Past exam of the metric spaces and complex analysis course of the University of Oxford / 2014 / 4

Morera's theorem says that a continuous complex-valued function $f$ on an open set $U\subseteq \mathbb{C}$ is holomorphic iffor every triangle $T$ whose closed interior is contained in $U$. Triangle boundaries are traversed with positive orientation. The continuity hypothesis matters: the zero-integral condition is combined with continuity, not used in isolation.

For the usual piecewise smooth complex path $\gamma$, let $\ell (\gamma )$ denote its finite length. The estimation lemma givesBy uniform convergence, the supremum tends to zero, soThe uniform limit is continuous on the path, so its integral exists. This is uniform convergence and contour integration; the path length is fixed while the functions vary.

Let the common domain be an open set $U$. The uniform limit theorem makes the limit $f$ continuous. For every triangle whose closed interior lies in $U$, Cauchy's integral theorem gives ${\int }_{\partial T}{f}_n=0$. Part (ii) passes this identity to the limit, giving ${\int }_{\partial T}f=0$. Morera's theorem now proves that $f$ is holomorphic.

The same reasoning works for locally uniform convergence, since each triangle boundary is compact. No passage of derivatives through a limit has been assumed.

Fix any bounded disk avoiding the integers, and choose $R$ with $|z|\le R$ on it. For sufficiently large $|n|$, say $|n|\ge 2R$ and $|n|\ge 1$,The convergent numerical series ${\sum }_{n\ne 0}{n}^{-2}$ and the Weierstrass M-test give absolute and uniform convergence of the tails. The finitely many remaining summands are holomorphic away from their integer poles. Thus the partial sums converge locally uniformly on $\mathbb{C}\setminus \mathbb{Z}$.

By part (a)(iii), the sum is a holomorphic function on $\mathbb{C}\setminus \mathbb{Z}$. The term $n=0$ is $-1/z^2$ and is harmless on this domain; it must not be omitted.

For fixed $z\notin \mathbb{Z}$, integratecounterclockwise around the specified square of half-side $R_N=N+1/2$, choosing $N>|z|$. The integer poles inside it are $-N,\dots ,N$, and their residues are $1/(n^2-z^2)$ because $\pi \cot (\pi w)$ has residue one at each integer.

The two other possible poles are $w=z$ and $w=-z$. Their residues are each $\pi \cot (\pi z)/(2z)$, hence sum to $\pi \cot (\pi z)/z$. This formula still applies when the numerator vanishes and a possible pole is removable. The residue theorem givesOn the square, $|w|\ge R_N$, its perimeter is $8R_N$, and the supplied cotangent bound givesThe series converges absolutely by part (b), so its symmetric partial sums have the same limit as the full sum. ThereforeAt half-integers the cotangent form makes the value zero explicit; the reciprocal-tangent notation is understood by its continuous extension there. The cotangent contour summation rests on the contour estimate, not only on formally matching poles.