- #1
giokara
- 9
- 0
Hi
I just got an introduction in complex analysis and some things are still not so clear. What troubles me the most is a property of taking the power of a complex variable. We have seen that:
[tex](z^a)^b = z^{ab} e^{2ki\pi b}[/tex]
I can prove that formula but I can't understand it. Does this mean that when we take b = 1/a,
[tex](z^a)^{\frac{1}{a}} \neq z[/tex]
in the general case?
If that is true (which I assume), is there a logical explanation for it? I see it comes from the branch cut that is inserted to use the definition of a power (z^a = exp(a*log(z))) but I can't see why exactly this results in this strange property for a complex powerfunction..
Thx!
I just got an introduction in complex analysis and some things are still not so clear. What troubles me the most is a property of taking the power of a complex variable. We have seen that:
[tex](z^a)^b = z^{ab} e^{2ki\pi b}[/tex]
I can prove that formula but I can't understand it. Does this mean that when we take b = 1/a,
[tex](z^a)^{\frac{1}{a}} \neq z[/tex]
in the general case?
If that is true (which I assume), is there a logical explanation for it? I see it comes from the branch cut that is inserted to use the definition of a power (z^a = exp(a*log(z))) but I can't see why exactly this results in this strange property for a complex powerfunction..
Thx!