Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-28/5/b/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 28 5 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose has a local maximum at . If , the nonnegativity of the modulus forces throughout a neighbourhood, and the identity theorem for holomorphic functions makes it zero on that connected component.
If , take . Then , and continuity gives a disk around on which . This lies within the given half-plane for a branch of the holomorphic logarithm. On defineComposition preserves holomorphy, and the real logarithm is strictly increasing, so has a local maximum at . Part (i) forces to be constant on the disk. Exponentiating gives , hence is constant there and, by the identity theorem for holomorphic functions, on the whole connected component. ThereforeThis proves the maximum modulus principle by the requested logarithm argument. Multiplication by is what puts the image in the supplied logarithm branch; no global logarithm of is assumed.
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