any
point w0 R; then 0 = Re w0 > 0. Let = 0/2 and suppose that
|z w0| < . Then < Re (z w0) < and so
Re z = Re (z w0) + Re w0 > + 0 = 0/2 > 0.
Consequently, z also lies in R. Hence, each point w0 of R is an
interior point and so R is open.

36

Theorem
A set D is open if and only if it contains no point of its boundary.
Proof
Suppose that D is an open set, and let P be a boundary point
of D. If P is in D, then there is an open disc centered at P that
lies within D (since D is open). Hence, P is not in the boundary
of D.
Suppose D is a set that contains none of its boundary points,
for any z0 D, z0 cannot be a boundary point of D. Hence,
there is some disc centered at z0 that is either a subset of D or
a subset of the complement of D. The latter is impossible since
z0 itself is in D. Hence, each point of D is an interior point so
that D is open.
37

Corollary
A set C is closed if and only if its complement D = {z : z 6 C} is
open. To see the claim, we observe that the boundary of a set coincides exactly with the boundary of the complement of that set (as a
direct consequence of the definition of boundary point). Recall that
a closed set contains all its boundary points. Its complement shares
the same boundary, but these boundary points are not contained in
the complement, so the complement is open.
Remark
There are sets that are neither open nor closed since they contain
part, but not all, of their boundary. For example,
S = {z : 1 < |z| 2}
is neither open nor closed.
38

Theorem
A set S is closed if and only if S contains all its limit points.
Proof
c(z; ) as the deleted -neighborhood of z, and S as the
Write N
c(z; ) S.
complement of S. Note that for z 6 S, N (z; ) S = N

S is closed

S is open
given z 6 S, there exists > 0 such that N (z; ) S
c(z; ) S =
given z 6 S, there exists > 0 such that N
no point of S is a limit point of S

39

Compact set
A bounded set S is one that can be contained in a large enough
circle centered at the origin, that is, |z| < M for some large
enough constant M for all points z in S where M is some sufficiently large constant.
An unbounded set is one which is not bounded.
A set which is both closed and bounded is called a compact set.

40

Motivation for defining connectedness

From basic calculus, if f (x) = 0 for all x in (a, b), then f is a
constant.
The above result is not true if the domain of definition of the
function is not connected. For example
f (x) =

1
if 0 < x < 1
,
1 if 2 < x < 3

whose domain of definition is (0, 1) (2, 3). We have f (x) = 0 for

all x in (0, 1) (2, 3), but f is not constant.
This example illustrates the importance of connectedness in calculus.

41

Domain and region

An open set S is said to be connected if any two points of S
can be joined by a continuous curve lying entirely inside S. For
example, a neighborhood N (z0; ) is connected.
An open connected set is called an open region or domain.
To the point set S, we add all of its limit points, then the new
set S is the closure of S.
The closure of an open region is called a closed region.
To an open region we may add none, some or all its limit points,
and call the new set a region.

42

Simply and multiply connected domains

Loosely speaking, a simply connected domain contains no holes, but
a multiply connected domain has one or more holes.

43

 When any closed curve is constructed in a simply connected

domain, every point inside the curve lies in the domain.
It is always possible to construct some closed curve inside a
multiply connected domain in such a way that one or more points
inside the curve do not belong to the domain.

44

Complex infinity
Unlike the real number system, which has + and , there is
only one infinity in the complex number system. This is because
the complex number field C is not an ordered field. Recall that
in the real number system, + () is an upper (lower) bound
of every subset of the extended real number system (set of all
real numbers augmented with + and ).

C is not an ordered field can be argued as follows. Suppose C is an

ordered field, then for any non-zero x C, we must have either x or
x being positive, and x2 = (x)2 being positive. Consider i and
i, we have i2 = (i)2 = 1, which is negative. A contradiction
is encountered.
45

Extended complex plane

It is convenient to augment the complex plane with the point at
infinity, denoted by . The set {C } is called the extended
complex plane. The algebra involving are defined as follows:
z + = ,

for all z C

z = ,

for all z C/{0}

z/ = 0 ,

for all z C

z/0 = ,

for all z C/{0}.

In particular, we have 1 = and expressions like 0, /,

and 0/0 are not defined. Topologically, any set of the form
{z : |z| > R} where R 0 is called a neighborhood of .
A set D contains the point at infinity if there is a large number
M such that D contains all the points z with |z| > M .

46

Examples
The open half-plane Re z > 0 does not contain the point at
infinity since it does not contain any neighborhood of .
The open set D = {z : |z + 1| + |z 1| > 1} does.
One reaches the point at infinity by letting |z| increase without
bound, with no restriction at all on arg z. One way to visualize all
this is to let w = 1/z and think about |w| being very small: an
open set containing the point at infinity will become an open set
containing w = 0.
The statement z approaches infinity is identical with w converges
to zero.

47

Riemann sphere is sitting on the complex plane.

48

Riemann sphere and stereographic projection

In order to visualize the point at infinity, we consider the Riemann sphere that has radius 1/2 and is tangent to the complex
plane at the origin (see Figure). We call the point of contact the
south pole (denoted by S) and the point diametrically opposite
S the north pole (denoted by N ).
Let z be an arbitrary complex number in the complex plane,
represented by the point P . We draw the straight line P N which
intersects the Riemann sphere at a unique point P distinct from
N.
There exists a one-to-one correspondence between points on the
Riemann sphere, except N , and all the finite points in the complex plane. We assign the north pole N as the point at infinity.
This correspondence is known as the stereographic projection.
49

The coordinates are related by

and y =
.
1
1
The equation of the Riemann sphere is given by
x=

(A)

 

1 2
1 2
2
2
=
or 2 + 2 + 2 = .
(B)
+ +
2
2
We substitute = x(1 ) and = y(1 ) into eq. (B) to obtain
x2 + y 2
|z|2
= 2
= 2
.
2
x +y +1
|z| + 1
Once is available, we use eq. (A) to obtain
x
1 z+z
=
,
2
2
2
x +y +1
2 |z| + 1
y
1 zz
= 2
=
.
2
2
x +y +1
2i |z| + 1
=

50