Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2007 / Paper 2 / 3

At a point of complex differentiability, the complex derivative is independent of the direction of approach. Taking increments along the real axis gives $f^{\prime }=u_x+i{v}_x$; taking imaginary increments gives $f^{\prime }=v_y-i{u}_y$. Equality of their real parts and imaginary parts proves the Cauchy-Riemann equations $u_x=v_y$ and $u_y=-v_x$.

For the specified real part, observe that $z^2{e}^z$ has exactly that real part. Equivalently, integrating $v_y=u_x$ and checking $v_x=-u_y$ givesThusThe freedom is only a constant imaginary part: the difference of two such holomorphic functions has zero real part, so its Cauchy-Riemann equations make it constant on each connected domain.

The square-root factor gives an algebraic branch point at $z=0$. The logarithm is locally analytic there but has value an odd multiple of $i\pi$, which is nonzero, so it cannot cancel that branching. The zero and pole of $(z-1)/(z+1)$ give logarithmic branch points at $z=1$ and $z=-1$, respectively. Thus the finite singularities areInfinity is also a branch point. On the logarithm branch tending to zero there, $\log [(z-1)/(z+1)]=-2/z+O(z^{-3})$, so the product behaves as $-2z^{-1/2}$. Other logarithm branches add $2\pi ik\sqrt{z}$ and retain branching. A chosen branch cut joins or separates these branch points; its ordinary interior points are not additional branch points of the underlying multivalued function.

The denominator factors as $(z+2-i)(z+2+i)$. Neither root cancels against the numerator, and both are simple, so the finite singularities areThis is a rational function, so it has no branch points. At infinity, putting $w=1/z$ gives $w/(1+4w+5w^2)$, analytic at zero; infinity is therefore a removable singularity with value zero.