Directed infinity

A directed infinity is a type of infinity in the complex plane that has a defined complex argument θ but an infinite absolute value r.[1] For example, the limit of 1/x where x is a positive real number approaching zero is a directed infinity with argument 0; however, 1/0 is not a directed infinity, but a complex infinity. Some rules for manipulation of directed infinities (with all variables finite) are:

  • z = sgn ( z )  if  z 0 {\displaystyle z\infty =\operatorname {sgn}(z)\infty {\text{ if }}z\neq 0}
  • 0  is undefined, as is  z w {\displaystyle 0\infty {\text{ is undefined, as is }}{\frac {z\infty }{w\infty }}}
  • a z = { sgn ( z ) if  a > 0 , sgn ( z ) if  a < 0. {\displaystyle az\infty ={\begin{cases}\operatorname {sgn}(z)\infty &{\text{if }}a>0,\\-\operatorname {sgn}(z)\infty &{\text{if }}a<0.\end{cases}}}
  • w z = sgn ( w z ) {\displaystyle w\infty z\infty =\operatorname {sgn}(wz)\infty }

Here, sgn(z) = z/|z| is the complex signum function.

See also

  • Point at infinity

References

  1. ^ Weisstein, Eric W. "Directed Infinity". MathWorld.
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