I am just starting to learn calculus and the concepts of radians. Something that is confusing me is how my textbook is getting the principal argument ($\arg z$) from the complex plane. i.e. for the complex number $-2 + 2i$, how does it get $\frac{3\pi}{4}$? (I get $\frac{\pi}{4}$).
The formula is $\tan^{-1}(\frac{b}{a})$, and I am getting $\frac{\pi}{4}$ when I calculate $\tan^{-1}(\frac{2}{-2})$. When I draw it I see that the point is in quadrant 2.
So how do you compute the correct value of the principal argument?
Best Answer
The principal value of $\tan^{-1}\theta$ is always between $-\frac{\pi}2$ and $\frac{\pi}2$. The principal value of $\arg z$, on the other hand, is always in the interval $(-\pi,\pi]$. Thus, for $z$ in the first quadrant it’s between $0$ and $\frac{\pi}2$; for $z$ in the second quadrant it’s between $\frac{\pi}2$ and $\pi$; for $z$ in the third quadrant it’s between $-\frac{\pi}2$ and $-\pi$; and for $z$ in the fourth quadrant it’s between $0$ and $-\frac{\pi}2$. This means that the $\tan^{-1}$ function gives you the correct angle only when $z$ is in the first and fourth quadrants.
When $z$ is in the second quadrant, you have to find an angle between $\frac{\pi}2$ and $\pi$ that has the same tangent as the angle $\theta$ returned by the $\tan^{-1}$ function, which satisfies $-\frac{\pi}2<\theta\le 0$. The tangent function is periodic with period $\pi$, so $\tan(\theta+\pi)=\tan\theta$, and $$\frac{\pi}2=-\frac{\pi}2+\pi<\theta+\pi\le0+\pi=\pi\;,$$ so $\theta+\pi$ is indeed in the second quadrant.
When $z$ is in the third quadrant, you have to find an angle between $-\pi$ and $-\frac{\pi}2$ that has the same tangent as the angle $\theta$ returned by the $\tan^{-1}$ function, which satisfies $0\le\theta<\frac{\pi}2$. This time subtracting $\pi$ does the trick: $\tan(\theta-\pi)=\tan\theta$, and
$$-\pi=0-\pi<\theta-\pi<\frac{\pi}2-\pi=-\frac{\pi}2\;.$$
There’s just one slightly tricky bit. If $z$ is a negative real number, should you consider it to be in the second or in the third quadrant? The tangent is $0$, so the $\tan^{-1}$ function will return $0$. If you treat $z$ as being in the second quadrant, you’ll add $\pi$ and get a principal argument of $\pi$. If instead you treat $z$ as being in the third quadrant, you’ll subtract $\pi$ and get a principal argument of $-\pi$. But by definition the principal argument is in the half-open interval $(-\pi,\pi]$, which does not include $-\pi$; thus, you must take $z$ to be in the second quadrant and assign it the principal argument $\pi$.