Valahia University of Targoviste

Complex numbers

Name-Vlad AlinaMihaela Faculty-Science&Arts Specialization-Mathematics-Informatics Year-II

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Contents 1. Introduction and definition 1.1 Definition 2.Complex numbers 2.1 Elementary operations 2.1.1 Addition and subtraction 2.1.2 Multiplication and division 2.2 Conjugation .!"e imaginary number i #.Complex moduls $.Absolute s%uare &.Absolute value '.!"e Euler formula (. )roperties (.1 *ield structure (.2 +olutions of polynomial e%uations (. Algebraic c"aracteri,ation (.# C"aracteri,ation as a topological field -.Multiplicative Invers 1.. Complex analysis 1..1 Complex exponential and related functions

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1..2 /olomorp"ic functions 11.Applications 11.1 Control t"eory 11.2 +ignal analysis 11. Improper integrals 11.# 0uantum mec"anics 11.$ 1elativity 11.& Applied mat"ematics 11.' *luid dynamics 11.( *ractals 11.- Algebraic number t"eory 11.1. Analytic number t"eory 12. /istory 1 . 2enerali,ations and related notions 1#.3ibliograp"y

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Introduction and definition

!"e complex numbers are t"e field of numbers of t"e form 4 4 5"ere and are real numbers and i is is used to denote a can be 5ritten . t"e imaginary unit e%ual to t"es%uare root of . 6"en a single letter

complex number4 it is sometimes called an 7affix.7 In component notation4 !"e field of complex numbers includes t"e field of real numbers as a subfield.

Complex numbers 5ere first conceived and defined by t"e Italian mat"ematician Gerolamo Cardano4 5"o called t"em 7fictitious74 during "is attempts to find solutions to cubic e%uations. !"e solution of a general cubic e%uation in radicals 85it"out trigonometric functions9 may re%uire intermediate calculations containing t"e s%uare roots of negative numbers4 even 5"en t"e final solutions are real numbers4 a situation :no5n as casus irreducibilis. !"is ultimately led to t"e fundamental theorem of algebra4 5"ic" s"o5s t"at 5it" complex numbers4 a solution exists to every polynomial e%uation of degree one or "ig"er. Complex numbers t"us form analgebraically closed field4 5"ere any polynomial e%uation "as a root. !"e rules for addition4 subtraction4 multiplication4 and division of complex numbers 5ere developed by t"e Italian mat"ematician Rafael Bombelli.A more abstract formalism for t"e complex numbers 5as furt"er developed by t"e Iris" mat"ematician William Rowan Hamilton, 5"o extended t"is abstraction to t"e t"eory of quaternions. Complex numbers are used in a number of fields4including; engineering4 electromagnetism4 %uantum p"ysics4 applied mat"ematics4 and c"aos t"eory. 6"en t"e underlying field of numbers for a mat"ematical construct is t"e field of complex numbers4 t"e name usually reflects t"at fact. Examples are complex analysis4 complex matrix4 complex polynomial4 and complex <ie algebra. Complex numbers are plotted on t"e complex plane4 on 5"ic" t"e real part is on t"e "ori,ontal axis4 and t"e imaginary part on t"e vertical axis.

Definition
A complex number is an expression of t"e form /ere a and b are real numbers4 and i is a mat"ematical symbol 5"ic" is called imaginary unit. *or example4 = .$ > 2i is a complex number. !"e real number a of t"e complex number ? a > bi is called t"e real part of and t"e real number bis

t"e imaginary part.@#A !"ey are denoted 1e8 9 or 8 9 and Im8 9 or 8 94 respectively. *or example4

+ome aut"ors also 5rite a>ib instead of a>bi. In some disciplines 8in particular4 electrical engineering4 5"ere i is a symbol for current94 t"e imaginary unit i is instead 5ritten as !4 so complex numbers are sometimes 5ritten as a > b! or a > !b.

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!"e complex numbers are regarded as an extension of t"e real numbers by considering every real number a as a complex number 5it" an imaginary part of ,ero4 t"at is to say4 a > .i. Complex numbers 5"ose real part is ,ero4 t"at is to say4 ones of t"e form . > bi are called imaginary numbers. It is common to 5rite a for a > .i and bi for . > bi. Moreover4 5"en b is negative4 it is common to 5rite a B 8Bb"i instead of a > bi4 for example B #i instead of > 8B#9i. .

!"e set of all complex numbers is denoted by C or

Complex numbers
Complex numbers are useful abstract %uantities t"at can be used in calculations and result in p"ysically meaningful solutions. /o5ever4 recognition of t"is fact is one t"at too: a long time for mat"ematicians to accept. *or example4 Co"n 6allis 5rote4 7!"ese Imaginary 0uantities 8as t"ey are commonly called9 arising from t"e +upposed 1oot of a Degative +%uare 85"en t"ey "appen9 are reputed to imply t"at t"e Case proposed is Impossible7 86ells 1-(&4 p. 229.

!"roug" t"e Euler formula4 a complex number

81 9 may be 5ritten in 7p"asor7 form

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82 9

/ere4

is :no5n as t"e complex modulus 8or sometimes t"e complex norm9 and of

is :no5n as t"e complex

argument or p"ase. !"e plot above s"o5s 5"at is :no5n as an Argand diagram of t"e point 4 5"ere t"e das"ed circle represents t"e complex modulus and t"e angle represents its complex argument. /istorically4 t"e geometric representation of a complex number as simply a point in t"e plane 5as important because it made t"e 5"ole idea of a complex number more acceptable. In particular4 7imaginary7 numbers became accepted partly t"roug" t"eir visuali,ation. Enli:e real numbers4 complex numbers do not "ave a natural ordering4 so t"ere is no analog of complex=valued ine%ualities. !"is property is not so surprising "o5ever 5"en t"ey are vie5ed as being elements in t"ecomplex plane4 since points in a plane also lac: a natural ordering. de MoivreFs identity relates po5ers of complex numbers for real by

A po5er of complex number

to a positive integer exponent

can be 5ritten in closed form as

!"e first fe5 are explicitly ? ? ? ?

Elementary operations
Complex addition

complex subtraction

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complex multiplication

complex division

!"e real and imaginary part 8c and d4 respectively9 of t"e denominator must not bot" be ,ero for t"e division to be defined. Division is defined in t"is 5ay in order because t"e product of t"e rig"t "and expression 5it" c > di 8using t"e previous formula for multiplication9 is a > bi. !"us4 dividing a > bi byc > di and t"en multiplying it 5it" c > di again gives bac: a > bi4 as is familiar from real or rational numbers. can also be defined for complex numbers. Complex numbers may also be ta:en to complex po5ers.

Conjugation

2eometric representation of

and its conjugate

in t"e complex plane ? x > yi is defined to be x B yi. It is denoted or .

!"e complex con!ugate of t"e complex number 2eometrically4 is t"e 7reflection7 of . complex number;

about t"e real axis. In particular4 conjugating t5ice gives t"e original

!"e real and imaginary parts of a complex number can be extracted using t"e conjugate;

Moreover4 a complex number is real if and only if it e%uals its conjugate.

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Conjugation distributes over t"e standard arit"metic operations;

!"e reciprocal of a non,ero complex number

? x > yi is given by

!"is formula can be used to compute t"e multiplicative inverse of a complex number if it is given in rectangular coordinates. Inversive geometry4 a branc" of geometry studying more general reflections t"an ones about a line4 can be expressed in terms of complex numbers4 too.

"The" imaginary number i

7!"e7 imaginary number 8also called t"e imaginary unit9 is defined as t"e s%uare root of #$4 i.e.4 distinguis"ed until one of t"e t5o is defined as t"e imaginary unit4 at 5"ic" point and can t"en be . . Alt"oug" t"ere are t5o possible s%uare roots of any number4 t"e s%uare roots of a negative number cannot be distinguis"ed. +ince eit"er c"oice is possible4 t"ere is no ambiguity in defining as 7t"e7 s%uare root of

In %athematica4 t"e imaginary number is implemented as I. *or some reason4 engineers and p"ysicists prefer t"e symbol ! to 4 probably because t"e symbol 8or 9 is commonly used to denote current. In t"e novel &he 'a (inci Code4 t"e c"aracter 1obert <angdon jo:es t"at c"aracter +op"ie Deveu 7believes in t"e imaginary number because it "elps "er brea: code7 83ro5n 2.. 4 p. $19. In t"e movie )roof 82..$94 t"e c"aracter /al Dobbs 8played by Ca:e 2yllen"aal9 is a mat"ematics graduate student 5"ose roc:=and=roll band 7plays7 a song called 7 .7 !"e jo:e is t"at 5"en t"e band 7plays7 t"e song4 t"ey remain silent and motionless for several minutes since t"e song is 7imaginary.7 In Isaac AsimovFs s"ort story 7!"e Imaginary7 81-#294 eccentric psyc"ologist !an )orus explains t"e be"avior of a mysterious species of s%uid by using imaginary numbers in t"e e%uations 5"ic" describe its psyc"ology. !"e ant"ology *maginary +umbers, -n -nthology of %ar.elous %athematical /tories, 'i.ersions, )oems, and %usings 8*ruc"t 2...9 includes many ot"er 5or:s involving imaginary numbers. Dumbers of t"e form 4 5"ere is a real number4 are called imaginary numbers 8or sometimes4 for 5"ere and are real numbers are is used to denote a complex number4 it is sometimes 8in older texts9 called

emp"asis4 purely imaginary numbers9. Dumbers of t"e form called complex numbers4 and 5"en an 7affix.7 !"e s%uare root of is

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since

!"is can be immediately derived from t"e Euler formula 5it"

Complex moduls
!"e modulus of a complex number 4 also called t"e complex norm4 is denoted and defined by

If

is expressed as a complex exponential 8i.e.4 a p"asor94 t"en

!"e complex modulus is implemented in %athematica as Abs@ A4 or as Dorm@ A. !"e s%uare <et of and is sometimes called t"e absolute s%uare. be t5o complex numbers. !"en

so

Also4

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so

and4 by extension4

!"e only functions satisfying identities of t"e form

are

4 and

Absolute square
!"e absolute s%uare of a complex number 4 also :no5n as t"e s%uared norm4 is defined as

5"ere

denotes t"e complex conjugate of

and 4 5it"

is t"e complex modulus. and real4 t"en t"e absolute s%uare can be 5ritten

If t"e complex number is 5ritten

If

is a real number4 t"en 819 simplifies to

An absolute s%uare can be computed in terms of

and

using

t"e %athematica commandComplexExpand@Abs@ AG24 !arget*unctions =H Conjugate A. An important identity involving t"e absolute s%uare is given by

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If

4 t"en 8&9 becomes

If

4 and

4 t"en

*inally4

Absolute value
!"e absolute value of a complex number 4 also called t"e complex modulus4 is defined as 8 9 !"is form is implemented in %athematica as Abs@ A and is illustrated above for complex . Dote t"at t"e derivative 8read; complex derivative9 plane4 t"e value of t"e derivative of does not exist because at every point in t"ecomplex

depends on t"e direction in 5"ic" t"e derivative is ta:en 8so t"e Cauc"y= as

1iemann e%uations cannot and do not "old9. /o5ever4 t"e real derivative 8i.e.4 restricting t"e derivative to directions along t"e real axis9 can be defined for points ot"er t"an

8#9

As a result of t"e fact t"at computer algebra programs suc" as %athematica generically deal 5it" complex variables 8i.e.4 t"e definition of derivative al5ays means complex derivative94 unevaluated by suc" soft5are. correctly returns

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Dote t"at t"e notation is commonly used to denote t"e complex modulus4 p=adic norm4 or generalvaluation. In is also denoted 4 alt"oug" t"e notation is also in common use. are similar to t"at t"is 5or:4 t"e norm of a vector

!"e notations for t"e floor function used for t"e absolute value.

4 nearest integer function

4 and ceiling function

!"e unit s%uare integral of t"e absolute value of t"e difference of t5o variables ta:en to t"e po5er

is given by

The Euler formula

!"e Euler formula4 sometimes also called t"e Euler identity 4states

5"ere i is t"e imaginary unit. Dote t"at EulerFs poly"edral formula is sometimes also called t"e Euler formula4 as is t"e Euler curvature formula. !"e e%uivalent expression

"ad previously been publis"ed by Cotes 81'1#9. !"e special case of t"e formula 5it" gives t"e beautiful identity

an e%uation connecting t"e fundamental numbers i4 pi4 e4 14 and . 8,ero94 t"e fundamental operations 4 4 and exponentiation4 t"e most important relation 4 and not"ing else. 2auss is reported to "ave commented t"at if t"is formula 5as not immediately obvious4 t"e reader 5ould never be a first=class mat"ematician. !"e Euler formula can be demonstrated using a series expansion.

It can also be demonstrated using a complex integral. <et

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Properties
Field structure !"e set C of complex numbers is a field. 3riefly4 t"is means t"at t"e follo5ing facts "old; first4 any t5o complex numbers can be added and multiplied to yield anot"er complex number. +econd4 for any complex number a4 its negative Ba is also a complex number and t"ird every non,ero complex number "as a reciprocal complex number. Moreover4 t"ese operations satisfy a number of la5s4 for example t"e la5 of commutativity of addition and multiplication for any t5o complex numbers
1

and

!"ese t5o la5s and t"e ot"er re%uirements on a field can be proven by t"e formulas given above4 using t"at similar formulas "old for real numbers. Enli:e t"e reals4 C is not an ordered field4 t"at is to say4 it is not possible to define a relation necessarily positive4 so i2 ? B1 precludes t"e existence of an ordering on C. Solutions of polynomial equations 2iven any complex numbers 8called coefficients9 a.4 ...4 an4 t"e e%uation
1

t"at is

compatible 5it" t"e addition and multiplication. In fact4 in any ordered field4 t"e s%uare of any element is

"as at least one complex solution 4 provided t"at at least one of t"e "ig"er coefficients4 a14 ...4 an4 is non,ero. !"is is t"e statement of t"e fundamental theorem of algebra. 3ecause of t"is fact4 C is called an algebraically closed field. !"is property does not "old for t"e fields Q 8t"e polynomial x2 B 2 does not "ave a rational root4 since J2 is not a rational number9 or R 8t"e polynomial x2 > a does not "ave a real solution for a H .4 since t"e s%uare of x is positive for any real number x9. !"ere are various proofs of t"is t"eorem4 eit"er by analytic met"ods suc" as <iouvilleFs t"eorem4 ortopological ones suc" as t"e 5inding number4 or a proof combining 2alois t"eory and t"e fact t"at any real polynomial of odd degree "as at least one root.

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3ecause of t"is fact4 t"eorems t"at "old for any algebraically closed field4 apply to C. *or example4 any complex matrix "as at least one 8complex9 eigenvalue. Algebraic characterization !"e field C "as t"e follo5ing t"ree properties; first4 it "as c"aracteristic .. !"is means t"at $ > $ > ... > $ K . for any number of summands 8all of 5"ic" e%ual one9. +econd4 its transcendence degree overQ4 t"e prime field of C is t"e cardinality of t"e continuum. !"ird4 it is algebraically closed 8see above9. It can be s"o5n t"at any field "aving t"ese properties is isomorp"ic 8as a field9 to C. *or example4 t"e algebraic closure of Qp also satisfies t"ese t"ree properties4 so t"ese t5o fields are isomorp"ic. Also4 C is isomorp"ic to t"e field of complex )uiseux series. /o5ever4 specifying an isomorp"ism re%uires t"e axiom of c"oice. Anot"er conse%uence of t"is algebraic c"aracteri,ation is t"at C contains many proper subfields 5"ic" are isomorp"ic to C 8t"e same is true of R4 5"ic" contains many sub fields isomorp"ic to itself @citation neededA9. Characterization as a topological field !"e preceding c"aracteri,ation of C describes t"e algebraic aspects of C4 only. !"at is to say4 t"e properties of nearness and continuity4 5"ic" matter in areas suc" as analysis and topology4 are not dealt 5it". !"e follo5ing description of C as a topological field 8t"at is4 a field t"at is e%uipped 5it" atopology4 5"ic" allo5s to specify notions suc" as convergence9 does ta:e into account t"e topological properties. @citation neededA; C contains a subset ) 8namely t"e set of positive real numbers9 of non,ero elements satisfying t"e follo5ing t"ree conditions; ) is closed under addition4 multiplication and ta:ing inverses. If x and y are distinct elements of )4 t"en eit"er xBy or yBx is in ). If / is any nonempty subset of )4 t"en / > ) ? x > ) for some x in C. 8namely t"e complex conjugation94 fixing ) and

Moreover4 C "as a nontrivial involutive automorp"ism

suc" t"at xx is in ) for any non,ero x in C. Any field 0 5it" t"ese properties can be endo5ed 5it" a topology by ta:ing t"e sets B8x4 p9 ? Ly M p B 8y B x98y Bx9 )N as a base4 5"ere xranges over t"e field and p ranges over ). 6it" t"is topology 0 is isomorp"ic as a topological field toC. !"e only connected locally compact topological fields are R and C. !"is gives anot"er c"aracteri,ation of C as a topological field4 since C can be distinguis"ed from R because t"e non,ero complex numbers are connected4 5"ile t"e non,ero real numbers are not.

Multiplicative Invers
In a monoid or multiplicative group 5"ere t"e operation is a product 4 t"e multiplicative inverse of any element is t"e element suc" t"at 4 5it" 1 t"e identity element. is its reciprocal 8,ero is not invertible9. *or

!"e multiplicative inverse of a non,ero number complex 4

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!"e inverse of a non,ero real %uaternion t"em are ,ero9 is its reciprocal

85"ere

are real numbers4 and not all of

5"ere

!"e multiplicative inverse of a nonsingular matrix is its matrix inverse.

!o detect t"e multiplicative inverse of a given element in t"e multiplication table of finite multiplicative group4 traverse t"e elementFs ro5 until t"e identity element 1 is encountered4 and t"en go up to t"e top ro5. In t"is 5ay4 it can be immediately determined t"at formed by all complex fourt" roots of unity. is t"e multiplicative inverse of in t"e multiplicative group

Complex analysis
!"e study of functions of a complex variable is :no5n as complex analysis and "as enormous practical use in applied mat"ematics as 5ell as in ot"er branc"es of mat"ematics. Often4 t"e most natural proofs for statements in real analysis or even number t"eory employ tec"ni%ues from complex analysis 8see prime number t"eorem for an example9. Enli:e real functions 5"ic" are commonly represented as t5o=dimensional grap"s4complex functions "ave four=dimensional grap"s and may usefully be illustrated by color coding at"ree= dimensional grap" to suggest four dimensions4 or by animating t"e complex functionFs dynamic transformation of t"e complex plane. Complex exponential and related functions !"e notions of convergent series and continuous functions in 8real9 analysis "ave natural analogs in complex analysis. A se%uence of complex numbers is said to converge if and only if its real and imaginary parts do. !"is is e%uivalent to t"e 8P4 Q9=definition of limits4 5"ere t"e absolute value of real numbers is replaced by t"e one of complex numbers. *rom a more abstract point of vie54 C4 endo5ed 5it" t"e metric

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is a metric space4 5"ic" notably includes t"e triangle ine%uality

for any t5o complex numbers

and

<i:e in real analysis4 t"is notion of convergence is used to construct a number of elementary functions; t"e exponential function exp8 94 also 5ritten e 4 is defined as t"e infinite series

and t"e series defining t"e real trigonmetric functions sine and cosine4 as 5ell as "yperbolic functionssuc" as sin" also carry over to complex arguments 5it"out c"ange. 1uler2s identity states;

for any real number 34 in particular

Enli:e in t"e situation of real numbers4 t"ere is an infinitude of complex solutions t"e e%uation

of

for any complex number w K .. It can be s"o5n t"at any suc" solution Rcalled complex logarit"m ofaR satisfies

5"ere arg is t"e argument defined above4 and ln t"e 8real9 natural logarit"m. As arg is a multivalued function4 uni%ue only up to a multiple of 244 log is also multivalued. !"e principal value of log is often ta:en by restricting t"e imaginary part to t"e interval 8BS4SA. Complex exponentiation
5

is defined as

Conse%uently4 t"ey are in general multi=valued. *or 5 ? 1 T n4 for some natural number n4 t"is recovers t"e non= unicity of n=t" roots mentioned above. Holomorphic functions A function f; C U C is called "olomorp"ic if it satisfies t"e Cauc"y=1iemann e%uations. *or example4 any R= linear map C U C can be 5ritten in t"e form

5it" complex coefficients a and b. !"is map is "olomorp"ic if and only if b ? .. !"e second summand real=differentiable4 but does not satisfy t"e Cauc"y=1iemann e%uations.

is

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Complex analysis s"o5s some features not apparent in real analysis. *or example4 any t5o "olomorp"ic functions f and g t"at agree on an arbitrarily small open subset of C necessarily agree every5"ere. Meromorp"ic functions4 functions t"at can locally be 5ritten as f8 9T8 B singularities4 suc" as sin81T 9 at ? ..
.

9n 5it" a "olomorp"ic

function f8 94 still s"are some of t"e features of "olomorp"ic functions. Ot"er functions "ave essential

Applications
+ome applications of complex numbers are; Control theory In control t"eory4 systems are often transformed from t"e time domain to t"e fre%uency domain using t"e <aplace transform. !"e systemFs poles and ,eros are t"en analy,ed in t"e complex plane. !"e root locus4 Dy%uist plot4 and Dic"ols plot tec"ni%ues all ma:e use of t"e complex plane. In t"e root locus met"od4 it is especially important 5"et"er t"e poles and ,eros are in t"e left or rig"t "alf planes4 i.e. "ave real part greater t"an or less t"an ,ero. If a system "as poles t"at are in t"e rig"t "alf plane4 it 5ill be unstable4 all in t"e left "alf plane4 it 5ill be stable4 on t"e imaginary axis4 it 5ill "ave marginal stability.

If a system "as ,eros in t"e rig"t "alf plane4 it is a nonminimum p"ase system. Signal analysis Complex numbers are used in signal analysis and ot"er fields for a convenient description for periodically varying signals. *or given real functions representing actual p"ysical %uantities4 often in terms of sines and cosines4 corresponding complex functions are considered of 5"ic" t"e real parts are t"e original %uantities. *or a sine 5ave of a given fre%uency4 t"e absolute value M M of t"e corresponding argument arg8 9 t"e p"ase. If *ourier analysis is employed to 5rite a given real=valued signal as a sum of periodic functions4 t"ese periodic functions are often 5ritten as complex valued functions of t"e form is t"e amplitude and t"e

5"ere V represents t"e angular fre%uency and t"e complex number explained above.

encodes t"e p"ase and amplitude as

In electrical engineering4 t"e *ourier transform is used to analy,e varying voltages and currents. !"e treatment of resistors4 capacitors4 and inductors can t"en be unified by introducing imaginary4 fre%uency=dependent resistances for t"e latter t5o and combining all t"ree in a single complex number called t"e impedance. 8Electrical engineers and some p"ysicists use t"e letter ! for t"e imaginary unit since i is typically reserved for

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varying currents and may come into conflict 5it" i.9 !"is approac" is called p"asor calculus. !"is use is also extended into digital signal processing and digital image processing4 5"ic" utili,e digital versions of *ourier analysis 8and 5avelet analysis9 to transmit4compress4 restore4 and ot"er5ise process digital audio signals4 still images4 and video signals. mproper integrals In applied fields4 complex numbers are often used to compute certain real=valued improper integrals4 by means of complex=valued functions. +everal met"ods exist to do t"isW see met"ods of contour integration. Quantum mechanics !"e complex number field is relevant in t"e mat"ematical formulations of %uantum mec"anics4 5"ere complex /ilbert spaces provide t"e context for one suc" formulation t"at is convenient and per"aps most standard. !"e original foundation formulas of %uantum mec"anics X t"e +c"rYdinger e%uationand /eisenbergFs matrix mec"anics X ma:e use of complex numbers. Relativity In special and general relativity4 some formulas for t"e metric on spacetime become simpler if one ta:es t"e time variable to be imaginary. 8!"is is no longer standard in classical relativity4 but is used in an essential 5ay in %uantum field t"eory.9 Complex numbers are essential to spinors4 5"ic" are a generali,ation of t"e tensors used in relativity. Applied mathematics In differential e%uations4 it is common to first find all complex roots r of t"e c"aracteristic e%uation of alinear differential e%uation and t"en attempt to solve t"e system in terms of base functions of t"e form f8t9 ? ert. Fluid dynamics In fluid dynamics4 complex functions are used to describe potential flo5 in t5o dimensions. Fractals Certain fractals are plotted in t"e complex plane4 e.g. t"e Mandelbrot set and Culia sets. Algebraic number theory As mentioned above4 any nonconstant polynomial e%uation 8in complex coefficients9 "as a solution in C. A fortiori4 t"e same is true if t"e e%uation "as rational coefficients. !"e roots of suc" e%uations are called algebraic numbersXt"ey are a principal object of study in algebraic number t"eory. Compared to Q4 t"e algebraic closure of Q4 5"ic" also contains all algebraic numbers4 C "as t"e advantage of being easily understandable in geometric terms. In t"is 5ay4 algebraic met"ods can be used to study geometric %uestions and vice versa. 6it" algebraic met"ods4 more specifically applying t"e mac"inery of field t"eory to t"e number field containing roots of unity4 it can be s"o5n t"at it is not possible to construct a regular -=gon using only compass and straig"tedgeXa purely geometric problem. Anot"er example are )yt"agorean triples 8a4 b4 c94 t"at is to say integers satisfying

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85"ic" implies t"at t"e triangle "aving sidelengt"s a4 b4 and c is a rig"t triangle9. !"ey can be studied by considering 2aussian integers4 t"at is4 numbers of t"e form x > iy4 5"ere x and y are integers. Analytic number t"eory Analytic number t"eory studies numbers4 often integers or rationals4 by ta:ing advantage of t"e fact t"at t"ey can be regarded as complex numbers4 in 5"ic" analytic met"ods can be used. !"is is done by encoding number=t"eoretic information in complex=valued functions. *or example4 t"e 1iemann ,eta=function Z8s9 is related to t"e distribution of prime numbers.

History
!"e earliest fleeting reference to s%uare roots of negative numbers per"aps occurred in t"e 5or: of t"e2ree: mat"ematician and inventor /eron of Alexandria in t"e 1st century AD4 5"en4 apparently inadvertently4 "e considered t"e volume of an impossible frustum of a pyramid4@&A t"oug" negative numbers 5ere not conceived in t"e /ellenistic 5orld. Complex numbers became more prominent in t"e 1&t" century4 5"en closed formulas for t"e roots ofcubic and %uartic polynomials 5ere discovered by Italian mat"ematicians 8see Diccolo *ontana !artaglia4 2erolamo Cardano9. It 5as soon reali,ed t"at t"ese formulas4 even if one 5as only interested in real solutions4 sometimes re%uired t"e manipulation of s%uare roots of negative numbers. *or example4 !artagliaFs cubic formula gives t"e follo5ing solution to t"e e%uation x B x ? .4

and 5"en t"e t"ree cube roots of B1 are substituted into t"is expression t"e t"ree real roots4 .4 1 and B14 result. 1afael 3ombelli 5as t"e first to explicitly address t"ese seemingly paradoxical solutions of cubic e%uations and developed t"e rules for complex arit"metic trying to resolve t"ese issues. !"is 5as doubly unsettling since not even negative numbers 5ere considered to be on firm ground at t"e time. !"e term 7imaginary7 for t"ese %uantities 5as coined by 1en[ Descartes in 1& ' and 5as meant to be derogatory@citation neededA 8see imaginary number for a discussion of t"e 7reality7 of complex numbers9. A furt"er source of confusion 5as t"at t"e e%uation inconsistent 5it" t"e algebraic identity incorrect use of t"is identity 8and t"e related identity of seemed to be capriciously 4 5"ic" is valid for positive real numbers a and b4 and 9 in t"e case 5"en bot" a and b are negative

5"ic" 5as also used in complex number calculations 5it" one of a4 b positive and t"e ot"er negative. !"e even bedeviled Euler. !"is difficulty eventually led to t"e convention of using t"e special symbol i in place to guard against t"is mista:e. Even so Euler considered it natural to introduce students to complex numbers muc" earlier t"an 5e do today. In "is elementary algebra text boo:4 1lements of -lgebra4 "e introduces t"ese numbers almost at once and t"en uses t"em in a natural 5ay t"roug"out.

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In t"e 1(t" century complex numbers gained 5ider use4 as it 5as noticed t"at formal manipulation of complex expressions could be used to simplify calculations involving trigonometric functions. *or instance4 in 1' . Abra"am de Moivre noted t"at t"e complicated identities relating trigonometric functions of an integer multiple of an angle to po5ers of trigonometric functions of t"at angle could be simply reexpressed by t"e follo5ing 5ell=:no5n formula 5"ic" bears "is name4 de MoivreFs formula;

In 1'#( <eon"ard Euler 5ent furt"er and obtained EulerFs formula of complex analysis;

by formally manipulating complex po5er series and observed t"at t"is formula could be used to reduce any trigonometric identity to muc" simpler exponential identities. !"e existence of complex numbers 5as not completely accepted until t"e geometrical interpretation 8see above9 "ad been described by Caspar 6essel in 1'--W it 5as rediscovered several years later and populari,ed by Carl *riedric" 2auss4 and as a result t"e t"eory of complex numbers received a notable expansion. !"e idea of t"e grap"ic representation of complex numbers "ad appeared4 "o5ever4 as early as 1&($4 in 6allisFs 'e -lgebra tractatus. 6esselFs memoir appeared in t"e )roceedings of t"e Copen"agen Academy for 1'--4 and is exceedingly clear and complete4 even in comparison 5it" modern 5or:s. /e also considers t"e sp"ere4 and gives a %uaternion t"eory from 5"ic" "e develops a complete sp"erical trigonometry. In 1(.# t"e Abb[ 3u[e independently came upon t"e same idea 5"ic" 6allis "ad suggested4 t"at s"ould represent a unit line4 and its negative4 perpendicular to t"e real axis. 3u[eFs paper 5as not publis"ed until 1(.&4 in 5"ic" year Cean=1obert Argand also issued a pamp"let on t"e same subject. It is to ArgandFs essay t"at t"e scientific foundation for t"e grap"ic representation of complex numbers is no5 generally referred. Devert"eless4 in 1( 1 2auss found t"e t"eory %uite un:no5n4 and in 1( 2 publis"ed "is c"ief memoir on t"e subject4 t"us bringing it prominently before t"e mat"ematical 5orld. Mention s"ould also be made of an excellent little treatise by Mourey 81(2(94 in 5"ic" t"e foundations for t"e t"eory of directional numbers are scientifically laid. !"e general acceptance of t"e t"eory is not a little due to t"e labors of Augustin <ouis Cauc"y and Diels /enri: Abel4 and especially t"e latter4 5"o 5as t"e first to boldly use complex numbers 5it" a success t"at is 5ell :no5n. !"e common terms used in t"e t"eory are c"iefly due to t"e founders. Argand called cos\ > isin\ t"edirection factor4 and r[duite9W 2auss used i for t"e modulusW Cauc"y 81(2(9 called cos\ > isin\ t"e reduced form 8lFexpression 4 introduced t"e term complex number for a > bi4 and called a2 > b2 t"e norm.

!"e expression direction coefficient4 often used for cos\ > isin\4 is due to /an:el 81(&'94 andabsolute .alue, for modulus, is due to 6eierstrass. *ollo5ing Cauc"y and 2auss "ave come a number of contributors of "ig" ran:4 of 5"om t"e follo5ing may be especially mentioned; ]ummer 81(##94 <eopold ]ronec:er 81(#$94 +c"effler 81(#$4 1($14

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1((.94 3ellavitis 81( $4 1($294 )eacoc: 81(#$94 and De Morgan 81(#-9. MYbius must also be mentioned for "is numerous memoirs on t"e geometric applications of complex numbers4 and Diric"letfor t"e expansion of t"e t"eory to include primes4 congruences4 reciprocity4 etc.4 as in t"e case of real numbers. A complex ring or field is a set of complex numbers 5"ic" is closed under addition4 subtraction4 and multiplication. 2auss studied complex numbers of t"e form a > bi4 5"ere a and b are integral4 or rational 8and i is one of t"e t5o roots of x2 > 1 ? .9. /is student4 *erdinand Eisenstein4 studied t"e type a > bV4 5"ere V is a complex root of x B 1 ? .. Ot"er suc" classes 8called cyclotomic fields9 of complex numbers are derived from t"e roots of unity x6 B 1 ? . for "ig"er values of 6. !"is generali,ation is largely due to ]ummer4 5"o also invented ideal numbers4 5"ic" 5ere expressed as geometrical entities by *elix ]lein in 1(- . !"e general t"eory of fields 5as created by ^variste 2alois4 5"o studied t"e fields generated by t"e roots of any polynomial e%uation in one variable. !"e late 5riters 8from 1((#9 on t"e general t"eory include 6eierstrass4 +c"5ar,4 1ic"ard Dede:ind4Otto /Ylder4 and /enri )oincar[. Extensions to "ypercomplex numbers 5ere made by Eduard +tudy4Alexander Macfarlane and many ot"ers.

Generalizations and related notions

!"e process of extending t"e field R of reals to C is :no5n as Cayley=Dic:son construction. It can be carried furt"er to "ig"er dimensions4 yielding t"e %uaternions H and octonions ! 5"ic" are of dimension 8as a real vector space9 # and (4 respectively. /o5ever4 5it" increasing dimension4 t"e algebraic properties familiar from real and complex numbers vanis"; t"e %uaternions are only a s:e5 field4 i.e. xy K yx for t5o %uaternions4 t"e multiplication of octonions fails 8in addition to not being commutative9 to be associative; 8 xy9 K x8y 9. /o5ever4 all of t"ese are normed division algebras overR. 3y /ur5it,Fs t"eorem t"ey are t"e only one. !"e next step in t"e Cayley=Dic:son construction4 t"esedenions fail to "ave t"is structure. !"e Cayley=Dic:son construction is closely related to t"e regular representation of C4 t"oug"t of as anR= algebra 8an R=vector space 5it" a multiplication94 5it" respect to t"e basis 14 i. !"is means t"e follo5ing; t"e R= linear map

for some fixed complex number w can be represented by a 2_2 matrix 8once a basis "as been c"osen9. 6it" respect to t"e basis 14 i4 t"is matrix is

i.e.4 t"e one mentioned in t"e section on matrix representation of complex numbers above. 6"ile t"is is a linear representation of C in t"e 2 _ 2 real matrices4 it is not t"e only one. Any matrix

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"as t"e property t"at its s%uare is t"e negative of t"e identity matrix; 72 ? B *. !"en is also isomorp"ic to t"e field C4 and gives an alternative complex structure on R2. !"is is generali,ed by t"e notion of a linear complex structure. /ypercomplex numbers also generali,e R4 C4 H4 and !. *or example t"is notion contains t"e split=complex numbers4 5"ic" are elements of t"e ring R@xAT8x2 B 19 8as opposed to R@xAT8x2 > 199. In t"is ring4 t"e e%uation a2 ? 1 "as four solutions. !"e field R is t"e completion of Q4 t"e field of rational numbers4 5it" respect to t"e usual absolute value. Ot"er c"oices of metrics on Q lead to t"e fields Qp of p=adic numbers 8for any prime number p94 5"ic" are t"ereby analogous to R. !"ere are no ot"er nontrivial 5ays of completing Q t"an R and Qp4 by Ostro5s:iFs t"eorem. !"e algebraic closure completion analogy. !"e fields R and Qp and t"eir finite field extensions4 including C4 are local fields. of of Qp still carry a norm4 butXunli:e CXare not complete 5it" respect to it. !"e turns out to be algebraically closed. !"is field is called p=adic complex numbers by

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Bibliography
Burton, 'a.id %. 8$99:", &he History of %athematics , +ew ;or6 <at , (ictor 7. 8=>>?", - History of %athematics, Brief (ersion +ahin, )aul 7. 8$99@", -n *maginary &ale, &he /tory of 8hardco.er ed.", )rinceton Ani.ersity )ress

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