1.II.14B

Further Complex Methods | Part II, 2007

The function J(z)J(z) is defined by

J(z)=∫Ptz−1(1−t)b−1dtJ(z)=\int_{\mathcal{P}} t^{z-1}(1-t)^{b-1} d t

where bb is a constant (which is not an integer). The path of integration, P\mathcal{P}, is the Pochhammer contour, defined as follows. It starts at a point AA on the axis between 0 and 1 , then it circles the points 1 and 0 in the negative sense, then it circles the points 1 and 0 in the positive sense, returning to AA. At the start of the path, arg⁡(t)=arg⁡(1−t)=0\arg (t)=\arg (1-t)=0 and the integrand is defined at other points on P\mathcal{P} by analytic continuation along P\mathcal{P}.

(i) For what values of zz is J(z)J(z) analytic? Give brief reasons for your answer.

(ii) Show that, in the case Re⁡z>0\operatorname{Re} z>0 and Re⁡b>0\operatorname{Re} b>0,

J(z)=−4e−πi(z+b)sin⁡(πz)sin⁡(πb)B(z,b)J(z)=-4 e^{-\pi i(z+b)} \sin (\pi z) \sin (\pi b) \mathrm{B}(z, b)

where B(z,b)\mathrm{B}(z, b) is the Beta function.

(iii) Deduce that the only singularities of B(z,b)\mathrm{B}(z, b) are simple poles. Explain carefully what happens if zz is a positive integer.

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