Caucy-Riemann equations and differentiability question

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The discussion revolves around the Cauchy-Riemann equations and their role in determining the differentiability of complex functions. A specific function, (z*)^2/z, is examined, which seemingly satisfies the Cauchy-Riemann equations at z = 0 but is not differentiable there, raising questions about the necessity and sufficiency of these equations. It is clarified that the derivatives required for the Cauchy-Riemann equations do not exist at z = 0, indicating that the equations are not satisfied. Additionally, the distinction between complex differentiability and analyticity is emphasized, noting that while differentiability at a point implies local analyticity, the two concepts are not interchangeable. Understanding these nuances is crucial for correctly interpreting complex analysis problems.
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I'm doing a little self study on complex analysis, and am having some trouble with a concept.

From Wikipedia:

"In mathematics, the Cauchy–Riemann differential equations in complex analysis, named after Augustin Cauchy and Bernhard Riemann, consist of a system of two partial differential equations that provides a necessary and sufficient condition for a differentiable function to be holomorphic in an open set."

But I have a function here, (z*)^2/z, which appears to satisfy the Cauchy-Riemann equations at z = 0, but the function is not differentiable there. Isn't this a contradiction that the above condition is both necessary and sufficient?
 
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bitrex said:
But I have a function here, (z*)^2/z, which appears to satisfy the Cauchy-Riemann equations at z = 0, but the function is not differentiable there. Isn't this a contradiction that the above condition is both necessary and sufficient?

As you say, the derivatives in the CR equation don't exist at z=0, so I'm not sure why you believe that the CR equations are satisfied. A prerequisite to CR is that the real and imaginary parts of the function are differentiable with respect to the real variables.
 
Thanks for your reply, I'm not sure exactly why I thought they were satisfied either! I see now that they are not.

A further question - some exercises in the problem set I'm working on ask me to determine where a complex function is differentiable, and some to determine where the function is analytic. If a complex function is differentiable at point Z_o, is that also a sufficient condition to assume that the function is analytic in the neighborhood of Z_o? The text I'm using is not clear on this, so I'm not sure if in the problem set they are essentially asking me the same thing with different terminology.
 
We need to differentiate between real differentiability and complex differentiability. Complex differentiability means that

\lim_{h\rightarrow 0, h\in \mathbb{C}} \frac{f(z_0+h)-f(z_0)}{h} = f'(z_0) ~~~(*)

exists. If the CR equations are satisfied, the function is both analytic and complex differentiable. If our function were not analytic, the derivative (*) would not make sense.
 

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