3

For real of 1 variable:

Analytic $\implies$ smooth $\implies$ (real-)holomorphic $\implies$ differentiable (at a point $p$).

  • here, real holomorphic at $p$ just means real differentiable in an open neighbourhood of $p$.

For complex of 1 variable:

Analytic $\iff$ holomorphic $\implies$ smooth $\implies$ differentiable (at a point $p$).


Much of elementary complex analysis talks about how (complex-)holomorphic is much stronger in complex as compared to real-holomorphic. What about complex analogues of real properties like analytic: How much stronger is complex analytic compared to real analytic? (I also asked smooth and differentiable.)

For starters, maybe this: Analytic on deleted neighbourhood implies analytic on whole? ?

BCLC
  • 13,459
  • 3
    A real analytic function is the restriction of a complex analytic function to a real interval. – Robert Israel Oct 27 '21 at 19:16
  • @RobertIsrael interesting. thanks for sharing. i could've sworn i read something like that. is that the same as (or similar to) that real analytic has a complex analytic extension or something? – BCLC Oct 27 '21 at 19:25
  • 1
    There is a theorem of complex analysis that says if two complex analytic functions are defined on a domain $D$, in $D$ there is a set on which with the two functions are equal, and the set has an accumulation point, then the two complex functions agree on $D$. So, if a real Taylor series exists for a real function on a finite interval of the real line, then we can extend the Taylor series to a complex function, and now these two complex functions agree. This is one way how to analytically continue real functions to the complex plane. – march Oct 27 '21 at 20:08
  • @RobertIsrael wait so are you saying anything like analytic in complex is pretty much the same as analytic in real? (unlike with the case for holomorphic or perhaps smooth or differentiable) aaaand this is the case because whatever property complex analytic has it probably holds for real because we extend some real analytic $f$ to complex analytic $g$ show it holds true for $g$ and then restrict $g$ to get $f$ and thus the property holds true for $f$? – BCLC Oct 27 '21 at 20:19
  • @march thanks so now my question to you is the same as to Robert Israel: are you saying anything like analytic in complex is pretty much the same as analytic in real? (unlike with the case for holomorphic or perhaps smooth or differentiable) – BCLC Oct 27 '21 at 20:19
  • 1
    Not exactly! A real function might be infinitely differentiable at a point, and hence a Taylor series exists there, but the radius of convergence is zero. This doesn't happen for complex functions. In addition, an entire function, which is a complex function analytic on the entire complex plane, must either be constant or unbounded. This is not true of real analytic functions (e.g. sine and cosine). – march Oct 27 '21 at 20:32
  • @march 'which is complex analytic function on the entire plane must either be constant or unbounded' thanks. so post as answer? wait actually to answer the question with more examples, it seems a way to go about this is 1 - think of properties that complex-holomorphic functions satisfy that real-holomorphic don't 2 - see if they are true for real-analytic 3 - if true, then move on. if false, then that's an answer? – BCLC Oct 27 '21 at 20:35
  • 1
    I hesitate to post an answer because I don't know that a function being real analytic on an open interval (for instance) is sufficient to guarantee the existence of an analytic continuation to the complex plane. I think that's true, but I'm not sure. – march Oct 27 '21 at 20:38
  • @RobertIsrael may you please help out march and myself re 'real analytic on an open interval (for instance) is sufficient to guarantee the existence of an analytic continuation to the complex plane' ? – BCLC Oct 27 '21 at 20:40
  • 1
    The point is that if $f$ is real analytic in a (real) neighbourhood of $x=a$, it is the sum of a power series $\sum_{n=0}^\infty c_n (x-a)^n$ in a (real) neighbourhood of $x=a$. The radius of convergence of that power series is the same as the radius of convergence of the complex power series $\sum_{n=0}^\infty c_n (z-a)^n$, and the sum of that power series is a (complex) analytic function in an open disk around $a$ which agrees with the original function $f$ on the intersection of that disk with the real line. – Robert Israel Oct 27 '21 at 21:09
  • 1
    And any two of these complex extensions agree on the intersection of their disks, by the Identity Theorem. – Robert Israel Oct 27 '21 at 21:10
  • @RobertIsrael ok thanks. so are you saying anything like analytic in complex is pretty much the same as analytic in real? (unlike with the case for holomorphic or perhaps smooth or differentiable) – BCLC Oct 27 '21 at 21:11

1 Answers1

2

The main difference between real analytic and complex analytic for functions in $\mathbb R^2 = \mathbb C$ is the following (I assume all the functions are smooth and we are working around $p=0$ for calculations):

Being real analytic at a point $p$ speaks about the growth of the derivatives in a neighbourhood of $p$. It is a very "analysis" property, because every smooth function $F : \mathbb R^2 \to \mathbb R^2$ can be "represented" in a neighbourhood of $p$ as $$ F \equiv \sum_{n,m =0}^{\infty} \frac{\partial^{n+m}F}{\partial x^i\partial y^j}(0,0)\frac{x^i y^j}{i!j!} $$ You can interpret $\equiv$ as you wish, but for example, by Taylor's theorem, these functions are equal to order $k$ for all $k \in \mathbb N$. The function is real analytic if $\equiv$ is an equality (this is, if the power series converges uniformly and coincides with $f$).

However, the obstruction to being complex analytic is bigger because it is "algebraic". Let me explain this:

Take $F$ as before. Because $\mathbb R^2 = \mathbb C$, you can think of $F=(F_1, F_2) = F_1+iF_2$. If $F$ is real analytic, then it is of the form

$$ F= \sum_{n,m=0}^{\infty} (a_{n,m}+ib_{n,m}) x^n y^m = \sum_{n,m=0}^{\infty} c_{n,m} x^n y^m $$

For some complex $c_{n,m}$. You could define complex analytic functions as those that can be written in this form (convergent power series etc) but it doesn't seem very correct because $x,y$ are not the natural coordinates of the complex plane, so we use the formulas $z = x+iy, \bar z = x-iy$ to get $x = \frac{z+\bar z }{2}$ $y = \frac{z-\bar z}{2}$. After expanding all the powers, we get a representation

$$ F= \sum_{n,m=0}^\infty d_{n,m} z^n \bar z^m $$ for some complex $d_{n,m}$. However, we have not done anything new. A funcion $F : \mathbb C \to \mathbb C$ can be written in this form iff it is real analyitic. Now, if you try to treat $\mathbb C$ as if it was a completely different field from $\mathbb R$, then complex analytic functions $F : F : \mathbb C \to \mathbb C$ should have a 1-dimensional power series representation (like real analytic functions $f : \mathbb R \to \mathbb R$), so you have to pick one variable. It turns out that the best thing is to pick $z$ as your variable. Then, complex analytic function should be of the form $$ G = \sum_{n=0}^\infty e_n x^n $$ Compare this to the representation of $F$. We are saying that a real analytic function is complex analytic when all the $d_{n,m}=0$ for all $m>0$. This is a VERY strong condition, and undoing the changes $z, \bar z$ yields it imposes an infinite set of algebraic conditions on the derivatives of $F$ wrt $x$ and $y$. We are saying that almost all the terms are $0$. It is basically reducing the information needed to encode a function from $\mathbb C^{\mathbb N \times \mathbb N}$ to $\mathbb C^{ \mathbb N}$ (I know these sets are equipotent, but think about it as linear vs quatratic growth).

The magic of complex analysis is being able to treat with this functions with so much ease, and this is a very very specific thing about the pair of fields $\mathbb R \subset \mathbb C$, and the main theorem is that if a $\mathcal C^1$ function $F : \mathbb R ^2 \to \mathbb R ^2$ satisfies the algebraic equations that I mentioned earlier for their first order derivatives (which are called the Cauchy-Riemann) equations, then it is complex analytic and therefore satisfies all these equations. This is one of the reasons why complex analysis is so beautiful and unexpected.

So, IMO the main you should keep is that $F$-analytic functions, where $F$ is a complete field like $\mathbb R $ or $\mathbb C$ (but also like the $p$-adics $\mathbb Q_p$) should be defined in terms of $F$ only, trying to generalize how you define them in $\mathbb R$ and that these definitions don't need to have anything to do with each other. For example, the difference between complex and real analytic is huge. However, just in the case $\mathbb R \subset \mathbb C$ it turns out that there is a very particular and interesting connection between the definitions.

  • Thanks Aitor Iribar Lopez. Please consider helping here as well Analytic on deleted neighbourhood implies analytic on whole?. Ok this answers for the very definitions and stuff but is there a way to show not really the whole story but just some portions of it like in terms of some properties that complex analytic satisfies that real analytic does? For example complex holomorphic implies twice complex differentiable (to say the least) while real holomorphic doesn't ? – BCLC Oct 28 '21 at 00:38