I'm out of college, and trying to self-learn complex analysis. I'm finding Ahlfors' text difficult. Any recommendations? I'm probably at an intermediate sophistication level for an undergrad. (Bonus points if the text has a section on the Riemann Zeta function and the Prime Number Theorem.)
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$\begingroup$Visual Complex Analysis by Needham is good. There is also Complex Variables and Applications by Churchill which is geared towards engineers.
$\endgroup$ 6 $\begingroup$My favorites, in order:
Freitag, Busam - Complex Analysis (The last three chapters are called Elliptic Functions, Elliptic Modular Forms, Analytic Number Theory)
Stein, Shakarchi - Complex Analysis (clear and economic introduction)
Palka - An Introduction to Complex Function Theory (quite verbal, but covers a lot in great detail)
Lang - Complex Analysis (typical Lang style with concise proofs, altough it starts quite slowly, a nice coverage of topological aspects of contour integration, and some advanced topics with applications to analysis and number theory in the end)
$\endgroup$ 4 $\begingroup$You may like Stein and Shakarchi's book on Complex Analysis.
$\endgroup$ 2 $\begingroup$I like Conway's Functions of one complex variable I a lot. It is very well written and gives a thorough account of the basics of complex analysis. And a section on Riemann's $\zeta$-function is also included.
There is also Functions of one complex variable II featuring for instance a proof of the Bieberbach Conjecture, harmonic functions and potential theory.
$\endgroup$ 2 $\begingroup$Elementary theory of analytic functions of one or several complex variables by Henri Cartan.
(The Prime Number Theorem is not proved in this book.)
$\endgroup$ 1 $\begingroup$Complex Analysis by Joseph Bak and Donald J. Newman has a proof of the Prime Number Theorem.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$The followings are very, very good. Note that they form a set.
- Reinhold Remmert. Theory of complex functions. Springer 1991.
- Reinhold Remmert. Classical topics in complex function theory. Springer 2010.
Rudin's Real and Complex Analysis is always a nice way to go, but may be difficult due to the terseness.
$\endgroup$ 3 $\begingroup$I second the answer by "wildildildlife" but specially the book by Freitag - "Complex Analysis" and the recently translated second volume to be published this summer. It is the most complete, well-developed, motivated and thorough advanced level introduction to complex analysis I know. The first volume starts out with complex numbers and holomorphic functions but builds the theory up to elliptic and modular functions, finishing with applications to analytic number theorem proving the prime number theorem. The second volume develops the theory of Riemann surfaces and introduces several complex variables and more modular forms (of huge importance to modern number theory). They are filled with interesting exercises and problems most of which are solved in detail at the end!
You just need a good background in undergraduate analysis to manage. Moreover, I think they should be your next step after a softer introduction to complex analysis if you are interested in deepening your knowledge and getting a good grasp at the different aspects and advanced topics of the whole subject.
$\endgroup$ 3 $\begingroup$I agree with @WWright. Marsden/Hoffman is (one of) the best of the undergraduate complex analysis books in my opinion, although it does not mention the PNT or RZ equation at all.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Complex variables: An introduction, by Carlos A. Berenstein and Roger Gay (Springer, 1991).
An underrated masterpiece.
This is a self-contained, very accessible, comprehensive, and masterfully written textbook that I do find very suitable for the serious self-taught possessing the rare mathematical maturity, and being in command of a quite modest (but non-negligible) background.
Among its many competitors, this work distinguishes itself by being, by far, the most modern in scope and means, since it introduces in a very harmonious way and from the very beginning, mainly from scratch, key ideas from homological algebra, algebraic topology, sheaf theory, and the theory of distributions, together with a systematic use of the Cauchy-Riemann $\bar{\partial}$-operator. So for instance, once you're going to tackle Cauchy's integral theorem, you'll be fully equipped to prove it in its full generality, and without the typical "hand-weaving" most texts rely on and hide behind.
A following up by the same authors is Complex analysis and special topics in harmonic analysis (Springer, 1995).
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Yet another good one: Complex Variables: Introduction and Applications by Ablowitz & Fokas.
$\endgroup$ 2 $\begingroup$The little Dover books by Knopp are great. They get to the integral fast -- and that's where the fun really begins. Get 'em.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Introduction to Complex Analysis by Hilary Priestley is excellent for self study - very clear and well-written
$\endgroup$ 2 $\begingroup$A First Course in Complex Analysis by Matthias Beck, Gerald Marchesi, Dennis Pixton, and Lucas Sabalka is a well written free online textbook. It is available in PDF format from San Francisco State University at this authors website.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Whittaker and Watson. Hardy, Wright, and Hardy and Wright learned complex analysis from it.
$\endgroup$ 1 $\begingroup$I don't think it has the zeta function or the PNT (I could be wrong, it has been a long time since I looked at it), but "Invitation to Complex Analysis" by Ralph P. Boas is really nice, and suitable for self study because it has about 60 pages of solutions to the texts problems.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$You might like Functions of a Complex Variable by E.G. Phillips. It is slightly dated, but you can't argue with the price! I personally think this is a wonderful book.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Concise Complex Analysis, by Sheng Gong and Youhong Gong. That's a really excellent textbook! Trust me!
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$"Complex Analysis with Applications" by Richard Silverman is a gentle introduction to the subject. Only covers the basics, but explains them in a crystal clear style.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$I think Using the Mathematics Literature may be helpful to answer your question.
$\endgroup$ 3 $\begingroup$For a good introduction i referred "A First Course in complex Analysis by Dennis G.Zill" and for little advanced case i would like to refer "Complex Analysis by Dennis G. Zill and Patrick Shanahan".
Also many good books by Churchill & Brown , another by Ponnusamy are also there . Hope this helps!
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$I've taught a few times from Churchill's book, and used it as an undergrad. I'm liking it less all the time. I would probably switch to Marsden/Hoffman next time. At a more advanced level, I like Nevanlinna and Paatero, "Introduction to Complex Analysis." It has a chapter on the Riemann zeta function within which there is a discussion of the distribution of primes. I used this in the beginning grad course in complex, along with Hille's "Analytic Function Theory," which I liked very much.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Some free and very very good references are:
- Basic Complex Analysis: the first tools, from holomorphic functions to Residue Theorem.
- Selected Topics of Complex Analysis: taken from Remmert's book, it treats the Riemann Mapping Thm, Infinite products, Runge Theory, Maximum Modulus Thm.
Saying that here all is explained really properly, wouldn't be enough.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$You may find the following references useful:
"Schaum's Outline of Complex Variables, Second Edition" by Murray Spiegel. This has plenty of solved and unsolved exercises ranging from the basics on complex numbers, to special functions and conformal mappings. This has a note on the zeta function.
"Geometric Function Theory: Explorations in Complex Analysis" by Steven Krantz. This is good for more advanced topics in classic function theory, probably suitable for advanced UG/PG. It covers classic topics, such as the Schwarz lemma and Riemann mapping theorem, and moves onto topics in harmonic analysis and abstract algebra.
"Complex Analysis in Number Theory" by Anatoly Karatsuba. This book contains a detailed analysis of complex analysis and number theory (especially the zeta function). Topics covered include complex integration in number theory, the Zeta function and L-functions.
Note: I only mean this answer to be an addendum to all the other answers. In particular, the following books are probably not the best books for someone at an "intermediate sophistication level for an undergrad." However, I also think these (very good) books will be of help to future readers. Also, they were not mentioned in the other duplicate posts (here and here).
Schlag, A Course in Complex Analysis and Riemann Surfaces
Since there were a few other graduate level books mentioned above, I thought this answer is also appropriate. Perhaps this book is best for a second course on complex analysis. The first two chapters are content from standard undergraduate complex analysis.
Titchmarsh, The Theory of Functions.
This (very old) book is good if you want to learn to do hard calculations. It is hard to read, but personally, I think it is a very rewarding book. Same with Schlag's book, this may not be a good first course in complex analysis, but it may be good once you have learnt the basics after reading more basics books such as Stein and Shakarchi.
$\endgroup$ $\begingroup$Lots of good recommendations here-but for self study,you can't beat Complex analysis by Theodore W. Gamelin. It's highly geometric, has very few prerequisites and reaches very near the boundaries of research by the end.
$\endgroup$ 6 $\begingroup$I had a lovely time with Lang's Complex Analysis as an undergraduate at Berkeley, but also had an excellent professor (Hung-hsi Wu).
Sorry I can't offer too many details, it's been a long time. Let's see, standard stuff like Laurent series, complex numbers, Cauchy's theorem, Goursat on the way to Cauchy, Euler's formula etc. Not in that order.
We might not have gotten that far, but it was taught at a high level. It's in the GTM series. There were several students with masters degrees.
(Of course, Wu spent alot of time spouting about politics and the like.)
I remember being pretty impressed with the book, my first exposure to Lang. He wrote a ton of books.
(I know it's beside the point, but I heard he could fairly regularly be seen in the halls of Evans.)
(One more incidentally, I know it's a bit much, but for what it's worth, I was able to get a marginal pass on the complex analysis QUAL at UCLA before starting grad school there, based mainly on what I learned from the course.)
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