Contour Integration: finding residues

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding residues for the integral of the function \(\frac{1}{z^4+1}\) using contour integration techniques. Participants explore methods for calculating residues at the poles of the function, including the application of Cauchy's residue theorem and the expansion of the Laurent series.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the integral \(\int{\frac{1}{z^4+1}}\) and identifies the poles as \(e^{\frac{i\pi}{4}}, e^{\frac{3i\pi}{4}}, e^{\frac{5i\pi}{4}}, e^{\frac{7i\pi}{4}}\).
  • Another participant suggests using the formula for residues at simple poles, indicating that the limit can be simplified by canceling terms.
  • A participant calculates the residue at \(c = e^{\frac{i\pi}{4}}\) and finds it to be \(\frac{1}{-2\sqrt{2}+2i\sqrt{2}}\), but expresses confusion as this does not match the expected result of \(\frac{1}{4i\sqrt{i}}\).
  • One participant proposes considering the expansion of \(4i\sqrt{i}\) in the form \(a + bi\) to check for equivalence with the calculated residue.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the correct residue value, and there is disagreement regarding the methods used to arrive at the results. The discussion remains unresolved as participants explore different approaches.

Contextual Notes

There are potential limitations in the calculations presented, including assumptions about the simplification of limits and the handling of complex numbers in residue calculations.

Piano man
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Hi, I'm stuck on this problem:

[tex]\int{\frac{1}{z^4+1}}[/tex]

Writing it as a product of its roots, we get:

[tex]\frac{1}{(z-e^{\frac{i\pi}{4}})(z-e^{\frac{3i\pi}{4}})(z-e^{\frac{5i\pi}{4}})(z-e^{\frac{7i\pi}{4}})}[/tex]

Then applying Cauchy's residue theorem for simple poles:
[tex]\mbox{Res}(f,c)=\lim_{z\rightarrow c}(z-c)f(z)[/tex]

It's here that I'm stuck - I've got the poles and the function, how do I get the residues in this case?
 
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For the limit, the (z-c) that you're multiplying by will cancel with the (z-c) in the denominator and you can just plug in the value for the limit. However, you kind of have a mess left to multiply out. It's a lot easier to use the fact that if [tex]f(z)=\frac{g(z)}{h(z)}[/tex] where h(z) has a simple zero at c, the residue at c is [tex]\frac{g(z)}{h'(c)}[/tex] if you've seen this before
 
Thanks for that.

Trying both ways, I come out with the same residue for [tex]c = e^{\frac{i\pi}{4}}[/tex]
of [tex]\frac{1}{-2\sqrt{2}+2i\sqrt{2}}[/tex]

But the answer I'm looking for is [tex]\frac{1}{4i\sqrt{i}}[/tex] because that's what you get when you expand the Laurent series.

So any ideas where I've gone wrong?

Thanks :)
 
Have you considered expanding [itex]4i\sqrt{i}[/itex] in the form a+ bi? You might find that those are the same.
 

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