Reasoning about the Elementary Functions of Complex Analysis

There are many problems with the simplification of elementary functions, particularly over the complex plane. Systems tend to make “howlers” or not to simplify enough. In this paper we outline the “unwinding number” approach to such problems, and show how it can be used to systematise such simplification, even though we have not yet reduced it to a complete algorithm. The unsolved problems are probably more amenable to the techniques of artificial intelligence and theorem proving than the original problem of complex-variable analysis.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2000
• Where: AISC
• Authors: Robert M. Corless, James H. Davenport, David J. Jeffrey, Gurjeet Litt, Stephen M. Watt
• Keywords: AISC 2000, Artificial Intelligence, Complex Plane, Elementary Functions, Unwinding Number