Scribd
Upload
241 views1 page

An Intuitive Introduction To Complex Analysis

This document provides an overview of an intuitive textbook on complex analysis that is intended to teach the essential concepts at an intuitive level without rigorous proofs. It is meant for undergraduate students taking a one-semester course on complex variables and can cover more advanced topics than typical textbooks. The development uses concrete examples and graphical representations to help students build intuition and experience with special cases before precise definitions are introduced. It is hoped that this approach will give readers a "feel" for the subject and better prepare them for more rigorous treatments.

Uploaded by

Larios Wilson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
241 views1 page

An Intuitive Introduction To Complex Analysis

This document provides an overview of an intuitive textbook on complex analysis that is intended to teach the essential concepts at an intuitive level without rigorous proofs. It is meant for undergraduate students taking a one-semester course on complex variables and can cover more advanced topics than typical textbooks. The development uses concrete examples and graphical representations to help students build intuition and experience with special cases before precise definitions are introduced. It is hoped that this approach will give readers a "feel" for the subject and better prepare them for more rigorous treatments.

Uploaded by

Larios Wilson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

THIS IS A DRAFT MANUSCRIPT VERSION.

This version of the book is being made available to benefit


students who wish to have a copy of the book before the final print version is available. This version
preserves the beautifully hand-drawn illustrations of the original. THIS IS A DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
VERSION.

After having taught the traditional senior-level undergraduate complex variables course many times, and after
writing some dozen research papers incorporating the elements of this subject, the first author became aware
of a need for a “down to earth” presentation of the important applicable features. The development here is
intuitive and inductive as opposed to the usual rigorous and deductive presentations. Mathematical maturity
of the reader is not required, as no use is made of epsilon-delta arguments. The inductive exposition offered
here requires that the reader first study in detail specific concrete examples; she is then called upon to
“conjecture” general truths based on her experience with special cases. In this way the essential facts
needed for a good working knowledge of complex analysis are made to stand out clearly, and the intricacies
of the subject are mastered from first-hand experience. The only background required of the reader is the
usual three semester intuitive level calculus course given at most colleges and universities in the freshman
and sophomore years. Even then, it is assumed that the reader has only a very vague appreciation for the
more subtle aspects of the calculus such as infinite series and improper integrals.

While a rigorous formulation of the subject is absent from these pages, there is no attempt to “water down”
the information needed in practical applications. Indeed, use is made of material and intuitive insights which
the authors have gleaned from their own research in complex variables which is not usually found in text
books. As an example, unusual stress is placed upon actually visualizing specific functions through graphical
representations. The exact definition of an analytic function is not presented until the fourth chapter, even
though the concept is used in the second and third chapters. The student is made to see that she can deal
with a concept even though it is not precisely formulated, and that definitions often evolve slowly as
experience is gained with special cases. Thus the reader gradually develops a “feel” for this subject.

It is hoped that this intuitive presentation will be of value to a wide audience of readers. It can be used as a
text book for the usual one semester undergraduate complex variable course given in the junior or senior
year. Since this intuitive presentation proceeds at a considerably faster pace than most rigorous texts,
advanced topics not usually given in a one semester course can be included. Mathematical maturity is not
required of the student, and even advanced sophomores should be able to profit from this course. If the
professor also wishes to introduce a rigorous development of complex analysis, this text can serve as a tool
for “anchoring the students’ feet to the ground” so that they will better appreciate the need for a deductive
development. Engineers and physicists usually welcome intuitive developments of advanced mathematics,
and this presentation might be of value in a one semester course for them. This book is also intended for self-
study. There are many example problems, and every problem posed for the reader is solved in detail in an
appendix. In addition, each chapter is followed by review problems which are also solved in full in the
appendix. Students who have taken the traditional course in complex analysis might find that reading this
book helps to add concreteness to the general theoretical development they have witnessed.

You might also like