residue

In mathematics, more specifically complex analysis, the residue is a complex number proportional to the contour integral of a meromorphic function along a path enclosing one of its singularities. (More generally, residues can be calculated for any function that is holomorphic except at the discrete points {ak}k, even if some of them are essential singularities.) Residues can be computed quite easily and, once known, allow the determination of general contour integrals via the residue theorem. Definition The residue of a meromorphic function at an isolated singularity , often denoted , , or , is the unique value such that has an analytic antiderivative in a punctured disk . Alternatively, residues can be calculated by finding Laurent series expansions, and one can define the residue as the coefficient a−1 of a Laurent series. The definition of a residue can be generalized to arbitrary Riemann surfaces. Suppose is a 1-form on a Riemann surface. Let be meromorphic at some point , so that we may write in local coordinates as . Then, the residue of at is defined to be the residue of at the point corresponding to .