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Imaginary Part


ImPart

The imaginary part of a complex number z=x+iy, denoted Im[z] in this work, is the real number multiplying i, so Im[x+iy]=y. In terms of z itself,

 Im[z]=(z-z^_)/(2i),

where z^_ is the complex conjugate of z.

For the operator symbols, two typographic conventions are common. The upright two-letter abbreviation Im is used by ISO 80000-2 and the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions. By contrast, the traditional plain TeX control sequences \Im and \Re render as the black-letter symbols identified by Unicode as U+2111 BLACK-LETTER CAPITAL I and U+211C BLACK-LETTER CAPITAL R. The Computer Modern source names these glyphs "Uppercase Fraktur I" and "Uppercase Fraktur R." Unicode separately encodes the script or calligraphic capitals U+2110 SCRIPT CAPITAL I and U+211B SCRIPT CAPITAL R.

Separately, two argument-delimiter conventions are common. ISO normally places a function argument in parentheses, but permits the parentheses to be omitted after a multi-letter function name when the argument is simple and unambiguous. This accounts for both Imz and Im(z). Some mathematical publishing styles use square brackets as alternative delimiters, especially around an expression containing parentheses. ISO instead recommends parentheses for grouping because square brackets can have other meanings.

The imaginary part is implemented in the Wolfram Language as Im[z] and displayed in traditional form formatting as Im(z).


See also

Absolute Square, Complex Argument, Complex Conjugate, Complex Modulus, Complex Plane, Imaginary Number, Purely Imaginary Number, Real Part, Sign

Related Wolfram sites

https://functions.wolfram.com/ComplexComponents/Im/

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References

Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. A. (Eds.). Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables, 9th printing. New York: Dover, p. 16, 1972.International Organization for Standardization. Quantities and units--Part 2: Mathematics. ISO 80000-2:2019(E), 2nd ed., corrected version 2021-11. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO, pp. 1 and 18, 2019. https://www.iso.org/standard/64973.html.Knuth, D. E. plain.tex. https://mirrors.ctan.org/systems/knuth/dist/lib/plain.tex.Knuth, D. E. symbol.mf. https://mirrors.ctan.org/systems/knuth/dist/cm/symbol.mf.Krantz, S. G. Handbook of Complex Variables. Boston, MA: Birkhäuser, p. 2, 1999.National Institute of Standards and Technology. "Calculus of a Complex Variable." §1.9(i) in Digital Library of Mathematical Functions. https://dlmf.nist.gov/1.9#i.Unicode Consortium. "Letterlike Symbols." In The Unicode Standard, Version 17.0. https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2100.pdf.Wolfram Research. "TraditionalForm." https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TraditionalForm.html.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Imaginary Part

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Imaginary Part." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ImaginaryPart.html

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