Section 4.

3 Complex Numbers 309

Section 4.3 Complex Numbers

Purpose of Section To introduce the field (
, +, ) of complex numbers

and their Cartesian and polar representations in the complex plane. We
also show how Eulers theorem connects the complex exponential to
real trigonometric functions.

An Introductory Tale
The study of numbers generally begins with children and the counting
numbers 1,2,3,... then progresses to negative numbers, and then fractions, and
finally to the real numbers. To most students of mathematics, the complex
numbers come last, if at all. Throughout history, every enlargement of the
meaning of number had practical motivation. Negative numbers were required to
solve x + 3 = 1 , rational numbers were required to solve 3 x = 5 , and real
numbers were a response to the equation x 2 = 2 . Finally, complex numbers
came about when the evolution of mathematics led to equations like x 2 + 1 = 0 .
Square roots of negative numbers first appeared in Ars Magna (1545) by the
Italian mathematician Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576) in his solution of the
simultaneous equations
x + y = 10, xy = 40
getting the solution
x = 5 + 15, y = 5 15

Cardano did not give any interpretation of the square root of a negative number,
although he did say if they obeyed the usual rules of algebra, then the solution
could be verified. Cardano and other mathematicians at the time would go to
great lengths to avoid both negative and complex numbers, referring to negative
solutions as "false1" solutions and complex solutions as "useless." Even the great
mathematician Carl Gauss, said as late as 1825, "the true metaphysics of 1 is
illusive. He overcame his doubts, however, by 1831 when he applied complex
numbers to number theory. His acceptance of complex numbers provided a great
boost to the acceptance of complex numbers in the mathematical community.
Today, complex numbers are crucial in the study of many areas of
mathematics, including harmonic analysis, ordinary and partial differential
equations, analytic number theory, analytic function theory, as well as being
1
The French mathematician Rene Decartes referred to square roots of negative numbers as
imaginary numbers, a word which unfortunately is still used by some people today. Decartes
also called negative solutions as false solutions, which fortunately did not stick.
310 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

applied in many areas of engineering and science, including theoretical physics,

where analytic function theory constitutes much of the foundations of quantum
mechanics.
Someone once argued that real numbers are more natural than complex
numbers since real numbers measure things we can all see and feel, like a
persons height or weight, whereas no one can physically experience complex
numbers. The person who makes such a claim just doesnt know where to look.
Every engineer, physicist, and student of differential equations knows it's the
complex numbers which allows for the description of oscillatory motion, motion.
The next time you hear members of an orchestra tuning their instruments to the
standard A above Middle C, you are seeing (or hearing) the complex number
440 i , the complex number which describes 440 oscillations per second.

Important Note: Complex numbers are crucial to the study of differential

equations, control theory, signal processing, quantum mechanics, special
relativity, fluid dynamics, and many more areas of applied mathematics and
physics.

Complex Numbers
There are a number of ways to introduce complex numbers, each of which has
its benefits. We choose to define complex numbers formally as pairs of real
numbers and then introduce a "more friendly" notation.

Definition: We define the complex numbers
as the set of pairs of real

numbers

= {( x, y ) : x , y }

with the binary arithmetic operations of addition2

( a , b ) + ( c, d ) = ( a + c, b + d )
and multiplication
( a, b ) i ( c, d ) = ( ac bd , ad + bc )

The question we ask is, do these arithmetic operations result in a legitimate

arithmetic system having properties similar to those of the real numbers? We

2
We use + to denote addition for both complex numbers and real numbers,, and the dot i to
denote multiplication for complex numbers.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 311

have reason we believe this to be true since we can think of the complex
numbers
as an extension of the real numbers  in the sense that complex
numbers of the form ( a, 0 ) behave exactly like the real numbers:

( a, 0 ) + ( b, 0 ) = ( a + b, 0 ) ( a, 0 ) i ( b, 0 ) = ( ab, 0 )
That is, we can think of the real numbers as those complex numbers where the
second coordinate is zero.

Arithmetic of the Complex Numbers

The complex numbers along with the above binary operations of addition and
multiplication form a algebraic field similar to the real numbers, with (0,0) being
a additive identity and (1,0) the multiplicative identity. We won't list all the field
properties for the complex numbers, but a few of them you might recall are

a) ( a , b ) , ( c, d )
( a , b ) + ( c, d )

b) ( a , b ) , ( c, d )
( a , b ) i ( c, d )

c) ( a , b ) , ( c, d )
( a , b ) + ( c , d ) = ( c, d ) + ( a , b )
d) ( a, b )
( a, b ) + ( 0, 0 ) = ( a, b )
e) ( a, b )
( a, b ) + ( a, b ) = ( 0, 0 )
f) ( a , b ) , ( c, d )
( a , b ) i ( c , d ) = ( c, d ) i ( a , b )
( a, b )
\ {( 0, 0 )} ( a, b ) i
a b
g) 22
, 2 2
= (1, 0 )
a +b a +b
h) ( 0,1) i ( 0,1) = ( 1, 0 )

The last identity h) introduces the special complex number ( 0,1) ,which we
denote by the letter i, and since we identify the complex number ( 1, 0 ) with the
real number 1 , we can interpret this statement as i i i = 1 or i 2 = 1 . For
this reason, one often calls the complex number i as the square root of 1 and
often written i = 1 . If we give the complex number ( 0,1) the special name i,
then along with the fact that
( a, 0 ) i ( c, d ) = ( ac, ad )
we can write the general complex number ( a, b ) as
312 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

( a, b ) = ( a, 0 ) + ( 0, b )
= ( a, 0 ) + ( b, 0 ) i ( 0,1)
= ( a, 0 ) + ( b, 0 ) i i

which normally is expressed as a+bi. Using this notation to express complex

numberrs, we can express addition and multiplication of complex numbers as

complex addition: ( a + bi ) + ( c + di ) = ( a + c ) + ( c + d ) i
complex multiplication: ( a + bi )( c + di ) = ( ac bd ) + ( ad + bc ) i

The real number a is called the real part of the complex number a+bi, and b is
called the imaginary part, often denoted by .

Re ( a + bi ) = a Im ( a + bi ) = b

Imaginary Numbers and Two Dimensions

A good way of thinking about complex numbers is to think of them as a two-
dimensional vector of real numbers When plotting these vectors we call the x-
axis the real axis and the y-axis the imaginary axis.

We can give thanks to non-mathematicians Casper Wessel and Jean Robert

Argand for their insight in representing complex numbers as points in the plane.
We can think of complex numbers as extending the concept of the one-
dimensional number line to the two-dimensional complex plane.

Important Note: The + in x + iy is unlike any + you have seen

before. It is not addition in the traditional sense, but a placeholder which
separates the real and pure imaginary parts of the complex number; you
dont actually add x + iy together to get something else.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 313

Complex plane representation of complex numbers

Figure 1

The absolute value (or modulus) of a complex number z = x + iy is defined as

the nonnegative real number

z x2 + y 2

which is the length of the line segment from the origin to z in the complex plane.
See Figure 2. The conjugate of a complex number z = x + iy is defined to be
z = x iy , which geometrically is the reflection of z through the real axis. The
absolute value of a complex number can be written in terms of its conjugate by
z = zz .

Magnitude and complex conjugate of a complex number

Figure 2
314 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

The complex numbers do not form an ordered field like the real numbers, but
do form what is called an algebraically closed field3, which means that all
polynomial equations with complex coefficients have complex roots (real roots
being special cases of complex roots). This property contrasts with the real
numbers where polynomial equations like z 2 + 1 = 0 have real coefficients but
roots outside the real number system, i.e. x = i . Algebraists would say that the
complex numbers are an algebraically closed field whereas the real numbers are
not algebraically closed.

Geometry of Complex Numbers

Historical Note: In 1799, Norwegian surveyor Casper Wessel published his

sole mathematical paper where he hit upon the idea of representing complex
numbers as points in the plane, but his result went unnoticed. Later in 1813
Jean-Robert Argand, a Parisian bookkeeper, happened to be in the right place
at the right time and also came up with the idea of interpreting complex
numbers geometrically. For their contribution their names will forever be
recorded in the history of mathematics. .

Polar Coordinates
Recall that a point ( x, y ) in the Cartesian plane can be written in terms of polar
coordinates (r , ) where the relationship between them x = r cos , y = r sin .
Hence, any complex number can be expressed in polar coordinates as

z = x + iy = r cos + ir sin = r ( cos + i sin ) (1)

where r = z = x 2 + y 2 is the absolute value of z , and is the argument of

z , written = arg ( z ) , which measures the angle between the positive real axis
and the line segment from 0 to z . See Figure 3.

3
Algebraically closed is different from the topological completeness we defined when defining
the real numbers as a complete ordered field. In that definition, completeness refers to
topological completeness, i.e. every set of numbers bounded above has a least upper bound.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 315

Polar form of a complex number

Figure 3
Since the argument can wrap around the origin several times, either
clockwise or counterclockwise, the principle argument of a complex number is
the unique argument that lies in the interval ( , ] . Thus, the complex number
i has argument 2 , and 1 has argument , and i has argument 2 (or
sometimes we say 3 2 ).

Complex Exponential and Eulers Theorem

Any student of calculus knows the exponential function e x bears little
relationship to the trigonometric functions sin x and cos x . The exponential
function e x grows without bound as x gets large, and the trigonometric
functions oscillate between plus and minus 1. In one of the most important
discoveries in mathematics, Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler showed in
1748 that although real exponential functions may be unrelated to trigonometric
functions, complex exponentials and trigonometric functions have an intimate
relationship. Euler does this by replacing the in the Taylor series expansion of
e with the complex number i , thus defining a new function ei , called the
complex exponential. Euler showed this complex exponential has an interesting
and extremely useful relationship with the trigonometric functions.

Important Note There are two ways to introduce the complex

exponential. One way is to define the exponential in terms of real
sines and cosines, then proves the properties of the defined complex
exponential. The second way is to show how the domain of the real
exponential can be extended to the complex plane.
316 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

Eulers Theorem If is an real number, then

ei = cos + i sin (2)
where ei is the result of replacing by i in the exponential e .
Replacing by gives the reciprocal
e i = cos i sin .

Proof:
The Taylor series expansions of e , sin , cos about the point = 0 , which
converge for all real values , are

3 5 7
sin = + 
3! 5! 7!
2 4 6
cos = 1 + +
2! 4! 6!
2 3 4
e = 1 + + + + +
2! 3! 4!
If we replace by i in the real exponential e and using the fact that
i 2 = 1, i 3 = i, i 4 = 1, i 5 = i,... , we arrive at the complex exponential4

2 3 4

e i
= 1 + i +
( i ) ++
( i ) +
( i )
2! 4! 3!
2 4 6 3 5 7
= 1 + +  + i + 
2! 4! 6! 3! 5! 7!
= cos + i sin

Note: Eulers theorem allows one to work with exponentials and all their
wonderful manipulative properties like
i1
e ei2 = e ( 1
i + 2 )

n
( e ) = e n

Eulers equation also allows us to write the important identity

e z = e x +i y = e x ei y = e x ( cos y + i sin y ) (3)

4
The rearrangement of terms is allowed since the Taylor series are absolutely convergent.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 317

Example 1 Complex Exponentials

a) e x +3 y = e x ( cos 3 y + i sin 3 y )
b) e( 3+ 2i )t = e 3t ( cos 2t + i sin 2t )
c) e i x = cos x i sin x

Complex Variables in Polar Form

Eulers equation allows us write complex numbers either in Cartesian or polar
form by equation:
z = x + iy = r ( cos + i sin ) = rei (4)
Note that
ei = cos + i sin = cos 2 + sin 2 = 1

We visualize the complex exponential ei as a point in the complex plane5 with

argument lying on the unit circle. As moves from 0 to 2 , the exponential
ei moves counterclockwise around the unit circle6 .For example7

e i / 2 = i, ei = 1, e3 i /2 = e i / 2 = i, e 2 i = 1 .
See Figure 4.

The Complex exponential ei

Figure 4

5
We get so used to representing complex numbers as points in the plane that we use them
interchangeably.
6
We really should say goes from to + since we have adopted the negative angle
convention, but people are sloppy about this so we simply say 0 to 2 .
7
Note the convention of sometimes placing the " i " in front of the constants in the exponent and
sometimes at the end. Also the argument of i is often represented interchangeably by either
3 / 2 or / 2 .
318 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

Important Note: Eulers Equation a wealth of important information.

If we write e i / 2 = i , and then raise both sides to the ith power, we get
i i = e / 2  0.20787957... .

Leonard /Euler (1707-1783)

Example 2: Complex Numbers in Polar Form There are always two ways to
write a complex number.
a) 1 + i = 2 cos ( / 4 ) + sin ( / 4 ) = 2 ei ( / 4)
b) i = cos ( / 2 ) + i sin ( / 2 ) = ei ( / 2)
c) 1 + 2i = 5 cos ( / 3) + i sin ( / 3) = 5 ei ( /3)
d) 1 = cos ( ) + i sin ( ) = ei

Basic Arithmetic of Complex Numbers

Complex numbers are an algebraic field just like the real numbers. They can be
added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided and have interesting geometric
interpretations in the complex plane.

Addition:
z1 + z2 = ( x1 + iy1 ) + ( x2 + iy2 ) = ( x1 + x2 ) + i ( y1 + y2 )
Two complex numbers are added by adding the real and complex parts of
the two numbers. In the complex plane, the sum of two complex numbers
corresponds to the point lying on the diagonal of a parallelogram whose
sides are the two complex numbers.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 319

Subtraction:
z1 z2 = ( x1 + iy1 ) ( x2 + iy2 ) = ( x1 x2 ) + i ( y1 y2 )

Subtraction is analogous to addition but real and complex parts are

subtracted

Multiplication:
z1 z2 = ( r1ei1 )( r2 ei2 ) = r1r2 ei (1 +2 )

or ( x1 + iy1 )( x2 + iy2 ) = ( x1 x2 y1 y2 ) + i ( x1 y2 + x2 y1 )
The product of two complex numbers is best interpreted in polar coordinates.
In the complex plane, the product of two complex numbers is a complex
number whose magnitude is the product of the magnitudes of the two
numbers, and whose argument is the sum of the arguments of the two
numbers.
320 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

Division:
z1 r1ei1 r1 i(1 2 )
= = e
z2 r2 ei2 r2

x1 + iy1 x2 iy2 x1 + iy1 x1 x2 + y1 y2 x2 y1 x1 y2

= = +i
x2 + iy2 x2 iy2 x2 + iy2 x22 + y22 x22 + y22

Division of two complex numbers is also best interpreted in polar coordinates. In

the complex plane, the quotient of two complex numbers is a complex number
whose magnitude is the quotient of the magnitudes of the two numbers, and
whose argument is the difference of the arguments of the two numbers. If
division is performed in Cartesian form, it is accomplished by the process of
rationalizing the denominator, where one multiplies both numerator and
denominator by the conjugate of the denominator and then collecting real and
complex parts.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 321

Example 3 Complex Arithmetic Lesson #1

a) ( 2 + 3i )( 3 + i ) = 3 + 11i
b) 2ei 3ei / 2 = 6e3 i / 2
2 + i 1 + 3i 2 + i 2 3 1 + 6 1 7i
c) = = 2 2 + 2 2 i = +
1 3i 1 + 3i 1 3i 1 + 3 1 + 3 10 10
6ei
d) = 3ei
2e i /2
1 1 i 1
e) = e = ( cos i sin )
z r r

Roots and Powers of a Complex Number

One of the benefits of representing complex numbers in polar form is
visualizing the roots of the equation x n = a . Most beginning students of
mathematics know there are two square roots of a positive number like 4,
knowing them to be 2 . However, if you answered 2 as the cube root of 8, you
would be one-third correct, since there are two other two cube roots. And what
about the cube roots of a negative number like 1 ? Certainly -1 is one cube
root, but there are two more.
This leads to the following problem. Given a complex number a 0 and an
integer n greater or equal to 2, find the roots of z n = a ? To solve this equation,
we write z and a in polar form, getting
n
z n = ( rei ) = r n ein = a ei

Taking the absolute value of each side of this equation yields r n = a from
1/ n
which we get r = a . Plugging this back into the equation, the equation
reduces to ein = ei from which we find n = or = n . Hence, an nth root
of a = a ei is
1n 1n
z= a ei n = a cos ( n ) + i sin ( n ) .

However, this is not the only root since

1n
zk a ei ( + 2 k n ) , k = 0,1, 2,..., n 1
also satisfies z n = a , which can be seen by direct computation
n
( a
1/ n
e(
i + 2 )/ n )
) = a e(
i + 2 )
= a ei e2 i = a ei = a .
322 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

These results can be summarized as follows.

Roots of a Complex Number: For each nonzero complex number8

a = a ei
there are n distinct nth roots. In the complex plane they are the
1/n
following n points on a circle of radius a .:

1/ n
e[
i ( + 2 k ) n ]
a1 n = a
1n + 2 k + 2 k
=a cos + i sin , k = 0,1, 2,..., n 1
n n

The drawings below show the roots of the equation z n = 1 for n = 2,3, 4,5 .

To find the nth roots of the complex number a, first find the principal root,
whose absolute value is a 1 n and whose argument is arg(a) n . The other n 1
roots are equally spaced points on the same circle whose angles between them
is 2 n .

8
When we say complex number, we of course mean the real numbers as well.
Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 323

Figure 5 shows the six roots of the equation z 6 = 1 , called the six roots of unity.

Six roots of unity

Figure 5

Example 4 : Roots
a)
0 + 2 k 0 + 2 k
4 = 2 cos + i sin
2 2
= 2 cos ( k ) + i sin ( k ) , k = 0,1
2, k = 0
=
2, k = 1

b)
/ 2 + 2 k / 2 + 2 k
i = 1 cos + i sin
2 2

= cos + k + i sin + k , k = 0,1
4 4
1 i
2 + 2 , k = 0
=
1 i , k =1
2 2
324 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

c)
1/3 / 2 + 2 k / 2 + 2 k
i1/3 = 1 cos + i sin , k = 0,1, 2
3 3
2 1
+ i k =0
2 2
2 1
= + i k =1
2 2
i k =2

shown in Figure 6.

Three cube roots of i

Figure 6

_________________________________

Problems
1. Complex Numbers Let

a) w = i, z = 1 + i
b) w = 2, z = i
c) w = i , z = i
d) w = 1 i , z = 1 + i
e) w = 1 + i , z = 1 + i

Find the following values.

Section 4.3 Complex Numbers 325

z
= arg( z )
w+ z
wz
w/ z
and plot the locations of the computed values in the complex plane.

2. Convert to Polar Form Convert the following complex numbers to polar

form.

a) 2i Ans: rei = 2ei( /2 )2

b) 1 + i
c) i Ans: rei = ei( 3 / 2 )
d) 2 2i

3. Convert to Cartesian Form Convert the following complex numbers to

Cartesian form x + iy .
a) e3 i Ans: e3 i = cos 3 + i sin 3 = 1
b) 2ei /4
c) e 2 i
d) e 5 i
e) 5e3 i / 4

Important Note: There used to be a company that sold T-shirts

with Mathematicians, were Number e2 i written on them.

100
4. Evaluate (1 + i ) .

5. Show that the complex conjugate of the sum of two complex numbers is
the sum of the conjugates; that is ( w + z ) = w + z .
2
6. Verify the identity z = zz for z = 2 + 3i .

7. Find the real and imaginary parts of

a) z 3 Ans: Re ( z 3 ) = x 3 3 xy 2 , Im ( z 3 ) = 3 x 2 y y 3
b) 1 / z
326 A TASTE OF PURE MATHEMATICS

8. Compute
a) i
b) i
c) 1+ i
3
d) 1
4
e) 1

9. de Moivres Formula Use Eulers theorem to prove de Moivres

formula
n
( cos + i sin ) = cos n + i sin n

for any positive integer n . Hint: Use induction.

10. Primitive Roots of Unity The n roots the equation z n = 1 are called the
n roots of unity. Find and plot the roots when n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 .

11. Fractional Powers Find the fractional powers of the given complex
numbers.
a) i 3/ 2
3/4
b) ( 1)
c) 1+ i
d) ii

1
12. (Hmmmmmmmmm) Show = i
i
.