Past exam of the algebra and analysis I for mathematics and philosophy course of the University of Oxford / 2013 / Analysis / 5

For a piecewise continuously differentiable contour $\gamma :[a,b]\to U$, the contour integral is defined byIf the contour has corners, integrate on its finitely many differentiable pieces and sum the results. The integral on the right is taken componentwise as an ordinary real-parameter integral of a complex-valued function. The factor ${\gamma }^{\prime }(t)$ encodes both the speed and orientation of the contour.

Choose the continuous argument with values in $(-\pi /2,3\pi /2)$ and defineIts branch cut is the nonpositive imaginary axis, including zero, exactly the removed ray. Locally away from that ray, the Cauchy-Riemann equations or the local inverse of the exponential show that it is a holomorphic logarithm, with derivative $1/z$ and $e^{\mathrm{Log}z}=z$. The chosen interval fixes the additive ambiguity by integer multiples of $2\pi i$.

Use the branch from part (b) and close the real interval $[-R,R]$ with the upper semicircle, oriented counterclockwise. For $\mathrm{Im}z\ge 0$, the number $z+i\alpha$ has positive imaginary part, so the numerator is a holomorphic logarithm throughout a neighbourhood of the contour and its interior. The branch point $-i\alpha$ lies strictly below the contour. The only enclosed pole ofis the simple pole at $i\beta$, with residueTo justify discarding the arc, take $R>\max \{\beta ,\alpha +1\}$. On it, $|z+i\alpha |$ lies between $R-\alpha$ and $R+\alpha$, and the argument has bounded absolute value. HenceThe real-axis integral is absolutely convergent, since its integrand is $O(\log |x|/x^2)$ at infinity and has no real singularities. The residue theorem therefore givesFinally, $\mathrm{Re}\mathrm{Log}(x+i\alpha )=\frac{1}{2}\log (x^2+{\alpha }^2)$. Taking twice the real part yieldsThe branch choice affects the first integral's imaginary part; the second integral is real and independent of that choice.