Re: Complex Numbers
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg47448] Re: Complex Numbers
- From: Jon Harrop <jdh30 at cam.ac.uk>
- Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 03:45:02 -0400 (EDT)
- Organization: University of Cambridge
- References: <c5b0tc$7lc$1@smc.vnet.net>
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
Alejandro Vizcarra wrote: > I always have problems when dealing with complex numbers. How can i > work with Mathematica in such a way that every expression will > be considered real unless it is declared explicitly complex (like a = 3 + > 4 I ) ? The best recommendation that I can make is to routinely simplify expressions using something like: In := assume = Im[a] == 0 && Im[b] == 0; In := FullSimplify[-Im[Sin[a + b]] + Re[Cos[a + b]], assume] Out := Cos[a + b] But this requires FullSimplify rather than Simplify and FullSimplify is very time consuming on large expressions. An alternative is to define up-values associated with the variables to declare that their real parts are themselves and their imaginary parts are zero, rather than keeping and passing my "assume" variable around: In := Re[a] ^= a; Im[a] ^= 0; Re[b] ^= b; Im[b] ^= 0; In := FullSimplify[-Im[Sin[a + b]] + Re[Cos[a + b]]] Out := Cos[a + b] But I have a hunch that this won't be as powerful at simplifying the expressions as the "assume" approach. I do not know of any way to manifestly declare something as being real-valued. I believe this would be a bad idea anyway, as the current method enforces mathematical rigour. Whilst checking a proof for my PhD thesis, for example, Mathematica's pedantry led me to make two of my assumptions explicit. Although the assumptions may have been "obvious" to a human reader, it can be nice to have that kind of pedantry. :) HTH. Cheers, Jon.