20.

1 Complex Functions as Mappings

f (z) is called the image of z under f.

FIGURE 20.1.1 indicates the images of a finite number of complex numbers in the region R. More

useful information is obtained by finding the image of the region R together with the images of a family of curves lying inside R. Common choices for the curves are families of lines, families of circles, and the system of level curves for the real and imaginary parts of f .
y R z2 z1 w2 x z3 w3 (a) z-plane (b) w-plane u f w1 v

FIGURE 20.1.1 w1, w2, w3 are images of z1, z2, z3

Images of Curves Note that if z(t) x(t) iy(t), a t b, describes a curve C in the region, then w f (z(t)), a t b, is a parametric representation of the corresponding curve C in the w-plane. In addition, a point z on the level curve u(x, y) a will be mapped to a point w that lies on the vertical line u a, and a point z on the level curve v(x, y) b will be mapped to a point w that lies on the horizontal line v b.

y i

EXAMPLE 1

The Mapping f (z)

ez
(a) v

The horizontal strip 0 y p lies in the fundamental region of the exponential function f (z) ez. A vertical line segment x a in this region can be described by z(t) a it, 0 t p, and so w f (z(t)) eaeit. Thus the image is a semicircle with center at w 0 and with radius r ea. Similarly, a horizontal line y b can be parametrized by z(t) t ib, q t q, and so w f (z(t)) eteib. Since Arg w b and ZwZ et, the image is a ray emanating from the origin, and since 0 Arg w p, the image of the entire horizontal strip is the upper halfplane v 0. Note that the horizontal lines y 0 and y p are mapped onto the positive and negative u-axis, respectively. See FIGURE 20.1.2 for the mapping by f (z) ez. From w exeiy, we can conclude that ZwZ e x and y Arg w. Hence, z x iy loge ZwZ i Arg w Ln w. The inverse function f 1(w) Ln w therefore maps the upper half-plane v 0 back to the horizontal strip 0 y p.

Arg w = (b)

u Arg w = 0

FIGURE 20.1.2 Images of vertical and horizontal lines in Example 1

EXAMPLE 2

The Mapping f (z)

1/z

The complex function f (z) 1/z has domain z 0 and real and imaginary parts u(x, y) x/(x2 y2) and v(x, y) y/(x2 y2), respectively. When a 0, a level curve u(x, y) a can be written as x2 2 1 1 2 1 2 x 1 y2 5 0orax 2 b 1 y2 5 a b . a 2a 2a 20.1 Complex Functions as Mappings 853

y a= 1 2 b= 1 2 a= 1 2 x

The level curve is therefore a circle with its center on the x-axis and passing through the origin. A point z on this circle other than zero is mapped to a point w on the line u a. Likewise, the level curve v(x, y) b, b 0, can be written as x 2 1 ay 1 1 2 1 2 b 5 a b , 2b 2b

b= 1 2 (a) v 2

and a point z on this circle is mapped to a point w on the line v b. FIGURE 20.1.3 shows the mapping by f (z) 1/z. Figure 20.1.3(a) shows the two collections of circular level curves, and Figure 20.1.3(b) shows their corresponding images in the w-plane. Since w 1/z, we have z 1/w. Thus f 1(w) 1/w, and so f f 1. We can therefore 1 2 2 conclude that f maps the horizontal line y b to the circle u (v 2 b) ( 1 b)2, and f maps 2 the vertical line x a to the circle 1u 2 1a2 2 1 v2 5 1 1a2 2 . 2 2 Translation and Rotation The elementary linear function f (z) z z0 may be interpreted as a translation in the z-plane. To see this, we let z x iy and z0 h ik. Since w f (z) (x h) i( y k), the point (x, y) has been translated h units in the horizontal direction and k units in the vertical direction to the new position at (x h, y k). In particular, the origin O has been mapped to z0 h ik. The elementary function g(z) eiu0 z may be interpreted as a rotation through u0 degrees, for if z reiu, then w g(z) rei1u 1 u02 . Note that if the complex mapping h(z) eiu0 z z0 is applied to a region R that is centered at the origin, the image region R may be obtained by first rotating R through u0 degrees and then translating the center to the new position z0. See FIGURE 20.1.4 for the mapping by h(z) eiu0 z z0.

u 2 2

2 (b)

FIGURE 20.1.3 Images of circles in Example 2

EXAMPLE 3

Rotation and Translation

Find a complex function that maps the horizontal strip 2 x 4.

Solution If the horizontal strip 1 y 1 is rotated through 90 , the vertical strip 1 x 1 results, and the vertical strip 2 x 4 can be obtained by shifting this vertical strip 3 units to the right. See FIGURE 20.1.5. Since eip/2 i, we obtain h(z) iz 3 as the desired complex mapping.
y 4 v 4 2 x u 4 2 2 4 (a) (b) 2 4

(a) R v z0
0

2 2

FIGURE 20.1.5 Image of horizontal strip in Example 3

FIGURE 20.1.4 Translation and rotation

Magnification A magnification is a complex function of the form f (z) az, where a is a fixed positive real number. Note that ZwZ ZazZ aZzZ, and so f changes the length (but not the direction) of the complex number z by a fixed factor a. If g(z) az b and a r0eiu0 , then the vector z is rotated through u0 degrees, magnified by a factor of r0, and then translated using b.

EXAMPLE 4

Contraction and Translation

Find a complex function that maps the disk ZzZ

Solution We must first contract the radius of the disk by a factor of 1 and then translate 2 its center to the point 1 i. Therefore, w f (z) 1 z (1 i) maps Z zZ 1 to the disk 2 Zw (1 i)Z 1 . 2 854 CHAPTER 20 Conformal Mappings

Power Functions A complex function of the form f (z) za, where a is a fixed positive real number, is called a real power function. FIGURE 20.1.6 shows the effect of the complex function f (z) za on the angular wedge 0 Arg z u0. If z reiu, then w f (z) raeiau. Hence, 0 Arg w au0 and the opening of the wedge is changed by a factor of a. It is not hard to show that a circular arc with center at the origin is mapped to a similar circular arc, and rays emanating from the origin are mapped to similar rays.

R x

EXAMPLE 5

The Power Function f (z)

z 1/4
0 onto the wedge 0 Arg w p/4.
(a) v R

Find a complex function that maps the upper half-plane y

Solution The upper half-plane y 0 can also be described by the inequality 0 Arg z p. We must therefore find a complex mapping that reduces the angle u0 p by a factor of a 1 . 4 Hence, f (z) z1/4. Successive Mappings To find a complex mapping between two regions R and R , it is often convenient to first map R onto a third region R and then find a complex mapping from R onto R . More precisely, if z f (z) maps R onto R , and w g(z) maps R onto R , then the composite function w g( f (z)) maps R onto R . See FIGURE 20.1.7 for a diagram of successive mappings.
R R

0
u

(b)

z-plane f g

w-plane

FIGURE 20.1.6 R is image of angular wedge R

-plane

FIGURE 20.1.7 R is image of R under successive mappings

EXAMPLE 6

Successive Mappings
y p onto the wedge

Find a complex function that maps the horizontal strip 0 0 Arg w p/4.

Solution We saw in Example 1 that the complex function f (z) ez mapped the horizontal strip 0 y p onto the upper half-plane 0 Arg z p. From Example 5, the upper half-plane 0 Arg z p is mapped onto the wedge 0 Arg w p/4 by g(z) z1/4. It therefore follows that the composite function w g( f (z)) g(ez) ez/4 maps the horizontal strip 0 y p onto the wedge 0 Arg w p/4.

EXAMPLE 7

Successive Mappings
Arg z 3p/4 onto the upper half-plane

Find a complex function that maps the wedge p/4 v 0.

Solution We first rotate the wedge p/4 Arg z 3p/4 so that it is in the standard position shown in Figure 20.1.6. If z f (z) e ip/4z, then the image of this wedge is the wedge R defined by 0 Arg z p/2. The real power function w g(z) z2 expands the opening of R by a factor of two to give the upper half-plane 0 Arg w p as its image. Therefore, w g( f (z)) (e ip/4z)2 iz2 is the desired mapping. In Sections 20.220.4, we will expand our knowledge of complex mappings and show how they can be used to solve Laplaces equation in the plane. 20.1 Complex Functions as Mappings 855