Complex conjugate ($\overline{z}$)

The complex conjugate of $z=x+iy$ is $\overline{z}=x-iy$. It keeps the real part and negates the imaginary part. In the complex plane, this is a reflection across the horizontal axis. Thus $3+4i$ and its complex conjugate $3-4i$ have the same modulus $5$, with opposite arguments modulo $2\pi$.

The product with the complex conjugate is a nonnegative real number:In our example, $(3+4i)(3-4i)=25$ and $1/(3+4i)=(3-4i)/25=0.12-0.16i$. Its modulus is $1/5$. Geometrically, taking the multiplicative inverse reverses the argument and reciprocates the modulus; the reflected direction alone is only part of the operation.

Applying the complex conjugate twice returns the starting point. Moreover, a complex number equals its own complex conjugate exactly when its imaginary part is zero. The horizontal axis is therefore characterized algebraically by $z=\overline{z}$.

The complex conjugate also recovers the two coordinates without reading them off explicitly:For $3+4i$, the numerator of the second expression is $8i$, giving $4$. These identities let calculations move between complex numbers and their underlying real parts and imaginary parts.

Complex conjugation sends a complex number $z=a+ib$ to its complex conjugate $\overline{z}=a-ib$. It is an involution and a field automorphism of $\mathbb{C}$, with fixed field $\mathbb{R}$. Applied componentwise to a complex vector, it produces the conjugated vector appearing in a Choi state for a rank-one Kraus operator.

This operation reflects a holomorphic function across the real axis while preserving holomorphic dependence on the new argument. A transform of real data with real kernel coefficients satisfies $F^{♯}=F$. In a polygonal global relation, complex rotation factors are conjugated as well; an explicit prefactor $i$ changes sign.