Removable singularity

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In complex analysis, a removable singularity of a holomorphic function is a point at which the function is ostensibly undefined, but, upon closer examination, the domain of the function can be enlarged to include the singularity (in such a way that the function remains holomorphic).

For instance, the function

f(z) = \frac{\sin z}{z}

for z ≠ 0 has a singularity at z = 0. This singularity can be removed by defining f(0) = 1. The resulting function is a continuous, in fact holomorphic, function.

Formally, if U is an open subset of the complex plane C, a is a point of U, and f : U - {a} → C is a holomorphic function, then a is called a removable singularity for f if there exists a holomorphic function g : U → C which coincides with f on U - {a}. We say f is holomorphically extendable over a if such a g exists.

[edit] Riemann's theorem

Riemann's theorem on removable singularities states characterizes when a singularity is removable:

Theorem. The following are equivalent:

i) f is holomorphically extendable over a.
ii) f is continuously extendable over a.
iii) There exists a neighborhood of a on which f is bounded.
iv) limz → a(z - a ) f(z) = 0.

The implications i) ⇒ ii) ⇒ iii) ⇒ iv) are trivial. To prove iv) ⇒ i), we first recall that the holomorphy of a function is at a is equivalent to it being analytic at a, i.e. having a power series representation. Define

h(z) = \begin{cases} (z - a)^2 f(z) & z \ne a ,\\ 0 & z = a .\\ \end{cases}

Then

h(z) - h(a) = (z - a)(z - a)f(z), \,

where, by assumption, (z - a)f(z) can be viewed as a continuous function on D. In other words, h is holomorphic on D and have Taylor series about a:

h(z) = a_2 (z - a)^2 + a_3 (z - a)^3 + \cdots .

Therefore

g(z) = \frac{h(z)}{(z-a)^2}

is a holomorphic extension of f over a, which proves the claim.

[edit] Other kinds of singularities

Unlike functions of a real variable, holomorphic functions are sufficiently rigid that their isolated singularities can be completely classified. A holomorphic function's singularity is either not really a singularity at all, i.e. a removable singularity, or one of the following two types:

  1. In light of Riemann's theorem, given a non-removable singularity, one might ask whether there exists a natural number m such that limz → a(z - a )m+1f(z) = 0. If so, a is called a pole of f and the smallest such m is the order of a. So removable singularities are precisely the poles of order 0. A holomorphic function blows up uniformly near its poles.
  2. If an isolated singularity a of f is neither removable nor a pole, it is called an essential singularity. It can be shown that f maps every punctured open neighborhood U - {a} to a open and dense subset of the complex plane.

[edit] See also