Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/ia/paper-1/1c/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ia Paper 1 1C c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A branch of the complex logarithm must be specified to obtain a unique locus. First use the principal complex logarithm. Away from the negative real axis, write with and . Then the complex logarithms of and its complex conjugate are and . Equating real and imaginary parts gives . Consequently the principal-branch locus is the open segment of a logarithmic spiralThe origin is excluded because its complex logarithm does not exist. If the principal value is assigned argument on the negative real axis, a point there equals its own complex conjugate, so its principal complex logarithm would have to equal times itself. That forces the complex logarithm to be zero and cannot hold there; the endpoints remain excluded.
If the printed equation instead means that some values of the multivalued complex logarithms satisfy it, write those values as and , with and . Equality gives , hence , which is compatible with conjugation. Every real is allowed. Under this interpretation the locus is the entire logarithmic spiral , . The PDF does not choose between these branch conventions.
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