Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-analysis-and-differential-equations-2-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008-printed-variant/6/solution
Past exam of the algebra, analysis and differential equations II course of the University of Oxford 2008 printed variant 6 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
The identity theorem for holomorphic functions says that a holomorphic function on a connected open set which has distinct zeros accumulating at a point of the set is identically zero. Equivalently, two holomorphic functions agreeing on such a set of points agree everywhere in that connected open set.
To prove it, expand at an accumulation point . If the first nonzero Taylor coefficient had index , the function would factor as with . Continuity would make nonzero near , so no other zeros could approach , a contradiction. Thus all coefficients vanish and the function vanishes on a neighborhood of . Let be the set of points having such a zero neighborhood. It is nonempty and open. If a point in the domain is a limit point of , it is either already in or is an accumulation point of distinct zeros, and the same Taylor argument puts it in . Thus is relatively closed as well. Connectedness forces to be the whole domain. Apply this result to the difference of two functions for the equivalent formulation.
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