Past exam of the metric spaces and complex analysis course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 4

A function has an isolated singularity at $a$ if, for some $r>0$, it is defined and holomorphic on the punctured disc $0<|z-a|<r$, while a holomorphic extension through $a$ has not been assumed. In particular, its domain omits $a$, or its assigned value there fails to give such an extension. The key local condition isThe convention includes removable singularities, even when a suitable extension would eliminate the missing point.

An isolated singularity at $a$ is a removable singularity when there is a holomorphic function $F$ on a full disc $B(a,r)$ agreeing with $f$ away from $a$. Equivalently,The Riemann removable singularity theorem also characterizes this by boundedness of $f$ on a sufficiently small punctured disc. A preassigned incorrect value at $a$ is replaced by $L$.

A holomorphic function has a zero of order $n$ at $a$ when it is holomorphic on a neighbourhood of $a$ and factors asEquivalently, $f(a)=f^{\prime }(a)=\cdots =f^{(n-1)}(a)=0$ and $f^{(n)}(a)\ne 0$. The order of a zero of a holomorphic function is the degree of the first nonzero term of its Taylor series.

A function has a pole of order $n$ at $a$ when, on a punctured neighbourhood,Equivalently, $(z-a{)}^{n}f(z)$ has a removable singularity whose extension is nonzero at $a$. After shrinking the neighbourhood so $h\ne 0$, its reciprocal $1/f$ extends with a zero of order $n$. In particular, $|f(z)|\to \infty$ at a pole.

We prove the Casorati-Weierstrass theorem by contradiction. Fix an allowed $\rho$. If the stated image were not a dense set in $\mathbb{C}$, there would be a disc $B(w,ϵ)$ disjoint from it. HenceThe holomorphic function $h(z)=1/(f(z)-w)$ is bounded by $1/ϵ$ on that punctured disc. By the permitted Riemann removable singularity theorem, it extends to a holomorphic function $H$ on the full disc.

If $H(a)\ne 0$, then $w+1/H$ is holomorphic near $a$ and agrees with $f$ away from $a$. This makes $a$ a removable singularity of $f$.

If $H(a)=0$, then $H$ is not identically zero, since $h$ is nowhere zero away from $a$. Its Taylor series therefore has a finite first nonzero coefficient: otherwise the identity theorem would make it identically zero. Write $H(z)=(z-a{)}^{m}K(z)$ with $m\ge 1$ and $K(a)\ne 0$. Thenhas a pole of order $m$ at $a$, since multiplying by $(z-a{)}^m$ gives the nonzero limit $1/K(a)$.

Both cases contradict an essential singularity. Thus

Use the local factorization for a pole of order $n$:Shrink the disc so that the holomorphic function $h$ has no zeros there. Differentiating and dividing gives the logarithmic derivativeThe second term is holomorphic across $a$. Since $n\ge 1$, the first term cannot cancel. Hence $f^{\prime }/f$ has a simple pole, and the coefficient of $(z-a{)}^{-1}$ in its Laurent series isThis is the pole case of the integer residue of a logarithmic derivative.

Let $F=e^g$. It is holomorphic and nowhere zero on a punctured neighbourhood of $a$, and the chain rule givesIf $F$ had a pole of order $n\ge 1$, part (c) would imply ${\mathrm{Res}}_a(g^{\prime })=-n$. But the derivative of a holomorphic function on a punctured disc has residue zero. Indeed, write its Laurent seriesTermwise differentiation is valid on every smaller closed annulus. The only possible $(z-a{)}^{-1}$ term comes from $k=0$ and has coefficient zero. Thusa contradiction. Therefore $\boxed{e^g\text{ cannot have a pole at }a}$. This proves an exponential has no isolated pole, including when $g$ has an essential singularity; no choice of a holomorphic logarithm on the entire punctured disc was assumed.