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 β2; of these the positive root, 2, is considered the principal root and is denoted as
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π Principal value in the context of Argument (complex analysis)
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 FigureΒ 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.
When any real-valued angle is considered, the argument is a multivalued function operating on the nonzero complex numbers. The principal value of this function is single-valued, typically chosen to be the unique value of the argument that lies within the interval (βΟ, Ο]. In this article the multi-valued function will be denoted arg(z) and its principal value will be denoted Arg(z), but in some sources the capitalization of these symbols is exchanged.