theorem and provide various methods for calculating
residues, such as using the Laurent series expansion.
At the same time, some basic concepts and methods
of complex variable functions, such as contour
integrals and isolated singular points, are also the
prerequisites and keys for the application of the
residue theorem. The residue theorem promotes the
development and application of the theory of complex
variable functions. The emergence of the residue
theorem has promoted the extensive application of the
theory of complex variable functions in other fields.
It has played an important role in aspects such as
calculating real integrals, solving differential
equations, and studying fluid mechanics and
electromagnetics. These applications not only expand
the research scope of complex variable functions but
also further enrich and perfect the theoretical system
of complex variable functions.
2 METHODS
2.1 Complex Numbers and Functions
A complex number is of the form ๐ง=๐ฅ+๐๐ฆ where x
and y are real numbers, and ๐ =
โ
1
. A complex
function f(z) maps complex numbers to complex
numbers. One will review the basic operations on
complex numbers and functions, such as addition,
multiplication, and differentiation (Qiu, 2020).
For a function ๐(๐ง) that is analytic at an isolated
singularity z, its Laurent series expansion is
๐
(
๐ง
)
=๎ท๐
๎ฏก
(๐ง โ๐ง
๎ฌด
)
๎ฏก
๎ฎถ
๎ฏก๎ญ๎ฌฟ๎ฎถ
(
1
)
The residue is defined as the coefficient of
term
(
๐งโ๐ง
๎ฌด
)
๎ฌฟ๎ฌต
in the Laurent series, that is
Res
(
๐,๐ง
๎ฌด
)
=๐
๎ฌฟ๎ฌต
In practical calculations, for
different types of isolated singularities, there are
different methods for calculating the residue. If ๐ง
๎ฌด
is
an mth order pole of ๐
(
๐ง
)
, then the formula
๐
๐๐
(
๐,๐ง
๎ฌด
)
=
๐
(
๐โ1
)
!
lim
๎ฏญโ๎ฏญ
๎ฐฌ
๐
(
๐ง
)(
2
)
can be used to calculate the residue. For example, for
the function๐
(
๐ง
)
=
๎ฏญ
(
๎ฏญ๎ฌฟ๎ฌต
)
๎ฐฎ
(
๎ฏญ๎ฌพ๎ฌถ
)
, z = 1 is a second-
order pole and z = - 2 is a first-order pole. For z = 1,
according to the above formula, first let ๐
(
๐ง
)
๎ฏญ
๎ฏญ๎ฌพ๎ฌถ
,
then ๐
๐๐
(
๐,๐ง
๎ฌด
)
=
๎ฌต
๎ฌฝ
๏ผfor z=-2 ๐
๐๐
(
๐,๐ง
๎ฌด
)
=โ
๎ฌถ
๎ฌฝ
.
Singularities are points where a complex function
is not analytic. Multiple kinds of singularities are
present, and among them are removable singularities,
poles, and essential singularities. The behavior of a
function near its singularities is crucial for
understanding the residue concept.
2.2 Residue Theorem
The residue theorem establishes a connection
between the integral of a function along a closed
curve and the residues of the function at the isolated
singularities inside the curve. Let f(z) be analytic in
the region D enclosed by a simple closed curve C
except for a finite number of isolated singularities
๐ง
๎ฌต
๐ง
๎ฌถ
โฆ๏ผ๐ง
๎ฏก
, and continuous in the closed region ๐ท
๎ดฅ
=
๐ทโช๐ถ except at these singularities. Then one has
๎ถผ
๐
(
๐ง
)
๐๐ง=2๐i๎ท๐
๐๐ (๐,๐ง
๎ฏ
)
๎ฏก
๎ฏ๎ญ๎ฌต
๎ฏ
(
3
)
Below is the General Steps for Calculating Integrals
Using the Residue Theorem (Trefethen & Weideman,
2014).
The first is to determine the integration path.
Select an appropriate closed integration path C, which
is usually constructed according to the characteristics
of the integrand function and the integration interval.
For example, for the integral
๎ฌ
๐
(
๐ฅ
)
๎ฎถ
๎ฌฟ๎ฎถ
๐๐ฅon the real
axis, a semi-circular path (with radius R) in the upper
half-plane is often added, so that the integration path
C = ๐ถ
๎ฏ
+ฮณ (ฮณ is the line segment
๏พ
โ๐
,๐
๏ฟ
on the real
axis) forms a closed curve.
The second is to analyze the singularities of the
integrand function. Find all the isolated singularities
of the integrand function f(z) inside the integration
path C, and determine the types of the singularities
(removable singularities, poles, or essential
singularities). Then, according to the type of the
singularity, use the corresponding method to calculate
the residue at each singularity.
The third is to calculate the sum of the residues.
Add up the residues at all the singularities inside the
integration path C to obtain
โ
๐
๐๐
(
๐,๐ง
๎ฏ
)
๎ฏก
๎ฏ๎ญ๎ฌต
.
The fourth is to apply the residue theorem to find
the value of the integral. According to the residue
theorem shown in Eq. (3), one can calculate the
numerical value of the integral taken along the closed
- loop curve C Then, by analyzing the limit situation
of the integral on the supplementary path (such as๐ถ
๎ฏ
)
when๐
=โ, the value of the original integral on the
real axis can be obtained (Xu & Fan, 2024). For
example, when lim๐
โโ
โฎ
๐
(
๐ง
)
๐๐ง=
๎ฏ
2๐i
โ
๐
๐๐ (๐,๐ง
๎ฏ
๎ฏก
๎ฏ๎ญ๎ฌต
).
The residue theorem has many applications. In
physics, Cauchy's residue theorem is used in various
areas. For instance, in quantum field theory, it is used
to calculate scattering amplitudes and Green's