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Classification of Singular Points

The document discusses different types of singularities that can occur in complex functions, including isolated singularities which are further classified into removable singularities, poles, and essential singularities, as well as non-isolated singularities. Removable singularities occur when the limit of the function exists, poles occur when the principal part of the Laurent series contains a finite number of negative powers, and essential singularities occur when the principal part contains infinitely many negative powers.

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Bala Balaji
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312 views4 pages

Classification of Singular Points

The document discusses different types of singularities that can occur in complex functions, including isolated singularities which are further classified into removable singularities, poles, and essential singularities, as well as non-isolated singularities. Removable singularities occur when the limit of the function exists, poles occur when the principal part of the Laurent series contains a finite number of negative powers, and essential singularities occur when the principal part contains infinitely many negative powers.

Uploaded by

Bala Balaji
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
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Complex Variables

Classification of Singular Points

Types of Singularity

There are two types of singularities


Ι. Isolated singularity and
ΙΙ. Non – isolated singularity.

(Ι) Isolated Singularity:


If f (z) is analytic at each point in the deleted neighbourhood of a singularity
z = z0, which contains no other singularity then z = z0 is said to be an isolated
singularity of f (z).

1
Ex: (i) f(z) = is analytic everywhere except at z = 0.
z
Hence z = 0 is an isolated singularity.
3
(ii) f(z) = has an infinite number of isolated singularities at z = ± π, ± 2π, ....
sin z
etc.
z −1
(iii) f(z) =
3
(
z z +9 2
) has three isolated singularities at z = 0, z = ± 3i .

Isolated singularities are further classified into the three categories.

(1) Removable Singularity: If a single valued function f(z) is not defined at z = a,


but lim f (z) exists, then the singularity z =a is known as removable singularity.
z →a
sin z
For example: The function f (z) = which is not defined at z = 0.
z
For z ≠ 0, we have
1 z3 z5 
f(z) = z − + − ....
z  3! 5! 
Complex Variables

z2 z4
=1– + − ...... which contains no negative powers of z.
3! 5!
If we set f (z) = 1 at z = 0, then f(z) becomes analytic at z = 0. Thus the function
f(z) has a removable singularity at z = 0.
(2) Poles: If z = a is an isolated singular point of an analytic function f(z), then f(z) can
be expanded in Lauren’t series about z = a.
∞ ∞ bn
i.e., f(z) = ∑ an (z − a )n + ∑ .
n =1 (z − a )
n
n=0
∞ bn
Here the negative powers of z – a, i.e., ∑ is known as the principal part of
n =1 (z − a )
n

the Laurent’s series of f (z).


If the principal part contains a finite number of terms say m, then z = a is called
the pole of order m.
Note: Pole of order ’one’ is called a simple pole.

Example:
z3
(i) f(z)= has a simple pole at z = 2 and a pole of order 4 at z = – 3.
(z − 2) (z + 3)4
1 − e 2z
(ii) f(z) = has a pole of order 3 at z = 0, since expanding,
4
z
 2 z (2z )2 
1 − 1 + + + .....
1 − e 2z  1! 2 
f(z)= =
4
z z4
2 2 4 1 2 4z 
=−  + + ⋅ + + + ....
 z 3 z 2 3 z 3 15 
The highest negative power of z is –3.
∴ f(z) has a pole of order 3 at z = 0.
Complex Variables

(3) Essential Singularity: In the Laurent’s series expansion of f(z) at z = a, if the


∞ bn
principal part of f(z) contains an infinite number of terms, i.e., ∑ is
n =1 (z − a )
n

infinite, then the point z=a is called an essential singularity of f (z).


For example, sin 1/z has an essential singularity at the origin.
For, the Laurent’s series expansion of sin 1/z about the origin is
1 z −3 z −5
− + − .........∞ which contains infinite powers of 1/z.
z 3! 5!
Also f(z) = e1/z has essential singularity at z = 0, since the principal part of e1/z
contains infinite term having negative powers of (z – 0).

(ΙΙ) Non-isolated Singularity:


Def: If z = a is a singularity, such that every neighbourhood of ‘a’ contains another
singularity, then z = a is a non-isolated singularity. We understand the definition
of non-isolated singularity through an example.

Let f(z) = logz, which has z = 0 as a singularity. But logz is not analytic on the
negative real axis. Since every neighbourhood of z = 0 contains points on the
negative real axis, z = 0 is not an isolated singularity of f(z).
We say that for log z, z = 0 is a non-isolated singularity.

Note: We consider only isolated singularities in our problems.

Alternative Explanation: If z = a is an isolated singular point of an analytic


function f(z), then f(z) can be expanded in Laurent’s series about the point z = a.
∞
∑ an (z − a ) .
n
i.e., f (z) =
n=−∞

The series of negative powers of (z – a) is known as principal part of the


Laurent’s series.
Complex Variables

(i) If the principal part contains a finite number of terms, say m, i.e., a–m ≠ 0 and
an = 0 for n ≤ –(m+1) then the singular point at z = a is called the pole of order
m.
(ii) If the principal part of f(z) contains infinite number of terms, i.e., an ≠ 0 for
infinitely many negative integers n, then the point z = a is called the essential
singularity of f(z).
(iii) If the principal part of f(z) contains no term i.e., an=0 for n ≤ – 1, then the
singularity at z = a is called the removable singularity of f(z).

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