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Analysis of A Complex Kind

This document provides an overview of a course on complex numbers and analysis. It discusses the following key points: - The course will cover the history, algebra, geometry, and applications of complex numbers, including functions, series, and dynamics. - Complex numbers were originally introduced to solve cubic equations, with Bombelli first demonstrating the need to manipulate expressions involving square roots of negative numbers. - Bombelli's work in the 16th century solving a particular cubic equation is considered the birth of complex analysis, as it showed real problems require complex arithmetic for their solutions.

Uploaded by

Lam Sin Wing
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
80 views

Analysis of A Complex Kind

This document provides an overview of a course on complex numbers and analysis. It discusses the following key points: - The course will cover the history, algebra, geometry, and applications of complex numbers, including functions, series, and dynamics. - Complex numbers were originally introduced to solve cubic equations, with Bombelli first demonstrating the need to manipulate expressions involving square roots of negative numbers. - Bombelli's work in the 16th century solving a particular cubic equation is considered the birth of complex analysis, as it showed real problems require complex arithmetic for their solutions.

Uploaded by

Lam Sin Wing
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Analysis of a

Complex Kind
Analysis of a Complex Kind
Week 1

Lecture 1: History of Complex Numbers

Petra Bonfert-Taylor

Lecture 1: History of Complex Numbers

Lecture 1: History of Complex Numbers

Analysis of a Complex Kind

P. Bonfert-Taylor

1 / 17

Welcome
About me:
Petra Bonfert-Taylor
Born, raised and educated in Germany (Berlin).
Ph.D. 1996, Technical University of Berlin.
Postdoc at University of Michigan.
Professor at Wesleyan University since 1999.

About this Course


Complex numbers, their geometry and algebra.
y

z = x + iy

About this Course

s
s
e
n
d
e
t
c
e
n
n
o
c
Riemann
e
s
s
a
r
t
s
r
e
i
e
W
Cauchy
t
e
s
n
e
lim i op

Historical explorations

About this Course


Complex dynamics: Mandelbrot set, Julia sets.

About this Course


Complex functions, continuity, complex
differentiation.

About this Course


Conformal mappings, Mbius transformations and
the Riemann mapping theorem.

About this Course


Complex integration, Cauchy theory and
I
consequences.

1
f (a) =
2i

f (z)
dz
z a

Fundamental Theorem of Algebra:

an z + an
n

= an (z

1z

z1 )(z

n 1

+ + a1 z + a0

z2 ) (z

zn )

About this Course


Power series representation of analytic functions,
Riemann hypothesis.

1
X
1
(s) =
s
n
n=1


?
s
r
e
mb

u
n

e
prim

1
1
1
= s + s + s +
1
2
3

Brief History of Complex Numbers


Consider a quadratic equation
x2 = mx + b

Solutions are
m
x=

m2
+b
4

and represent intersection of y = x2 and y = mx + b .

Solutions: .
m
x=

m2
+b
4

m2
What if 4 + b < 0 ?
2
In particular, x = 1 has no real solutions.
p
1.
It is often argued that this led to i =
But... Historically, no interest in non-real solutions
2
since the graphs of y = x and y = mx + b simply
dont intersect in that case.

History
Cubic equations were the real reason. Consider
x3 = px + q
Represents intersection of y = x3 and y = px + q .
There always must be a solution.

Solution to Cubic

Del Ferro (1465-1526) and Tartaglia (1499-1577),


followed by Cardano (1501-1576), showed that
x3 = px + q
has a solution given by
sr
sr
3
3
q2
p3
q
q2
p3
q
x=
+
4
27 2
4
27 2
Try it out for x3 =

6x + 20 !

Bombellis Problem
About 30 years after the discovery of this formula,
Bombelli (1526-1572) considered the equation
x3 = 15x + 4

Plugging p = 15 and q = 4 into the formula yields


q
q
p
p
3
3
x= 2+
121 + 2
121
Bombelli had a wild thought...

Bombellis Idea
Bombelli discovered that
q
q
p
p
3
3
2+
121 = 2 +
1 and
2

121 = 2

These clearly add up to 4, the desired solution.


Check it out:
p
p
p
p
3
3
(2 +
1) = 2 +
121 and (2
1) = 2
121

(2 +

Check it out...
1)3 =

The Birth of Complex Analysis


Bombellis discovery is considered the Birth of
Complex Analysis.
It showed that perfectly real problems require
complex arithmetic for their solution.
Note: Need to be able to manipulate complex
numbers according to the same rules we are used
to from real numbers (distributive law, etc).
Well study this next.

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