What's the difference between analytic and continuously differentiable?

In summary, the terms "analytic" and "continuously differentiable" are related but not equivalent. Analyticity requires the existence of a Taylor series, while continuously differentiable only requires the existence of the first derivative.
  • #1
AxiomOfChoice
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1
What's the difference between "analytic" and "continuously differentiable?"

I'm reading Gamelin's Complex Analysis book, and he talks about [itex]f(z)[/itex] being analytic if it is continuously differentiable and satisfies the Cauchy-Riemann equations. But if [itex]f(z)[/itex] is continuously differentiable, doesn't that mean [itex]f'(z)[/itex] exists and is continuous, which is the very definition of analyticity? There's obviously something I'm missing here. I think it's that "continuously differentiable" means that the partials of [itex]f(x,y) = (u(x,y),v(x,y))[/itex] exist and are continuous. This, of course, does NOT imply complex differentiability (just consider [itex]f(z) = \overline z[/itex]); we also have to have the CREs satisfied. But complex differentiability DOES imply real differentiability...am I right?
 
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  • #2


AxiomOfChoice said:
I'm reading Gamelin's Complex Analysis book, and he talks about [itex]f(z)[/itex] being analytic if it is continuously differentiable and satisfies the Cauchy-Riemann equations. But if [itex]f(z)[/itex] is continuously differentiable, doesn't that mean [itex]f'(z)[/itex] exists and is continuous, which is the very definition of analyticity? There's obviously something I'm missing here. I think it's that "continuously differentiable" means that the partials of [itex]f(x,y) = (u(x,y),v(x,y))[/itex] exist and are continuous. This, of course, does NOT imply complex differentiability (just consider [itex]f(z) = \overline z[/itex]); we also have to have the CREs satisfied. But complex differentiability DOES imply real differentiability...am I right?
I'm not sure what you mean by "complex differentiability" and "real differentiability". With "real differentiability" are you thinking of the derivatives of the real and imaginary parts of f(z) with respect to the real and imaginary parts of z? If that is what you mean, then yes, the existence of df/dz implies the existence of the partial derivatives of the real and imaginary parts.

However, "f'(z) exists and is continuous" is NOT, in my opinion, "the very definition of analyticity"- though it can be used as a definition. A function is analytic at a point if its Taylor series exists at that point and is equal to the function on some neighborhood of that point. Obviously, if the Taylor series exists, all derivatives exist and so are continuous. It is not so obvious, but can be proved, that if the first derivative exists, then all must exist.
 

1. What is the difference between analytic and continuously differentiable?

Analytic functions are those that can be expressed as a power series and are differentiable at every point in their domain. Continuously differentiable functions are those that have a derivative at every point in their domain and that derivative is also continuous. In other words, all analytic functions are continuously differentiable, but not all continuously differentiable functions are analytic.

2. How can I determine if a function is analytic or continuously differentiable?

A function can be determined to be analytic if it can be written as a power series, meaning it has a Taylor series expansion. Continuously differentiable functions can be determined by checking for the existence of a derivative at every point in the function's domain. If the derivative exists and is continuous, the function is continuously differentiable.

3. Are there any real-world applications for analytic and continuously differentiable functions?

Yes, these types of functions are frequently used in fields such as physics, engineering, and economics to model real-world phenomena. For example, analytic functions are used in quantum mechanics to describe the behavior of particles, and continuously differentiable functions are used in economic models to study relationships between variables.

4. What is the significance of a function being continuously differentiable but not analytic?

A function being continuously differentiable but not analytic means that it is a smooth function with no abrupt changes in its derivative, but it cannot be expressed as a power series. This can be useful in certain applications where a simpler function is needed, but it may not be able to model complex behavior as accurately as an analytic function.

5. Can a function be analytic at some points and continuously differentiable at other points?

Yes, this is possible. For a function to be analytic, it must be differentiable at every point in its domain. However, for a function to be continuously differentiable, it only needs to have a derivative at every point, not necessarily a continuous one. Therefore, a function can have points where it is analytic and points where it is only continuously differentiable but not analytic.

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