Singularity (mathematics)In mathematics, a singularity is a point at which a given mathematical object is not defined, or a point where the mathematical object ceases to be well-behaved in some particular way, such as by lacking differentiability or analyticity. For example, the function has a singularity at , where the value of the function is not defined, as involving a division by zero. The absolute value function also has a singularity at , since it is not differentiable there. The algebraic curve defined by in the coordinate system has a singularity (called a cusp) at .
Singularity theoryIn mathematics, singularity theory studies spaces that are almost manifolds, but not quite. A string can serve as an example of a one-dimensional manifold, if one neglects its thickness. A singularity can be made by balling it up, dropping it on the floor, and flattening it. In some places the flat string will cross itself in an approximate "X" shape. The points on the floor where it does this are one kind of singularity, the double point: one bit of the floor corresponds to more than one bit of string.
Removable singularityIn complex analysis, a removable singularity of a holomorphic function is a point at which the function is undefined, but it is possible to redefine the function at that point in such a way that the resulting function is regular in a neighbourhood of that point. For instance, the (unnormalized) sinc function, as defined by has a singularity at z = 0. This singularity can be removed by defining which is the limit of sinc as z tends to 0. The resulting function is holomorphic.
Essential singularityIn complex analysis, an essential singularity of a function is a "severe" singularity near which the function exhibits odd behavior. The category essential singularity is a "left-over" or default group of isolated singularities that are especially unmanageable: by definition they fit into neither of the other two categories of singularity that may be dealt with in some manner – removable singularities and poles. In practice some include non-isolated singularities too; those do not have a residue.
Radius of convergenceIn mathematics, the radius of convergence of a power series is the radius of the largest disk at the center of the series in which the series converges. It is either a non-negative real number or . When it is positive, the power series converges absolutely and uniformly on compact sets inside the open disk of radius equal to the radius of convergence, and it is the Taylor series of the analytic function to which it converges.
Analytic functionIn mathematics, an analytic function is a function that is locally given by a convergent power series. There exist both real analytic functions and complex analytic functions. Functions of each type are infinitely differentiable, but complex analytic functions exhibit properties that do not generally hold for real analytic functions. A function is analytic if and only if its Taylor series about converges to the function in some neighborhood for every in its domain.
Laurent seriesIn mathematics, the Laurent series of a complex function is a representation of that function as a power series which includes terms of negative degree. It may be used to express complex functions in cases where a Taylor series expansion cannot be applied. The Laurent series was named after and first published by Pierre Alphonse Laurent in 1843. Karl Weierstrass may have discovered it first in a paper written in 1841, but it was not published until after his death.
Uniform convergenceIn the mathematical field of analysis, uniform convergence is a mode of convergence of functions stronger than pointwise convergence. A sequence of functions converges uniformly to a limiting function on a set as the function domain if, given any arbitrarily small positive number , a number can be found such that each of the functions differs from by no more than at every point in .
Analyticity of holomorphic functionsIn complex analysis, a complex-valued function of a complex variable : is said to be holomorphic at a point if it is differentiable at every point within some open disk centered at , and is said to be analytic at if in some open disk centered at it can be expanded as a convergent power series (this implies that the radius of convergence is positive). One of the most important theorems of complex analysis is that holomorphic functions are analytic and vice versa.
Isolated singularityIn complex analysis, a branch of mathematics, an isolated singularity is one that has no other singularities close to it. In other words, a complex number z0 is an isolated singularity of a function f if there exists an open disk D centered at z0 such that f is holomorphic on D \ {z0}, that is, on the set obtained from D by taking z0 out. Formally, and within the general scope of general topology, an isolated singularity of a holomorphic function is any isolated point of the boundary of the domain .
Residue theoremIn complex analysis, the residue theorem, sometimes called Cauchy's residue theorem, is a powerful tool to evaluate line integrals of analytic functions over closed curves; it can often be used to compute real integrals and infinite series as well. It generalizes the Cauchy integral theorem and Cauchy's integral formula. The residue theorem should not be confused with special cases of the generalized Stokes' theorem; however, the latter can be used as an ingredient of its proof.
Holomorphic functionIn mathematics, a holomorphic function is a complex-valued function of one or more complex variables that is complex differentiable in a neighbourhood of each point in a domain in complex coordinate space Cn. The existence of a complex derivative in a neighbourhood is a very strong condition: it implies that a holomorphic function is infinitely differentiable and locally equal to its own Taylor series (analytic). Holomorphic functions are the central objects of study in complex analysis.
Non-analytic smooth functionIn mathematics, smooth functions (also called infinitely differentiable functions) and analytic functions are two very important types of functions. One can easily prove that any analytic function of a real argument is smooth. The converse is not true, as demonstrated with the counterexample below. One of the most important applications of smooth functions with compact support is the construction of so-called mollifiers, which are important in theories of generalized functions, such as Laurent Schwartz's theory of distributions.
Residue (complex analysis)In mathematics, more specifically complex analysis, the residue is a complex number proportional to the contour integral of a meromorphic function along a path enclosing one of its singularities. (More generally, residues can be calculated for any function that is holomorphic except at the discrete points {ak}k, even if some of them are essential singularities.) Residues can be computed quite easily and, once known, allow the determination of general contour integrals via the residue theorem.
Singular point of an algebraic varietyIn the mathematical field of algebraic geometry, a singular point of an algebraic variety V is a point P that is 'special' (so, singular), in the geometric sense that at this point the tangent space at the variety may not be regularly defined. In case of varieties defined over the reals, this notion generalizes the notion of local non-flatness. A point of an algebraic variety which is not singular is said to be regular. An algebraic variety which has no singular point is said to be non-singular or smooth.
Absolute convergenceIn mathematics, an infinite series of numbers is said to converge absolutely (or to be absolutely convergent) if the sum of the absolute values of the summands is finite. More precisely, a real or complex series is said to converge absolutely if for some real number Similarly, an improper integral of a function, is said to converge absolutely if the integral of the absolute value of the integrand is finite—that is, if Absolute convergence is important for the study of infinite series because its definition is strong enough to have properties of finite sums that not all convergent series possess – a convergent series that is not absolutely convergent is called conditionally convergent, while absolutely convergent series behave "nicely".
Abel's testIn mathematics, Abel's test (also known as Abel's criterion) is a method of testing for the convergence of an infinite series. The test is named after mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. There are two slightly different versions of Abel's test – one is used with series of real numbers, and the other is used with power series in complex analysis. Abel's uniform convergence test is a criterion for the uniform convergence of a series of functions dependent on parameters.
Pointwise convergenceIn mathematics, pointwise convergence is one of various senses in which a sequence of functions can converge to a particular function. It is weaker than uniform convergence, to which it is often compared. Suppose that is a set and is a topological space, such as the real or complex numbers or a metric space, for example. A net or sequence of functions all having the same domain and codomain is said to converge pointwise to a given function often written as if (and only if) The function is said to be the pointwise limit function of the Sometimes, authors use the term bounded pointwise convergence when there is a constant such that .
Compact convergenceIn mathematics compact convergence (or uniform convergence on compact sets) is a type of convergence that generalizes the idea of uniform convergence. It is associated with the compact-open topology. Let be a topological space and be a metric space. A sequence of functions is said to converge compactly as to some function if, for every compact set , uniformly on as . This means that for all compact , If and with their usual topologies, with , then converges compactly to the constant function with value 0, but not uniformly.
Chern classIn mathematics, in particular in algebraic topology, differential geometry and algebraic geometry, the Chern classes are characteristic classes associated with complex vector bundles. They have since become fundamental concepts in many branches of mathematics and physics, such as string theory, Chern–Simons theory, knot theory, Gromov-Witten invariants. Chern classes were introduced by . Chern classes are characteristic classes. They are topological invariants associated with vector bundles on a smooth manifold.
