Zeros and poles
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Analysis portalIn mathematics, a zero of a function f(x) is a value a such that f(a) = 0.
In complex analysis, zeros of holomorphic functions and meromorphic functions play a particularly important role because of the duality between zeros and poles.
A function f of a complex variable z is meromorphic in the neighbourhood of a point z0,{displaystyle z_{0},}
Thus a pole is a certain type of singularity of a function, nearby which the function behaves relatively regularly, in contrast to essential singularities, such as 0 for the logarithm function, and branch points, such as 0 for the complex square root function.
Contents
1 Definitions
2 At infinity
3 Examples
4 Function on a curve
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Definitions
A function of a complex variable z is holomorphic in an open domain U if it is differentiable with respect to z at every point of U. Equivalently, it is holomorphic if it is analytic, that is, if its Taylor series exists at every point of U, and converges to the function in some neighbourhood of the point. A function is meromorphic in U if every point of U has a neighbourhood such that either f or 1/f is holomorphic in it.
A zero of a meromorphic function f is a complex number z such that f(z) = 0. A pole of f is a zero of 1/f.
If f is a function that is meromorphic in a neighbourhood of a point z0{displaystyle z_{0}}
- (z−z0)nf(z){displaystyle (z-z_{0})^{n}f(z)}
is holomorphic and nonzero in a neighbourhood of z0{displaystyle z_{0}}
If n > 0, then z0{displaystyle z_{0}}
This characterization of zeros and poles implies that zeros and poles are isolated, that is, every zero or pole has a neighbourhood that does not contain any other zero and pole.
Because of the order of zeros and poles being defined as a non-negative number n and the symmetry between them, it is often useful to consider a pole of order n as a zero of order –n and a zero of order n as a pole of order –n. In this case a point that is neither a pole nor a zero is viewed as a pole (or zero) of order 0.
A meromorphic function may have infinitely many zeros and poles. This is the case for the Gamma function (see the image in the info box), which is meromorphic in the whole complex plane, and has a simple pole at every non-positive integer. The Riemann zeta function is also meromorphic in the whole complex plane, with a single pole of order 1 at z = 1. It has no zeros in the left halfplane besides at all even integers along the negative real line, and the Riemann hypothesis is the conjecture that all other zeros are along Re(z) = 1/2.
In a neighbourhood of a point z0,{displaystyle z_{0},}
- f(z)=∑k≥−nak(z−z0)k,{displaystyle f(z)=sum _{kgeq -n}a_{k}(z-z_{0})^{k},}
where n is an integer, and a−n≠0.{displaystyle a_{-n}neq 0.}
At infinity
A function z↦f(z){displaystyle zmapsto f(z)}
- limz→∞f(z)zn{displaystyle lim _{zto infty }{frac {f(z)}{z^{n}}}}
exists and is a nonzero complex number.
In this case, the point at infinity is a pole of order n if n > 0, and a zero of order n if n < 0.
For example, a polynomial of degree n has a pole of degree n at infinity.
The complex plane extended by a point at infinity is called the Riemann sphere.
If f is a function that is meromorphic on the whole Riemann sphere, then it has a finite number of zeros and poles, and the sum of the orders of its poles equals the sum of the orders of its zeros.
Every rational function is meromorphic on the whole Riemann sphere, and, in this case, the sum of orders of the zeros or of the poles is the maximum of the degrees of the numerator and the denominator.
Examples
A pole of order 9, at infinity, for a polynomial complex function of degree 9, such as f(z)=z9{displaystyle f(z)=z^{9}}
- The function
- f(z)=3z{displaystyle f(z)={frac {3}{z}}}
- f(z)=3z{displaystyle f(z)={frac {3}{z}}}
- is meromorphic on the whole Riemann sphere. It has a pole of order 1 or simple pole at z=0,{displaystyle z=0,}
and a simple zero at infinity.
- The function
- f(z)=z+2(z−5)2(z+7)3{displaystyle f(z)={frac {z+2}{(z-5)^{2}(z+7)^{3}}}}
- f(z)=z+2(z−5)2(z+7)3{displaystyle f(z)={frac {z+2}{(z-5)^{2}(z+7)^{3}}}}
- is meromorphic on the whole Riemann sphere. It has a pole of order 2 at z=5,{displaystyle z=5,}
and a pole of order 3 at z=−7{displaystyle z=-7}
. It has a simple zero at z=−2,{displaystyle z=-2,}
and a quadruple zero at infinity.
- The function
- f(z)=z−4ez−1{displaystyle f(z)={frac {z-4}{e^{z}-1}}}
- f(z)=z−4ez−1{displaystyle f(z)={frac {z-4}{e^{z}-1}}}
- is meromorphic in the whole complex plane, but not at infinity. It has poles of order 1 at z=2πni for n∈Z{displaystyle z=2pi ni{text{ for }}nin {mathbb {Z} }}
. This can be seen by writing the Taylor series of ez{displaystyle e^{z}}
around the origin.
- The function
- f(z)=z{displaystyle f(z)=z}
- f(z)=z{displaystyle f(z)=z}
- has a single pole at infinity of order 1, and a single zero at the origin.
All above examples except for the third are rational functions. For a general discussion of zeros and poles of such functions, see Pole–zero plot § Continuous-time systems.
Function on a curve
The concept of zeros and poles extends naturally to functions on a complex curve, that is complex analytic manifold of dimension one (over the complex numbers). The simplest examples of such curves are the complex plane and the Riemann surface. This extension is done by transferring structures and properties through charts, which are analytic isomorphisms.
More precisely, let f be a function from a complex curve M to the complex numbers. This function is holomorphic (resp. meromorphic) in a neighbourhood of a point z of M if there is a chart ϕ{displaystyle phi }
If the curve is compact, and the function f is meromorphic on the whole curve, then the number of zeros and poles is finite, and the sum of the orders of the poles equals the sum of the orders of the zeros. This is one of the basic facts that are involved in Riemann–Roch theorem.
See also
- Control theory#Stability
- Filter design
- Filter (signal processing)
- Gauss–Lucas theorem
- Hurwitz's theorem (complex analysis)
- Marden's theorem
- Nyquist stability criterion
- Pole–zero plot
- Residue (complex analysis)
- Rouché's theorem
- Sendov's conjecture
References
Conway, John B. (1986). Functions of One Complex Variable I. Springer. ISBN 0-387-90328-3..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
Conway, John B. (1995). Functions of One Complex Variable II. Springer. ISBN 0-387-94460-5.
Henrici, Peter (1974). Applied and Computational Complex Analysis 1. John Wiley & Sons.
External links
- Weisstein, Eric W. "Pole". MathWorld.
