![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(January 2020) |
In mathematics, a multivalued function (also known as a multiple-valued function) is a function that has two or more values in its range for at least one point in its domain. [1] It is a set-valued function with additional properties depending on context. The terms multifunction and many-valued function are sometimes also used.
A multivalued function of sets f : X → Y is a subset
Write f(x) for the set of those y ∈ Y with (x,y) ∈ Γf. If f is an ordinary function, it is a multivalued function by taking its graph
They are called single-valued functions to distinguish them.
The term multivalued function originated in complex analysis, from analytic continuation. It often occurs that one knows the value of a complex analytic function in some neighbourhood of a point . This is the case for functions defined by the implicit function theorem or by a Taylor series around . In such a situation, one may extend the domain of the single-valued function along curves in the complex plane starting at . In doing so, one finds that the value of the extended function at a point depends on the chosen curve from to ; since none of the new values is more natural than the others, all of them are incorporated into a multivalued function.
For example, let be the usual square root function on positive real numbers. One may extend its domain to a neighbourhood of in the complex plane, and then further along curves starting at , so that the values along a given curve vary continuously from . Extending to negative real numbers, one gets two opposite values for the square root—for example ±i for –1—depending on whether the domain has been extended through the upper or the lower half of the complex plane. This phenomenon is very frequent, occurring for nth roots, logarithms, and inverse trigonometric functions.
To define a single-valued function from a complex multivalued function, one may distinguish one of the multiple values as the principal value, producing a single-valued function on the whole plane which is discontinuous along certain boundary curves. Alternatively, dealing with the multivalued function allows having something that is everywhere continuous, at the cost of possible value changes when one follows a closed path (monodromy). These problems are resolved in the theory of Riemann surfaces: to consider a multivalued function as an ordinary function without discarding any values, one multiplies the domain into a many-layered covering space, a manifold which is the Riemann surface associated to .
If f : X → Y is an ordinary function, then its inverse is the multivalued function
defined as Γf, viewed as a subset of X × Y. When f is a differentiable function between manifolds, the inverse function theorem gives conditions for this to be single-valued locally in X.
For example, the complex logarithm log(z) is the multivalued inverse of the exponential function ez : C → C×, with graph
It is not single valued, given a single w with w = log(z), we have
Given any holomorphic function on an open subset of the complex plane C, its analytic continuation is always a multivalued function.
These are all examples of multivalued functions that come about from non-injective functions. Since the original functions do not preserve all the information of their inputs, they are not reversible. Often, the restriction of a multivalued function is a partial inverse of the original function.
Multivalued functions of a complex variable have branch points. For example, for the nth root and logarithm functions, 0 is a branch point; for the arctangent function, the imaginary units i and −i are branch points. Using the branch points, these functions may be redefined to be single-valued functions, by restricting the range. A suitable interval may be found through use of a branch cut, a kind of curve that connects pairs of branch points, thus reducing the multilayered Riemann surface of the function to a single layer. As in the case with real functions, the restricted range may be called the principal branch of the function.
In physics, multivalued functions play an increasingly important role. They form the mathematical basis for Dirac's magnetic monopoles, for the theory of defects in crystals and the resulting plasticity of materials, for vortices in superfluids and superconductors, and for phase transitions in these systems, for instance melting and quark confinement. They are the origin of gauge field structures in many branches of physics.[ citation needed ]
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted i, called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation ; every complex number can be expressed in the form , where a and b are real numbers. Because no real number satisfies the above equation, i was called an imaginary number by René Descartes. For the complex number ,a is called the real part, and b is called the imaginary part. The set of complex numbers is denoted by either of the symbols or C. Despite the historical nomenclature, "imaginary" complex numbers have a mathematical existence as firm as that of the real numbers, and they are fundamental tools in the scientific description of the natural world.
In mathematics, an elementary function is a function of a single variable that is defined as taking sums, products, roots and compositions of finitely many polynomial, rational, trigonometric, hyperbolic, and exponential functions, and their inverses.
In mathematics, the inverse function of a function f is a function that undoes the operation of f. The inverse of f exists if and only if f is bijective, and if it exists, is denoted by
The natural logarithm of a number is its logarithm to the base of the mathematical constant e, which is an irrational and transcendental number approximately equal to 2.718281828459. The natural logarithm of x is generally written as ln x, logex, or sometimes, if the base e is implicit, simply log x. Parentheses are sometimes added for clarity, giving ln(x), loge(x), or log(x). This is done particularly when the argument to the logarithm is not a single symbol, so as to prevent ambiguity.
In mathematics, a square root of a number x is a number y such that ; in other words, a number y whose square is x. For example, 4 and −4 are square roots of 16 because .
The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number is a solution to the quadratic equation x2 + 1 = 0. Although there is no real number with this property, i can be used to extend the real numbers to what are called complex numbers, using addition and multiplication. A simple example of the use of i in a complex number is 2 + 3i.
In mathematics, exponentiation is an operation involving two numbers: the base and the exponent or power. Exponentiation is written as bn, where b is the base and n is the power; this is pronounced as "b (raised) to the n". When n is a positive integer, exponentiation corresponds to repeated multiplication of the base: that is, bn is the product of multiplying n bases:
In mathematics, an nth root of a number x is a number r which, when raised to the power of the positive integer n, yields x:
In mathematics, the Gudermannian function relates a hyperbolic angle measure to a circular angle measure called the gudermannian of and denoted . The Gudermannian function reveals a close relationship between the circular functions and hyperbolic functions. It was introduced in the 1760s by Johann Heinrich Lambert, and later named for Christoph Gudermann who also described the relationship between circular and hyperbolic functions in 1830. The gudermannian is sometimes called the hyperbolic amplitude as a limiting case of the Jacobi elliptic amplitude when parameter
In mathematics, the inverse trigonometric functions are the inverse functions of the trigonometric functions. Specifically, they are the inverses of the sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant functions, and are used to obtain an angle from any of the angle's trigonometric ratios. Inverse trigonometric functions are widely used in engineering, navigation, physics, and geometry.
In mathematics, specifically complex analysis, the principal values of a multivalued function are the values along one chosen branch of that function, so that it is single-valued. A simple case arises in taking the square root of a positive real number. For example, 4 has two square roots: 2 and −2; of these the positive root, 2, is considered the principal root and is denoted as
In mathematics, tetration is an operation based on iterated, or repeated, exponentiation. There is no standard notation for tetration, though Knuth's up arrow notation and the left-exponent xb are common.
In the mathematical field of complex analysis, a branch point of a multivalued function is a point such that if the function is -valued at that point, all of its neighborhoods contain a point that has more than values. Multi-valued functions are rigorously studied using Riemann surfaces, and the formal definition of branch points employs this concept.
In the mathematical field of complex analysis, contour integration is a method of evaluating certain integrals along paths in the complex plane.
In mathematics, a principal branch is a function which selects one branch ("slice") of a multi-valued function. Most often, this applies to functions defined on the complex plane.
In mathematics, an algebraic function is a function that can be defined as the root of an irreducible polynomial equation. Algebraic functions are often algebraic expressions using a finite number of terms, involving only the algebraic operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and raising to a fractional power. Examples of such functions are:
In mathematics, the lemniscate elliptic functions are elliptic functions related to the arc length of the lemniscate of Bernoulli. They were first studied by Giulio Fagnano in 1718 and later by Leonhard Euler and Carl Friedrich Gauss, among others.
In mathematics, the inverse hyperbolic functions are inverses of the hyperbolic functions, analogous to the inverse circular functions. There are six in common use: inverse hyperbolic sine, inverse hyperbolic cosine, inverse hyperbolic tangent, inverse hyperbolic cosecant, inverse hyperbolic secant, and inverse hyperbolic cotangent. They are commonly denoted by the symbols for the hyperbolic functions, prefixed with arc- or ar-.
In mathematics, a complex logarithm is a generalization of the natural logarithm to nonzero complex numbers. The term refers to one of the following, which are strongly related:
In mathematics (particularly in complex analysis), the argument of a complex number z, denoted arg(z), is the angle between the positive real axis and the line joining the origin and z, represented as a point in the complex plane, shown as in Figure 1. By convention the positive real axis is drawn pointing rightward, the positive imaginary axis is drawn pointing upward, and complex numbers with positive real part are considered to have an anticlockwise argument with positive sign.