Finding Laurent Series and Residues for Complex Functions

Incand
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Homework Statement


Find four terns of the Laurent series for the given function about ##z_0=0##. Also, give the residue of the function at the point.
a) ##\frac{1}{e^z-1}##
b) ##\frac{1}{1-\cos z}##

Homework Equations


The residue of the function at ##z_0## is coefficient before the ##1/(z-z_0)## term in the Laurent expansion.

The definition of the coefficients for ##f(z)## (possibly of use)
##a_k = \frac{1}{2\pi i} \int_{|w-z_0|=s} \frac{f(w)}{(w-z_0)^{k+1}}dw, \; \; \; k=0,\pm 1, \dots##

Theorem:
If ##F## and ##G## are analytic functions on the disc ##\{z:|z-z_0|<r_0\}## with ##g(z_0)=0## but ##G'(z_0) \ne 0##. Then
##\text{Res}\left( \frac{F}{G}; z_0\right) = \frac{F(z_0)}{G'(z_0)}##.

The Attempt at a Solution


Starting with a) using the definition seems very impractical so there's probably an easier way to find the coefficient but I'm not sure how. It seems computing the residue is easier using the theorem above. ##\text{Res}\left(\frac{1}{e^x-1};0\right) = \frac{1}{e^0} = 1## and hence one term of the Laurent expansion is ##\frac{1}{z}##.

As for how to actually get the Laurent series I have no idea. I tried to match the coefficients by putting ##g(z) = \frac{a_{-1}}{z} + a_0 + a_1z + a_2z^2+\dots## since we have a pole of order ##1##. We can then write
##g(z)(e^x-1) = 1## and we know the expansion of ##e^x## so we have
##\left( a_{-1} + \sum_0^\infty a_kz^k \right) \left( \sum_1^\infty \frac{z^k}{k!} \right) = 1##. But that doesn't seem to help me at all.
 
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Incand said:

Homework Statement


Find four terns of the Laurent series for the given function about ##z_0=0##. Also, give the residue of the function at the point.
a) ##\frac{1}{e^z-1}##
b) ##\frac{1}{1-\cos z}##

Homework Equations


The residue of the function at ##z_0## is coefficient before the ##1/(z-z_0)## term in the Laurent expansion.

The definition of the coefficients for ##f(z)## (possibly of use)
##a_k = \frac{1}{2\pi i} \int_{|w-z_0|=s} \frac{f(w)}{(w-z_0)^{k+1}}dw, \; \; \; k=0,\pm 1, \dots##

Theorem:
If ##F## and ##G## are analytic functions on the disc ##\{z:|z-z_0|<r_0\}## with ##g(z_0)=0## but ##G'(z_0) \ne 0##. Then
##\text{Res}\left( \frac{F}{G}; z_0\right) = \frac{F(z_0)}{G'(z_0)}##.

The Attempt at a Solution


Starting with a) using the definition seems very impractical so there's probably an easier way to find the coefficient but I'm not sure how. It seems computing the residue is easier using the theorem above. ##\text{Res}\left(\frac{1}{e^x-1};0\right) = \frac{1}{e^0} = 1## and hence one term of the Laurent expansion is ##\frac{1}{z}##.

As for how to actually get the Laurent series I have no idea. I tried to match the coefficients by putting ##g(z) = \frac{a_{-1}}{z} + a_0 + a_1z + a_2z^2+\dots## since we have a pole of order ##1##. We can then write
##g(z)(e^x-1) = 1## and we know the expansion of ##e^x## so we have
##\left( a_{-1} + \sum_0^\infty a_kz^k \right) \left( \sum_1^\infty \frac{z^k}{k!} \right) = 1##. But that doesn't seem to help me at all.
Looks good, at first sight.
You have ##g(z) = \frac{1}{z} + a_0 + a_1z + a_2z^2+\dots##
Then ##g(z)(e^z-1)=1## gives ##(\frac{1}{z} + a_0 + a_1z + a_2z^2+\dots)(z+\frac{z²}{2}+\frac{z³}{6}+ \frac{z^4}{24}+\dots)=1##.
That should be enough to find 4 terms of the Laurent series (the terms up to ##z²##).
 
Last edited:
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Likes Incand
Thanks! That was easier than I expected, seems I gave up on the finish line.
Posting the rest of the solution in case anyone is curious:
Matching coefficients:
z: ##1/2 +a_0 = 0 \Longrightarrow a_0 = -1/2##
z^2: ##1/6+a_0/2+a_1 = 0 \Longrightarrow a_1 = 1/12##
z^3: ##1/24+a_0/6+a_1/2+a_2 = 0 \Longrightarrow a_2 = 0##.

I believe I'm able to do b) myself now!
 
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Likes Samy_A
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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