Riemann Mapping
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In
complex analysis Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebraic ...
, the Riemann mapping theorem states that if U is a
non-empty In mathematics, the empty set or void set is the unique set having no elements; its size or cardinality (count of elements in a set) is zero. Some axiomatic set theories ensure that the empty set exists by including an axiom of empty set, whil ...
simply connected In topology, a topological space is called simply connected (or 1-connected, or 1-simply connected) if it is path-connected and every Path (topology), path between two points can be continuously transformed into any other such path while preserving ...
open subset In mathematics, an open set is a generalization of an open interval in the real line. In a metric space (a set with a distance defined between every two points), an open set is a set that, with every point in it, contains all points of the met ...
of the
complex number plane In mathematics, the complex plane is the plane formed by the complex numbers, with a Cartesian coordinate system such that the horizontal -axis, called the real axis, is formed by the real numbers, and the vertical -axis, called the imaginary ...
\mathbb which is not all of \mathbb, then there exists a biholomorphic mapping f (i.e. a
bijective In mathematics, a bijection, bijective function, or one-to-one correspondence is a function between two sets such that each element of the second set (the codomain) is the image of exactly one element of the first set (the domain). Equival ...
holomorphic In mathematics, a holomorphic function is a complex-valued function of one or more complex variables that is complex differentiable in a neighbourhood of each point in a domain in complex coordinate space . The existence of a complex deri ...
mapping whose inverse is also holomorphic) from U onto the
open unit disk In mathematics, the open unit disk (or disc) around ''P'' (where ''P'' is a given point in the plane), is the set of points whose distance from ''P'' is less than 1: :D_1(P) = \.\, The closed unit disk around ''P'' is the set of points whose d ...
:D = \. This mapping is known as a Riemann mapping. Intuitively, the condition that U be simply connected means that U does not contain any “holes”. The fact that f is biholomorphic implies that it is a
conformal map In mathematics, a conformal map is a function (mathematics), function that locally preserves angles, but not necessarily lengths. More formally, let U and V be open subsets of \mathbb^n. A function f:U\to V is called conformal (or angle-prese ...
and therefore angle-preserving. Such a map may be interpreted as preserving the shape of any sufficiently small figure, while possibly rotating and scaling (but not reflecting) it.
Henri Poincaré Jules Henri Poincaré (, ; ; 29 April 185417 July 1912) was a French mathematician, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosophy of science, philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathemati ...
proved that the map f is unique up to rotation and recentering: if z_0 is an element of U and \phi is an arbitrary angle, then there exists precisely one ''f'' as above such that f(z_0)=0 and such that the
argument An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persu ...
of the derivative of f at the point z_0 is equal to \phi. This is an easy consequence of the
Schwarz lemma In mathematics, the Schwarz lemma, named after Hermann Amandus Schwarz, is a result in complex differential geometry that estimates the (squared) pointwise norm , \partial f , ^2 of a holomorphic map f:(X,g_X) \to (Y,g_Y) between Hermitian manifo ...
. As a corollary of the theorem, any two simply connected open subsets of the
Riemann sphere In mathematics, the Riemann sphere, named after Bernhard Riemann, is a Mathematical model, model of the extended complex plane (also called the closed complex plane): the complex plane plus one point at infinity. This extended plane represents ...
which both lack at least two points of the sphere can be conformally mapped into each other.


History

The theorem was stated (under the assumption that the boundary of U is piecewise smooth) by
Bernhard Riemann Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (; ; 17September 182620July 1866) was a German mathematician who made profound contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the f ...
in 1851 in his PhD thesis. Lars Ahlfors wrote once, concerning the original formulation of the theorem, that it was “ultimately formulated in terms which would defy any attempt of proof, even with modern methods”. Riemann's flawed proof depended on the
Dirichlet principle In mathematics, and particularly in potential theory, Dirichlet's principle is the assumption that the minimizer of a certain energy functional is a solution to Poisson's equation. Formal statement Dirichlet's principle states that, if the functi ...
(which was named by Riemann himself), which was considered sound at the time. However,
Karl Weierstrass Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (; ; 31 October 1815 – 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the " father of modern analysis". Despite leaving university without a degree, he studied mathematics and trained as a school t ...
found that this principle was not universally valid. Later,
David Hilbert David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental idea ...
was able to prove that, to a large extent, the Dirichlet principle is valid under the hypothesis that Riemann was working with. However, in order to be valid, the Dirichlet principle needs certain hypotheses concerning the boundary of U (namely, that it is a
Jordan curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...
) which are not valid for simply connected domains in general. The first rigorous proof of the theorem was given by
William Fogg Osgood William Fogg Osgood (March 10, 1864 – July 22, 1943) was an American mathematician. Education and career William Fogg Osgood was born in Boston on March 10, 1864. In 1886, he graduated from Harvard, where, after studying at the universities ...
in 1900. He proved the existence of
Green's function In mathematics, a Green's function (or Green function) is the impulse response of an inhomogeneous linear differential operator defined on a domain with specified initial conditions or boundary conditions. This means that if L is a linear dif ...
on arbitrary simply connected domains other than \mathbb itself; this established the Riemann mapping theorem.
Constantin Carathéodory Constantin Carathéodory (; 13 September 1873 – 2 February 1950) was a Greeks, Greek mathematician who spent most of his professional career in Germany. He made significant contributions to real and complex analysis, the calculus of variations, ...
gave another proof of the theorem in 1912, which was the first to rely purely on the methods of function theory rather than
potential theory In mathematics and mathematical physics, potential theory is the study of harmonic functions. The term "potential theory" was coined in 19th-century physics when it was realized that the two fundamental forces of nature known at the time, namely g ...
. His proof used Montel's concept of normal families, which became the standard method of proof in textbooks. Carathéodory continued in 1913 by resolving the additional question of whether the Riemann mapping between the domains can be extended to a homeomorphism of the boundaries (see Carathéodory's theorem). Carathéodory's proof used
Riemann surface In mathematics, particularly in complex analysis, a Riemann surface is a connected one-dimensional complex manifold. These surfaces were first studied by and are named after Bernhard Riemann. Riemann surfaces can be thought of as deformed vers ...
s and it was simplified by Paul Koebe two years later in a way that did not require them. Another proof, due to
Lipót Fejér Lipót Fejér (or Leopold Fejér, ; 9 February 1880 – 15 October 1959) was a Hungarian mathematician of Jewish heritage. Fejér was born Leopold Weisz, and changed to the Hungarian name Fejér around 1900. Biography He was born in Pécs, Au ...
and to
Frigyes Riesz Frigyes Riesz (, , sometimes known in English and French as Frederic Riesz; 22 January 1880 – 28 February 1956) was a HungarianEberhard Zeidler: Nonlinear Functional Analysis and Its Applications: Linear monotone operators. Springer, 199/ref> ...
, was published in 1922 and it was rather shorter than the previous ones. In this proof, like in Riemann's proof, the desired mapping was obtained as the solution of an extremal problem. The Fejér–Riesz proof was further simplified by
Alexander Ostrowski Alexander Markowich Ostrowski (; ; 25 September 1893 – 20 November 1986) was a mathematician. Biography His father Mark having been a merchant, Alexander Ostrowski attended the Kiev College of Commerce, not a high school, and thus had an ins ...
and by Carathéodory.


Importance

The following points detail the uniqueness and power of the Riemann mapping theorem: * Even relatively simple Riemann mappings (for example a map from the interior of a circle to the interior of a square) have no explicit formula using only
elementary function In mathematics, an elementary function is a function of a single variable (typically real or complex) that is defined as taking sums, products, roots and compositions of finitely many polynomial, rational, trigonometric, hyperbolic, a ...
s. * Simply connected open sets in the plane can be highly complicated, for instance, the boundary can be a nowhere-
differentiable In mathematics, a differentiable function of one real variable is a function whose derivative exists at each point in its domain. In other words, the graph of a differentiable function has a non- vertical tangent line at each interior point in ...
fractal curve A fractal curve is, loosely, a mathematical curve (mathematics), curve whose shape retains the same general pattern of Pathological (mathematics), irregularity, regardless of how high it is magnified, that is, its graph takes the form of a fract ...
of infinite length, even if the set itself is bounded. One such example is the Koch curve. The fact that such a set can be mapped in an ''angle-preserving'' manner to the nice and regular unit disc seems counter-intuitive. * The analog of the Riemann mapping theorem for more complicated domains is not true. The next simplest case is of doubly connected domains (domains with a single hole). Any doubly connected domain except for the punctured disk and the punctured plane is conformally equivalent to some annulus \ with 0, however there are no conformal maps between annuli except inversion and multiplication by constants so the annulus \ is not conformally equivalent to the annulus \ (as can be proven using extremal length). * The analogue of the Riemann mapping theorem in three or more real dimensions is not true. The family of conformal maps in three dimensions is very poor, and essentially contains only
Möbius transformation In geometry and complex analysis, a Möbius transformation of the complex plane is a rational function of the form f(z) = \frac of one complex number, complex variable ; here the coefficients , , , are complex numbers satisfying . Geometrically ...
s (see Liouville's theorem). * Even if arbitrary
homeomorphism In mathematics and more specifically in topology, a homeomorphism ( from Greek roots meaning "similar shape", named by Henri Poincaré), also called topological isomorphism, or bicontinuous function, is a bijective and continuous function ...
s in higher dimensions are permitted,
contractible In mathematics, a topological space ''X'' is contractible if the identity map on ''X'' is null-homotopic, i.e. if it is homotopic to some constant map. Intuitively, a contractible space is one that can be continuously shrunk to a point within t ...
manifold In mathematics, a manifold is a topological space that locally resembles Euclidean space near each point. More precisely, an n-dimensional manifold, or ''n-manifold'' for short, is a topological space with the property that each point has a N ...
s can be found that are not homeomorphic to the ball (e.g., the Whitehead continuum). * The analogue of the Riemann mapping theorem in
several complex variables The theory of functions of several complex variables is the branch of mathematics dealing with functions defined on the complex coordinate space \mathbb C^n, that is, -tuples of complex numbers. The name of the field dealing with the properties ...
is also not true. In \mathbb^n (n \ge 2), the ball and polydisk are both simply connected, but there is no biholomorphic map between them.


Proof via normal families


Simple connectivity

Theorem. For an open domain G\subset\mathbb the following conditions are equivalent: # G is simply connected; # the integral of every holomorphic function f around a closed piecewise smooth curve in G vanishes; # every holomorphic function in G is the derivative of a holomorphic function; # every nowhere-vanishing holomorphic function f on G has a holomorphic logarithm; # every nowhere-vanishing holomorphic function g on G has a holomorphic square root; # for any w\notin G, the
winding number In mathematics, the winding number or winding index of a closed curve in the plane (mathematics), plane around a given point (mathematics), point is an integer representing the total number of times that the curve travels counterclockwise aroun ...
of w for any piecewise smooth closed curve in G is 0; # the complement of G in the extended complex plane \mathbb\cup\ is connected. (1) ⇒ (2) because any continuous closed curve, with base point a\in G, can be continuously deformed to the constant curve a. So the line integral of f\,\mathrmz over the curve is 0. (2) ⇒ (3) because the integral over any piecewise smooth path \gamma from a to z can be used to define a primitive. (3) ⇒ (4) by integrating f^\,\mathrmf/\mathrmz along \gamma from a to x to give a branch of the logarithm. (4) ⇒ (5) by taking the square root as g(z)=\exp(f(x)/2) where f is a holomorphic choice of logarithm. (5) ⇒ (6) because if \gamma is a piecewise closed curve and f_n are successive square roots of z-w for w outside G, then the winding number of \gamma about w is 2^n times the winding number of f_n\circ\gamma about 0. Hence the winding number of \gamma about w must be divisible by 2^n for all n, so it must equal 0. (6) ⇒ (7) for otherwise the extended plane \mathbb\cup\\setminus G can be written as the disjoint union of two open and closed sets A and B with \infty\in B and A bounded. Let \delta>0 be the shortest Euclidean distance between A and B and build a square grid on \mathbb with length \delta/4 with a point a of A at the centre of a square. Let C be the compact set of the union of all squares with distance \leq\delta/4 from A. Then C\cap B=\varnothing and \partial C does not meet A or B: it consists of finitely many horizontal and vertical segments in G forming a finite number of closed rectangular paths \gamma_j\in G. Taking C_i to be all the squares covering A, then \frac\int_\mathrm\mathrm(z-a) equals the sum of the winding numbers of C_i over a, thus giving 1. On the other hand the sum of the winding numbers of \gamma_j about a equals 1. Hence the winding number of at least one of the \gamma_j about a is non-zero. (7) ⇒ (1) This is a purely topological argument. Let \gamma be a piecewise smooth closed curve based at z_0\in G. By approximation γ is in the same
homotopy In topology, two continuous functions from one topological space to another are called homotopic (from and ) if one can be "continuously deformed" into the other, such a deformation being called a homotopy ( ; ) between the two functions. ...
class as a rectangular path on the square grid of length \delta>0 based at z_0; such a rectangular path is determined by a succession of N consecutive directed vertical and horizontal sides. By induction on N, such a path can be deformed to a constant path at a corner of the grid. If the path intersects at a point z_1, then it breaks up into two rectangular paths of length , and thus can be deformed to the constant path at z_1 by the induction hypothesis and elementary properties of the
fundamental group In the mathematics, mathematical field of algebraic topology, the fundamental group of a topological space is the group (mathematics), group of the equivalence classes under homotopy of the Loop (topology), loops contained in the space. It record ...
. The reasoning follows a "northeast argument": in the non self-intersecting path there will be a corner z_0 with largest real part (easterly) and then amongst those one with largest imaginary part (northerly). Reversing direction if need be, the path go from z_0-\delta to z_0 and then to w_0=z_0-in\delta for n\geq1 and then goes leftwards to w_0-\delta. Let R be the open rectangle with these vertices. The winding number of the path is 0 for points to the right of the vertical segment from z_0 to w_0 and -1 for points to the right; and hence inside R. Since the winding number is 0 off G, R lies in G. If z is a point of the path, it must lie in G; if z is on \partial R but not on the path, by continuity the winding number of the path about z is -1, so z must also lie in G. Hence R\cup\partial R\subset G. But in this case the path can be deformed by replacing the three sides of the rectangle by the fourth, resulting in two less sides (with self-intersections permitted).


Riemann mapping theorem

*Weierstrass' convergence theorem. The uniform limit on compacta of a sequence of holomorphic functions is holomorphic; similarly for derivatives. ::This is an immediate consequence of Morera's theorem for the first statement.
Cauchy's integral formula In mathematics, Cauchy's integral formula, named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy, is a central statement in complex analysis. It expresses the fact that a holomorphic function defined on a disk is completely determined by its values on the boundary o ...
gives a formula for the derivatives which can be used to check that the derivatives also converge uniformly on compacta. * Hurwitz's theorem. If a sequence of nowhere-vanishing holomorphic functions on an open domain has a uniform limit on compacta, then either the limit is identically zero or the limit is nowhere-vanishing. If a sequence of univalent holomorphic functions on an open domain has a uniform limit on compacta, then either the limit is constant or the limit is univalent. ::If the limit function is non-zero, then its zeros have to be isolated. Zeros with multiplicities can be counted by the winding number \frac\int_C\left(g(z)\right)^g'(z)\mathrmz for a holomorphic function g. Hence winding numbers are continuous under uniform limits, so that if each function in the sequence has no zeros nor can the limit. For the second statement suppose that f(a)=f(b) and set g_n(z)=f_n(z)-f_n(a). These are nowhere-vanishing on a disk but g(z)=f(z)-f(a) vanishes at b, so g must vanish identically. Definitions. A family of holomorphic functions on an open domain is said to be ''normal'' if any sequence of functions in has a subsequence that converges to a holomorphic function uniformly on compacta. A family is ''compact'' if whenever a sequence f_n lies in and converges uniformly to f on compacta, then f also lies in . A family is said to be ''locally bounded'' if their functions are uniformly bounded on each compact disk. Differentiating the Cauchy integral formula, it follows that the derivatives of a locally bounded family are also locally bounded. *
Montel's theorem In complex analysis, an area of mathematics, Montel's theorem refers to one of two theorems about families of holomorphic functions. These are named after French mathematician Paul Montel, and give conditions under which a family of holomorphic f ...
. Every locally bounded family of holomorphic functions in a domain G is normal. ::Let f_n be a totally bounded sequence and chose a countable dense subset w_m of G. By locally boundedness and a "
diagonal argument Diagonal argument can refer to: * Diagonal argument (proof technique), proof techniques used in mathematics. A diagonal argument, in mathematics, is a technique employed in the proofs of the following theorems: *Cantor's diagonal argument (the ea ...
", a subsequence can be chosen so that g_n is convergent at each point w_m. It must be verified that this sequence of holomorphic functions converges on G uniformly on each compactum K. Take E open with K\subset E such that the closure of E is compact and contains G. Since the sequence \ is locally bounded, , g_n', \leq M on E. By compactness, if \delta>0 is taken small enough, finitely many open disks D_k of radius \delta>0 are required to cover K while remaining in E. Since :::g_n(b) - g_n(a)= \int_a^b g_n^\prime(z)\, dz, ::we have that , g_n(a)-g_n(b), \leq M, a-b, \leq2\delta M. Now for each k choose some w_i in D_k where g_n(w_i) converges, take n and m so large to be within \delta of its limit. Then for z\in D_k, :::, g_n(z) - g_m(z), \leq , g_n(z) - g_n(w_i), + , g_n(w_i) - g_m(w_i), + , g_m(w_1) - g_m(z), \leq 4M\delta + 2\delta. ::Hence the sequence \ forms a Cauchy sequence in the uniform norm on K as required. *Riemann mapping theorem. If G\neq\mathbb is a simply connected domain and a\in G, there is a unique conformal mapping f of G onto the unit disk D normalized such that f(a)=0 and f'(a)>0. ::Uniqueness follows because if f and g satisfied the same conditions, h=f\circ g^ would be a univalent holomorphic map of the unit disk with h(0)=0 and h'(0)>0. But by the
Schwarz lemma In mathematics, the Schwarz lemma, named after Hermann Amandus Schwarz, is a result in complex differential geometry that estimates the (squared) pointwise norm , \partial f , ^2 of a holomorphic map f:(X,g_X) \to (Y,g_Y) between Hermitian manifo ...
, the univalent holomorphic maps of the unit disk onto itself are given by the
Möbius transformation In geometry and complex analysis, a Möbius transformation of the complex plane is a rational function of the form f(z) = \frac of one complex number, complex variable ; here the coefficients , , , are complex numbers satisfying . Geometrically ...
s :::k(z)=e^(z-\alpha)/(1-\overline z) ::with , \alpha, <1. So h must be the identity map and f=g. ::To prove existence, take to be the family of holomorphic univalent mappings f of G into the open unit disk D with f(a)=0 and f'(a)>0. It is a normal family by Montel's theorem. By the characterization of simple-connectivity, for b\in\mathbb\setminus G there is a holomorphic branch of the square root h(z)=\sqrt in G. It is univalent and h(z_1)\neq-h(z_2) for z_1,z_2\in G. By the open mapping theorem, h(G) contains a closed disk \Delta; say with centre h(a) and radius r>0. Thus no points of -\Delta can lie in h(G). Let F be the unique Möbius transformation taking \mathbb\setminus-\Delta onto D with the normalization F(h(a))=0 and (F \circ h)'(a)=F'(h(a))\cdot h'(a)>0. By construction F\circ h is in , so that is ''non-empty''. The method of Koebe is to use an ''extremal function'' to produce a conformal mapping solving the problem: in this situation it is often called the ''Ahlfors function'' of , after Ahlfors. Let 0 be the supremum of f'(a) for f\in. Pick f_n\in with f_n'(a) tending to M. By Montel's theorem, passing to a subsequence if necessary, f_n tends to a holomorphic function f uniformly on compacta. By Hurwitz's theorem, f is either univalent or constant. But f has f(a)=0 and f'(a)>0. So M is finite, equal to f'(a)>0 and . It remains to check that the conformal mapping f takes G ''onto'' D. If not, take c\neq0 in D\setminus f(G) and let H be a holomorphic square root of (f(z)-c)/(1-\overlinef(z)) on G. The function H is univalent and maps G into D. Let :::F(z)=\frac, ::where H'(a)/, H'(a), =e^. Then F\in and a routine computation shows that :::F'(a)=e^ H'(a)/(1-, H(a), ^2)=f'(a)\left(\sqrt+\sqrt\right)/2>f'(a)=M. ::This contradicts the maximality of M, so that f must take all values in D. Remark. As a consequence of the Riemann mapping theorem, every simply connected domain in the plane is homeomorphic to the unit disk. If points are omitted, this follows from the theorem. For the whole plane, the homeomorphism \phi(z)=z/(1+, z, ) gives a homeomorphism of \mathbb onto D.


Parallel slit mappings

Koebe's uniformization theorem for normal families also generalizes to yield uniformizers f for multiply-connected domains to finite parallel slit domains, where the slits have angle \theta to the -axis. Thus if G is a domain in \mathbb\cup\ containing \infty and bounded by finitely many Jordan contours, there is a unique univalent function f on G with :f(z)=z^+a_1z+a_2z^2+\cdots near \infty, maximizing \mathrm(e^a_1) and having image f(G) a parallel slit domain with angle \theta to the -axis. The first proof that parallel slit domains were canonical domains for in the multiply connected case was given by
David Hilbert David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental idea ...
in 1909. , on his book on univalent functions and conformal mappings, gave a treatment based on the work of Herbert Grötzsch and René de Possel from the early 1930s; it was the precursor of
quasiconformal mapping In mathematical complex analysis, a quasiconformal mapping is a (weakly differentiable) homeomorphism between plane domains which to first order takes small circles to small ellipses of bounded eccentricity. Quasiconformal mappings are a generali ...
s and
quadratic differential In mathematics, a quadratic differential on a Riemann surface is a section of the symmetric square of the holomorphic cotangent bundle. If the section is holomorphic, then the quadratic differential is said to be holomorphic. The vector space of h ...
s, later developed as the technique of extremal metric due to Oswald Teichmüller. Menahem Schiffer gave a treatment based on very general
variational principle A variational principle is a mathematical procedure that renders a physical problem solvable by the calculus of variations, which concerns finding functions that optimize the values of quantities that depend on those functions. For example, the pr ...
s, summarised in addresses he gave to the
International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the IMU Abacus Medal (known before ...
in 1950 and 1958. In a theorem on "boundary variation" (to distinguish it from "interior variation"), he derived a differential equation and inequality, that relied on a measure-theoretic characterisation of straight-line segments due to Ughtred Shuttleworth Haslam-Jones from 1936. Haslam-Jones' proof was regarded as difficult and was only given a satisfactory proof in the mid-1970s by Schober and Campbell–Lamoureux. gave a proof of uniformization for parallel slit domains which was similar to the Riemann mapping theorem. To simplify notation, horizontal slits will be taken. Firstly, by Bieberbach's inequality, any univalent function :g(z)=z+cz^2+\cdots with z in the open unit disk must satisfy , c, \leq2. As a consequence, if :f(z)=z+a_0+a_1z^+\cdots is univalent in , z, >R, then , f(z)-a_0, \leq2, z, . To see this, take S>R and set :g(z)=S(f(S/z)-b)^ for z in the unit disk, choosing b so the denominator is nowhere-vanishing, and apply the
Schwarz lemma In mathematics, the Schwarz lemma, named after Hermann Amandus Schwarz, is a result in complex differential geometry that estimates the (squared) pointwise norm , \partial f , ^2 of a holomorphic map f:(X,g_X) \to (Y,g_Y) between Hermitian manifo ...
. Next the function f_R(z)=z+R^2/z is characterized by an "extremal condition" as the unique univalent function in z>R of the form z+a_1z^+\cdots that maximises \mathrm(a_1): this is an immediate consequence of Grönwall's area theorem, applied to the family of univalent functions f(zR)/R in z>1. To prove now that the multiply connected domain G\subset\mathbb\cup\ can be uniformized by a horizontal parallel slit conformal mapping :f(z)=z+a_1z^+\cdots, take R large enough that \partial G lies in the open disk , z, . For S>R, univalency and the estimate , f(z), \leq2, z, imply that, if z lies in G with , z, \leq S, then , f(z), \leq2S. Since the family of univalent f are locally bounded in G\setminus\, by Montel's theorem they form a normal family. Furthermore if f_n is in the family and tends to f uniformly on compacta, then f is also in the family and each coefficient of the Laurent expansion at \infty of the f_n tends to the corresponding coefficient of f. This applies in particular to the coefficient: so by compactness there is a univalent f which maximizes \mathrm(a_1). To check that :f(z)=z+a_1+\cdots is the required parallel slit transformation, suppose ''reductio ad absurdum'' that f(G)=G_1 has a compact and connected component K of its boundary which is not a horizontal slit. Then the complement G_2 of K in \mathbb\cup\ is simply connected with G_2\supset G_1. By the Riemann mapping theorem there is a conformal mapping :h(w)=w+b_1w^+\cdots, such that h(G_2) is \mathbb with a horizontal slit removed. So we have that :h(f(z))=z+(a_1+b_1)z^+\cdots, and thus \mathrm(a_1+b_1)\leq\mathrm(a_1) by the extremality of f. Therefore, \mathrm(b_1)\leq0. On the other hand by the Riemann mapping theorem there is a conformal mapping :k(w)=w+c_0+c_1w^+\cdots, mapping from , w, >S onto G_2. Then :f(k(w))-c_0=w+(a_1+c_1)w^+\cdots. By the strict maximality for the slit mapping in the previous paragraph, we can see that \mathrm(c_1)<\mathrm(b_1+c_1), so that \mathrm(b_1)>0. The two inequalities for \mathrm(b_1) are contradictory. The proof of the uniqueness of the conformal parallel slit transformation is given in and . Applying the inverse of the
Joukowsky transform In applied mathematics, the Joukowsky transform (sometimes transliterated ''Joukovsky'', ''Joukowski'' or ''Zhukovsky'') is a conformal map historically used to understand some principles of airfoil design. It is named after Nikolai Zhukovsky, ...
h to the horizontal slit domain, it can be assumed that G is a domain bounded by the unit circle C_0 and contains analytic arcs C_i and isolated points (the images of other the inverse of the Joukowsky transform under the other parallel horizontal slits). Thus, taking a fixed a\in G, there is a univalent mapping :F_0(w)=h\circ f(w)=(w-a)^+a_1(w-a)+a_2(w-a)^2+\cdots, with its image a horizontal slit domain. Suppose that F_1(w) is another uniformizer with :F_1(w)=(w-a)^+b_1(w-a)+b_2(w-a)^2+\cdots. The images under F_0 or F_1 of each C_i have a fixed -coordinate so are horizontal segments. On the other hand, F_2(w)=F_0(w)-F_1(w) is holomorphic in G. If it is constant, then it must be identically zero since F_2(a)=0. Suppose F_2 is non-constant, then by assumption F_2(C_i) are all horizontal lines. If t is not in one of these lines, Cauchy's argument principle shows that the number of solutions of F_2(w)=t in G is zero (any t will eventually be encircled by contours in G close to the C_i's). This contradicts the fact that the non-constant holomorphic function F_2 is an
open mapping In mathematics, more specifically in topology, an open map is a function (mathematics), function between two topological spaces that maps open sets to open sets. That is, a function f : X \to Y is open if for any open set U in X, the Image (mathem ...
.


Sketch proof via Dirichlet problem

Given U and a point z_0\in U, we want to construct a function f which maps U to the unit disk and z_0 to 0. For this sketch, we will assume that ''U'' is bounded and its boundary is smooth, much like Riemann did. Write :f(z) = (z - z_0)e^, where g=u+iv is some (to be determined) holomorphic function with real part u and imaginary part v. It is then clear that z_0 is the only zero of f. We require , f(z), =1 for z\in\partial U, so we need :u(z) = -\log, z - z_0, on the boundary. Since u is the real part of a holomorphic function, we know that u is necessarily a
harmonic function In mathematics, mathematical physics and the theory of stochastic processes, a harmonic function is a twice continuously differentiable function f\colon U \to \mathbb R, where is an open subset of that satisfies Laplace's equation, that i ...
; i.e., it satisfies
Laplace's equation In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties in 1786. This is often written as \nabla^2\! f = 0 or \Delta f = 0, where \Delt ...
. The question then becomes: does a real-valued harmonic function u exist that is defined on all of U and has the given boundary condition? The positive answer is provided by the
Dirichlet principle In mathematics, and particularly in potential theory, Dirichlet's principle is the assumption that the minimizer of a certain energy functional is a solution to Poisson's equation. Formal statement Dirichlet's principle states that, if the functi ...
. Once the existence of u has been established, the
Cauchy–Riemann equations In the field of complex analysis in mathematics, the Cauchy–Riemann equations, named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy, Augustin Cauchy and Bernhard Riemann, consist of a system of differential equations, system of two partial differential equatio ...
for the holomorphic function g allow us to find v (this argument depends on the assumption that U be simply connected). Once u and v have been constructed, one has to check that the resulting function f does indeed have all the required properties.


Uniformization theorem

The Riemann mapping theorem can be generalized to the context of
Riemann surface In mathematics, particularly in complex analysis, a Riemann surface is a connected one-dimensional complex manifold. These surfaces were first studied by and are named after Bernhard Riemann. Riemann surfaces can be thought of as deformed vers ...
s: If U is a non-empty simply-connected open subset of a
Riemann surface In mathematics, particularly in complex analysis, a Riemann surface is a connected one-dimensional complex manifold. These surfaces were first studied by and are named after Bernhard Riemann. Riemann surfaces can be thought of as deformed vers ...
, then U is biholomorphic to one of the following: the
Riemann sphere In mathematics, the Riemann sphere, named after Bernhard Riemann, is a Mathematical model, model of the extended complex plane (also called the closed complex plane): the complex plane plus one point at infinity. This extended plane represents ...
, the
complex plane In mathematics, the complex plane is the plane (geometry), plane formed by the complex numbers, with a Cartesian coordinate system such that the horizontal -axis, called the real axis, is formed by the real numbers, and the vertical -axis, call ...
\mathbb, or the
unit disk In mathematics, the open unit disk (or disc) around ''P'' (where ''P'' is a given point in the plane), is the set of points whose distance from ''P'' is less than 1: :D_1(P) = \.\, The closed unit disk around ''P'' is the set of points whose d ...
D. This is known as the
uniformization theorem In mathematics, the uniformization theorem states that every simply connected Riemann surface is conformally equivalent to one of three Riemann surfaces: the open unit disk, the complex plane, or the Riemann sphere. The theorem is a generali ...
.


Smooth Riemann mapping theorem

In the case of a simply connected bounded domain with smooth boundary, the Riemann mapping function and all its derivatives extend by continuity to the closure of the domain. This can be proved using regularity properties of solutions of the Dirichlet boundary value problem, which follow either from the theory of Sobolev spaces for planar domains or from classical potential theory. Other methods for proving the smooth Riemann mapping theorem include the theory of kernel functions or the
Beltrami equation In mathematics, the Beltrami equation, named after Eugenio Beltrami, is the partial differential equation : = \mu . for ''w'' a complex distribution of the complex variable ''z'' in some open set ''U'', with derivatives that are locally L2 func ...
.


Algorithms

Computational conformal mapping is prominently featured in problems of applied analysis and mathematical physics, as well as in engineering disciplines, such as image processing. In the early 1980s an elementary algorithm for computing conformal maps was discovered. Given points z_0, \ldots, z_n in the plane, the algorithm computes an explicit conformal map of the unit disk onto a region bounded by a Jordan curve \gamma with z_0, \ldots, z_n \in \gamma. This algorithm converges for Jordan regionsA Jordan region is the interior of a
Jordan curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...
.
in the sense of uniformly close boundaries. There are corresponding uniform estimates on the closed region and the closed disc for the mapping functions and their inverses. Improved estimates are obtained if the data points lie on a C^1 curve or a -
quasicircle In mathematics, a quasicircle is a Jordan curve in the complex plane that is the image of a circle under a quasiconformal mapping of the plane onto itself. Originally introduced independently by and , in the older literature (in German) they wer ...
. The algorithm was discovered as an approximate method for conformal welding; however, it can also be viewed as a discretization of the
Loewner differential equation In mathematics, the Loewner differential equation, or Loewner equation, is an ordinary differential equation discovered by Charles Loewner in 1923 in complex analysis and geometric function theory. Originally introduced for studying slit mappings ( ...
. The following is known about numerically approximating the conformal mapping between two planar domains. Positive results: * There is an algorithm A that computes the uniformizing map in the following sense. Let \Omega be a bounded simply-connected domain, and w_0\in\Omega. \partial\Omega is provided to A by an oracle representing it in a pixelated sense (i.e., if the screen is divided to 2^n \times 2^n pixels, the oracle can say whether each pixel belongs to the boundary or not). Then A computes the absolute values of the uniformizing map \phi:(\Omega, w_0) \to (D, 0) with precision 2^ in space bounded by Cn^2 and time 2^, where C depends only on the diameter of \Omega and d(w_0, \partial\Omega). Furthermore, the algorithm computes the value of \phi(w) with precision 2^ as long as , \phi(w), < 1-2^. Moreover, A queries \partial\Omega with precision of at most 2^. In particular, if \partial\Omega is polynomial space computable in space n^a for some constant a\geq 1 and time T(n) < 2^, then A can be used to compute the uniformizing map in space C\cdot n^ and time 2^. * There is an algorithm A′ that computes the uniformizing map in the following sense. Let \Omega be a bounded simply-connected domain, and w_0 \in \Omega. Suppose that for some n=2^k, \partial\Omega is given to A′ with precision \tfrac by O(n^2) pixels. Then A′ computes the absolute values of the uniformizing map \phi:(\Omega, w_0) \to (D, 0) within an error of O(1/n) in randomized space bounded by O(k) and time polynomial in n=2^k (that is, by a BPL()-machine). Furthermore, the algorithm computes the value of \phi(w) with precision \tfrac as long as , \phi(w), < 1 -\tfrac. Negative results: * Suppose there is an algorithm A that given a simply-connected domain \Omega with a linear-time computable boundary and an inner radius >1/2 and a number n computes the first 20 n digits of the
conformal radius In mathematics, the conformal radius is a way to measure the size of a simply connected planar domain ''D'' viewed from a point ''z'' in it. As opposed to notions using Euclidean distance (say, the radius of the largest inscribed disk with center '' ...
r(\Omega, 0), then we can use one call to A to solve any instance of a #SAT() with a linear time overhead. In other words, #P is poly-time reducible to computing the conformal radius of a set. * Consider the problem of computing the conformal radius of a simply-connected domain \Omega, where the boundary of \Omega is given with precision 1/n by an explicit collection of O(n^2) pixels. Denote the problem of computing the conformal radius with precision 1/n^c by \texttt(n,n^c). Then, \texttt_n is AC0 reducible to \texttt(n,n^c) for any 0 < c < \tfrac.


See also

* Measurable Riemann mapping theorem * Schwarz–Christoffel mapping – a conformal transformation of the upper half-plane onto the interior of a simple polygon. *
Conformal radius In mathematics, the conformal radius is a way to measure the size of a simply connected planar domain ''D'' viewed from a point ''z'' in it. As opposed to notions using Euclidean distance (say, the radius of the largest inscribed disk with center '' ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riemann Mapping Theorem Theorems in complex analysis Bernhard Riemann