104 CHAPTER 3 • ANALYTIC AND HARMONIC FUNC'tlONS
- EXAMPLE 3.6 Show that the function defined by
is not differentiable at the point z 0 = 0 even though the Cauchy-Riemann equa-
tions are satisfied at (0, 0).
Solution We must use limits to calculate the partial derivatives at (0, 0).
x^3 - 0
(0 0 )
_
1
. u (x, 0) - u (0, 0)
1
. x•+o
Ux , - 1m Q - Im -^1.
x-o x - x-o x
Similarly, we can show that
Uy (0, 0) = 0, 11., (0, O) = 0 and 1111 (0,0) = 1.
Hence the Cauchy-Riemann equations hold at the point (O,O).
We now show that f is not differentiable at zo = 0. Letting z approach 0
along the x-axis gives
lim f (x + Oi) -f (0) = lim "'.,
2
- 0 = lim x - 0 = l.
(x,o)-(0.0) x + Oi - 0 ,,_o x - 0 >:-0 x - 0
But if we let z approach 0 along the line y = x given by the parametric equations
x = t and y = t , then
- 2t^3. (-21^3 )
. f(t+it)-f(O). ""2t'+ i ur
hm.
0
= hm.
{t,t )- (O,o) t +it - t-o t +it
- t -it
=Jim---= - 1.
t-0 t +it
The two limits are distinct, so f is not differentiable at the origin.
Example 3.6 reiterates that the mere satisfaction of the Cauchy-Riemann
equations is not sufficient to guarantee the differentiability of a function. The
following theorem, however, gives conditions that guarantee the differentiability
off at zo, so that we can use Equation (3-14) or (3-15) to compute f' (zo). They
are referred to as the Cauchy- Riemann conditions for differentiability.