Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ib/paper-4/4e/iii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ib Paper 4 4E iii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose an analytic extension existed on the punctured plane. The identity theorem would extend from to that connected domain, so would never vanish and differentiation would give . Integrate around the positively oriented unit circle. The argument principle says is times the integer winding number of the closed curve about zero, whereasThis would make that winding number , a contradiction. Hence no such analytic extension exists. Equivalently, continuation of a square root once around zero reverses its sign, preventing a single-valued holomorphic function on the punctured plane.
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