Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ib / Paper 4 / 4F / Solution

Choose a star centre $a$ of the open star-shaped set $D$ and define the candidate antiderivative by a straight-segment contour integral:For each fixed $z\in D$ and all sufficiently small $h$, the filled triangle with vertices $a,z,z+h$ lies in $D$. Indeed, the compact segment $[a,z]$ has a neighbourhood of some positive radius contained in the open set $D$, and every point of this triangle lies within $|h|$ of that segment. The zero triangle integral consequently givesBy continuity, the last integral tends to $f(z)$ as $h\to 0$. HenceIn particular, this proves the existence of the antiderivative without incorrectly assuming the star-shaped set is convex.

On a general domain, the conclusion can fail. Take $D=\mathbb{C}\setminus \{0\}$ and $f(z)=1/z$. Every filled triangle contained in $D$ has zero boundary integral by Cauchy integral theorem, but the unit circle has integral $2\pi i$. An antiderivative would make every closed contour integral zero. This is the period obstruction to a holomorphic antiderivative: the local conclusion of Morera's theorem does not remove the global obstruction.