Saddle point Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For a holomorphic phase , a saddle point is a critical point with . At a simple saddle, , and the quadratic Taylor term determines the local descent directions.
Let , , and let be analytic. Assume a contributing contour can be deformed onto two descent arms of the method of steepest descent with one clockwise semicircular avoidance of the pole at , and that its other portions are negligible. For the integrand , a local coordinate with gives
The odd pole term has zero Cauchy principal value on the real arms and integral on the clockwise indentation. The constant regular term integrates to times its coefficient, proving the expansion and generic correction order. A degenerate saddle has a different local width and possibly a different indentation angle; analyticity and a single critical point alone do not imply this result. If , retain the additive expansion rather than writing asymptotic equivalence to zero.