Chapter-1: Complex Numbers

Prof. J. K. Sahoo

Department of Mathematics
BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus

March 19, 2024

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Outline

1 Preliminaries

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Outline

1 Preliminaries

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Definition
A complex number is a pair (x , y ) of real numbers x , y .

Observe the complex number z = (x , y ), where the real number x is called

the “real part” of the complex number written as x = Re z, and the real
number y is called the “imaginary part” of the complex number z written
in symbols as y = Im z.

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Definition
A complex number is a pair (x , y ) of real numbers x , y .

Observe the complex number z = (x , y ), where the real number x is called

the “real part” of the complex number written as x = Re z, and the real
number y is called the “imaginary part” of the complex number z written
in symbols as y = Im z.

The complex numbers z1 = (x1 , y1 ), z2 = (x2 , y2 ) are “added” and

“multiplied” as follows:

z1 + z2 = (x1 , y2 ) + (x2 , y2 ) = (x1 + x2 , y1 + y2 )

z1 z2 = (x1 , y1 )(x2 , y2 ) = (x1 x2 − y1 y2 , x1 y2 + x2 y1 )

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Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x ,

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Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x , Observe
that from the definition it is clear:

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Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x , Observe
that from the definition it is clear:

(x , 0) + (0, y ) = (x , y )

it is also clear that

(0, 1)(y , 0) = (0, y )

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Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x , Observe
that from the definition it is clear:

(x , 0) + (0, y ) = (x , y )

it is also clear that

(0, 1)(y , 0) = (0, y )

So we can write a complex number (x , y ) as a sum (x , 0) + (0, 1)(y , 0)

J. K. Sahoo (BITS Goa) Complex Variables and Applications Complex Numbers 5 / 14

Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x , Observe
that from the definition it is clear:

(x , 0) + (0, y ) = (x , y )

it is also clear that

(0, 1)(y , 0) = (0, y )

So we can write a complex number (x , y ) as a sum (x , 0) + (0, 1)(y , 0)

identifying (x , 0) and (y , 0) with the real numbers x , y respectively we see
that:

J. K. Sahoo (BITS Goa) Complex Variables and Applications Complex Numbers 5 / 14

Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x , Observe
that from the definition it is clear:

(x , 0) + (0, y ) = (x , y )

it is also clear that

(0, 1)(y , 0) = (0, y )

So we can write a complex number (x , y ) as a sum (x , 0) + (0, 1)(y , 0)

identifying (x , 0) and (y , 0) with the real numbers x , y respectively we see
that: (x , y ) = x + (0, 1)y .

J. K. Sahoo (BITS Goa) Complex Variables and Applications Complex Numbers 5 / 14

Notations

Let us identify the complex number (x , 0) with the real number x , Observe
that from the definition it is clear:

(x , 0) + (0, y ) = (x , y )

it is also clear that

(0, 1)(y , 0) = (0, y )

So we can write a complex number (x , y ) as a sum (x , 0) + (0, 1)(y , 0)

identifying (x , 0) and (y , 0) with the real numbers x , y respectively we see
that: (x , y ) = x + (0, 1)y .
Note that (0, 1)(0, 1) = (−1, 0) = −1, so denoting (0, 1) by the symbol i,
we can write a complex number (x , y ) = x + iy , where i 2 = −1.

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Observations:

Let C = { Set of complex number}.

Note that every complex number is generated by (1, 0) and (0, 1)
since (x , y ) = x (1, 0) + y (0, 1). Hence C is a vector space with
dimension 2 and B = {(1, 0) = 1, (0, 1) = i} is the standard basis for
C.

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Observations:

Let C = { Set of complex number}.

Note that every complex number is generated by (1, 0) and (0, 1)
since (x , y ) = x (1, 0) + y (0, 1). Hence C is a vector space with
dimension 2 and B = {(1, 0) = 1, (0, 1) = i} is the standard basis for
C.
If we define a map T : C → R2 by T (x + iy ) = (x , y ), then we can
easily show T is a bijective map and hence C ∼
= R2 .

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Observations:

Let C = { Set of complex number}.

Note that every complex number is generated by (1, 0) and (0, 1)
since (x , y ) = x (1, 0) + y (0, 1). Hence C is a vector space with
dimension 2 and B = {(1, 0) = 1, (0, 1) = i} is the standard basis for
C.
If we define a map T : C → R2 by T (x + iy ) = (x , y ), then we can
easily show T is a bijective map and hence C ∼
= R2 .
We can relate some properties of R2 to C such as continuity,
differentiability etc.

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Argand plane/ Complex Plane/z− Plane

The complex number x + iy may be visualized as a point in a plane with

coordinated (x , y ),

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Argand plane/ Complex Plane/z− Plane

The complex number x + iy may be visualized as a point in a plane with

coordinated (x , y ), this plane is thought to be the plane where the
complex numbers reside, as a result it is called “the complex plane”.

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Argand plane/ Complex Plane/z− Plane

The complex number x + iy may be visualized as a point in a plane with

coordinated (x , y ), this plane is thought to be the plane where the
complex numbers reside, as a result it is called “the complex plane”.
Sometime this plane is also called “the Argand plane” after the
mathematician Argand who popularized this visualization method.
Absolute value
The distance from the origin to the point (x , y ) is called the absolute value
of the complex number z = x + iy . Which is denoted by |z| and defined by

q
|z| = x2 + y2

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Algebraic Properties

1 |z|n = |z n |.
2 Triangle inequality: |z1 + z2 | ≤ |z1 | + |z2 |.
3 |z1 + z2 | ≥ ||z1 | − |z2 ||.

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Algebraic Properties

1 |z|n = |z n |.
2 Triangle inequality: |z1 + z2 | ≤ |z1 | + |z2 |.
3 |z1 + z2 | ≥ ||z1 | − |z2 ||.
4 Conjugate: For a complex number z = a + ib, the complex number
a − ib is called the conjugate of z and it is denoted by z.
5 Using the conjugate one can write |z|2 = zz.
6 |z| = |z|.

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Algebraic Properties

1 |z|n = |z n |.
2 Triangle inequality: |z1 + z2 | ≤ |z1 | + |z2 |.
3 |z1 + z2 | ≥ ||z1 | − |z2 ||.
4 Conjugate: For a complex number z = a + ib, the complex number
a − ib is called the conjugate of z and it is denoted by z.
5 Using the conjugate one can write |z|2 = zz.
6 |z| = |z|.
7 Observe that z ̸= 0 if and only if |z| =
̸ 0.
8 The conjugate satisfies z1 z2 = z1 z2 .
 
z1 z1
9 For z2 ̸= 0 we have z2 = z2 .
10 Parallelogram Law: |z1 + z2 |2 + |z1 − z2 |2 = 2(|z1 |2 + |z2 |2 ).

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Polar form

A complex number z = (x + iy ) on the complex plane has a polar

coordinate description (r , θ) where r = |z| and θ, called the argument of
the complex number z or arg(z).
The argument of a complex number is decided up to an integer multiple of
2π. The value of the argument in the interval (−π, π] is called the
principal value of the argument. So we can write a complex number
z = |z| cos(arg (z)) + i|z| sin(arg (z))

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Polar form

A complex number z = (x + iy ) on the complex plane has a polar

coordinate description (r , θ) where r = |z| and θ, called the argument of
the complex number z or arg(z).
The argument of a complex number is decided up to an integer multiple of
2π. The value of the argument in the interval (−π, π] is called the
principal value of the argument. So we can write a complex number
z = |z| cos(arg (z)) + i|z| sin(arg (z))
arg(z) = Arg(z) + 2nπ, n ∈ Z.
arg(z1 z2 ) = arg(z1 ) + arg(z2 ).
 
z1
arg z2 = arg(z1 ) − arg(z2 ).

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De Moivre’s identity

Euler’s formula
The expression e iθ = cos θ + i sin θ is called Euler’s formula.

From the previous slides, we can write a complex number z as

z = |z|e iθ where θ = argz.

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De Moivre’s identity

Euler’s formula
The expression e iθ = cos θ + i sin θ is called Euler’s formula.

From the previous slides, we can write a complex number z as

z = |z|e iθ where θ = argz.
Applications:
Roots: The distinct nth roots of z0 are obtained by the following
formula
√ θ0
+ 2πk


ck = n
r0 e i n n , k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , n − 1, r0 = |z0 |, θ0 = Arg(z0 ).

Example
1
Find all the values of (1 − i) 3 .

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Questions

1 How to define a real power of a complex number? say iπ ?

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Questions

1 How to define a real power of a complex number? say iπ ?

2 How to define a complex power of a complex number? say ii ?

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Questions

1 How to define a real power of a complex number? say iπ ?

2 How to define a complex power of a complex number? say ii ?

3 Is it possible to get a real number from a complex power of a complex

number?
4 We can answer these problems in Chapter 3.

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Neighborhoods

1 Given z0 a complex number and ϵ a real positive number, we have a ϵ

neighborhood of z0 defined as the set {z ∈ C : |z − z0 | < ϵ}

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Neighborhoods

1 Given z0 a complex number and ϵ a real positive number, we have a ϵ

neighborhood of z0 defined as the set {z ∈ C : |z − z0 | < ϵ}

2 A deleted neighborhood of z0 is the set of points

{z ∈ C : 0 < |z − z0 | < ϵ}.

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1 A point z is called an interior point of a set S ⊂ C if there is an ϵ
neighborhood of z for some ϵ which is completely contained in S.

Im(z)

Re(z)

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1 A point z is called an interior point of a set S ⊂ C if there is an ϵ
neighborhood of z for some ϵ which is completely contained in S.

Im(z)

Re(z)
2 It is called an exterior point if there is a neighborhood that is
completely not contained in S. Or completely contained in the
complement of the set S.

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1 It is called a boundary point if it is neither an interior point nor an
exterior point of the set S.

Im(z)

Re(z)
2 The set of boundary points is called the boundary of the set.

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