In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, the Schwarzian derivative is an operator similar to the
derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...
which is invariant under
Möbius transformation
In geometry and complex analysis, a Möbius transformation of the complex plane is a rational function of the form
f(z) = \frac
of one complex variable ''z''; here the coefficients ''a'', ''b'', ''c'', ''d'' are complex numbers satisfying ''ad'' ...
s. Thus, it occurs in the theory of the
complex projective line
In mathematics, the Riemann sphere, named after Bernhard Riemann, is a model of the extended complex plane: the complex plane plus one point at infinity. This extended plane represents the extended complex numbers, that is, the complex numbers ...
, and in particular, in the theory of
modular forms
In mathematics, a modular form is a (complex) analytic function on the upper half-plane satisfying a certain kind of functional equation with respect to the group action of the modular group, and also satisfying a growth condition. The theory of ...
and
hypergeometric functions. It plays an important role in the theory of
univalent function
In mathematics, in the branch of complex analysis, a holomorphic function on an open subset of the complex plane is called univalent if it is injective.
Examples
The function f \colon z \mapsto 2z + z^2 is univalent in the open unit disc, ...
s,
conformal mapping
In mathematics, a conformal map is a function that locally preserves angles, but not necessarily lengths.
More formally, let U and V be open subsets of \mathbb^n. A function f:U\to V is called conformal (or angle-preserving) at a point u_0\in ...
and
Teichmüller space
In mathematics, the Teichmüller space T(S) of a (real) topological (or differential) surface S, is a space that parametrizes complex structures on S up to the action of homeomorphisms that are isotopic to the identity homeomorphism. Teichmülle ...
s. It is named after the German mathematician
Hermann Schwarz
Karl Hermann Amandus Schwarz (; 25 January 1843 – 30 November 1921) was a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis.
Life
Schwarz was born in Hermsdorf, Silesia (now Jerzmanowa, Poland). In 1868 he married Marie Kummer, ...
.
Definition
The Schwarzian derivative of a
holomorphic function
In mathematics, a holomorphic function is a complex-valued function of one or more complex variables that is complex differentiable in a neighbourhood of each point in a domain in complex coordinate space . The existence of a complex derivativ ...
of one
complex variable
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebraic ...
is defined by
:
The same formula also defines the Schwarzian derivative of a
function of one
real variable.
The alternative notation
:
is frequently used.
Properties
The Schwarzian derivative of any
Möbius transformation
In geometry and complex analysis, a Möbius transformation of the complex plane is a rational function of the form
f(z) = \frac
of one complex variable ''z''; here the coefficients ''a'', ''b'', ''c'', ''d'' are complex numbers satisfying ''ad'' ...
:
is zero. Conversely, the Möbius transformations are the only functions with this property. Thus, the Schwarzian derivative precisely measures the degree to which a function fails to be a Möbius transformation.
If is a Möbius transformation, then the composition has the same Schwarzian derivative as ; and on the other hand, the Schwarzian derivative of is given by the
chain rule
In calculus, the chain rule is a formula that expresses the derivative of the composition of two differentiable functions and in terms of the derivatives of and . More precisely, if h=f\circ g is the function such that h(x)=f(g(x)) for every , ...
:
More generally, for any sufficiently differentiable functions and
:
When and are smooth real-valued functions, this implies that all iterations of a function with negative (or positive) Schwarzian will remain negative (resp. positive), a fact of use in the study of one-dimensional
dynamics.
Introducing the function of two complex variables
:
its second mixed partial derivative is given by
:
and the Schwarzian derivative is given by the formula:
:
The Schwarzian derivative has a simple inversion formula, exchanging the dependent and the independent variables. One has
:
which follows from the
inverse function theorem
In mathematics, specifically differential calculus, the inverse function theorem gives a sufficient condition for a function to be invertible in a neighborhood of a point in its domain: namely, that its ''derivative is continuous and non-zero at th ...
, namely that
Differential equation
The Schwarzian derivative has a fundamental relation with a second-order linear ordinary differential equation in the complex plane. Let
and
be two
linearly independent
In the theory of vector spaces, a set of vectors is said to be if there is a nontrivial linear combination of the vectors that equals the zero vector. If no such linear combination exists, then the vectors are said to be . These concepts are ...
holomorphic
In mathematics, a holomorphic function is a complex-valued function of one or more complex variables that is complex differentiable in a neighbourhood of each point in a domain in complex coordinate space . The existence of a complex derivati ...
solutions of
:
Then the ratio
satisfies
:
over the domain on which
and
are defined, and
The converse is also true: if such a exists, and it is holomorphic on a
simply connected
In topology, a topological space is called simply connected (or 1-connected, or 1-simply connected) if it is path-connected and every path between two points can be continuously transformed (intuitively for embedded spaces, staying within the spac ...
domain, then two solutions
and
can be found, and furthermore, these are unique
up to Two Mathematical object, mathematical objects ''a'' and ''b'' are called equal up to an equivalence relation ''R''
* if ''a'' and ''b'' are related by ''R'', that is,
* if ''aRb'' holds, that is,
* if the equivalence classes of ''a'' and ''b'' wi ...
a common scale factor.
When a linear second-order ordinary differential equation can be brought into the above form, the resulting is sometimes called the Q-value of the equation.
Note that the Gaussian
hypergeometric differential equation can be brought into the above form, and thus pairs of solutions to the hypergeometric equation are related in this way.
Conditions for univalence
If is a
holomorphic function
In mathematics, a holomorphic function is a complex-valued function of one or more complex variables that is complex differentiable in a neighbourhood of each point in a domain in complex coordinate space . The existence of a complex derivativ ...
on the unit disc, , then W. Kraus (1932) and
Nehari (1949) proved that a necessary condition for to be
univalent is
:
Conversely if is a holomorphic function on satisfying
:
then Nehari proved that is univalent.
In particular a sufficient condition for univalence is
:
Conformal mapping of circular arc polygons
The Schwarzian derivative and associated second-order ordinary differential equation can be used to determine the
Riemann mapping
In complex analysis, the Riemann mapping theorem states that if ''U'' is a non-empty simply connected open subset of the complex number plane C which is not all of C, then there exists a biholomorphic mapping ''f'' (i.e. a bijective holomorphic ...
between the upper half-plane or unit circle and any bounded polygon in the complex plane, the edges of which are circular arcs or straight lines. For polygons with straight edges, this reduces to the
Schwarz–Christoffel mapping In complex analysis, a Schwarz–Christoffel mapping is a conformal map of the upper half-plane or the complex unit disk onto the interior of a simple polygon. Such a map is guaranteed to exist by the Riemann mapping theorem (stated by Bernhard ...
, which can be derived directly without using the Schwarzian derivative. The ''accessory parameters'' that arise as constants of integration are related to the
eigenvalues
In linear algebra, an eigenvector () or characteristic vector of a linear transformation is a nonzero vector that changes at most by a scalar factor when that linear transformation is applied to it. The corresponding eigenvalue, often denoted b ...
of the second-order differential equation. Already in 1890
Felix Klein
Christian Felix Klein (; 25 April 1849 – 22 June 1925) was a German mathematician and mathematics educator, known for his work with group theory, complex analysis, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the associations between geometry and group ...
had studied the case of quadrilaterals in terms of the
Lamé differential equation.
Let be a circular arc polygon with angles in clockwise order. Let be a holomorphic map extending continuously to a map between the boundaries. Let the vertices correspond to points on the real axis. Then is real-valued for real and not one of the points. By the
Schwarz reflection principle
In mathematics, the Schwarz reflection principle is a way to extend the domain of definition of a complex analytic function, i.e., it is a form of analytic continuation. It states that if an analytic function is defined on the upper half-plane, a ...
extends to a rational function on the complex plane with a double pole at :
:
The real numbers are called ''accessory parameters''. They are subject to three linear constraints:
:
:
:
which correspond to the vanishing of the coefficients of
and
in the expansion of around . The mapping can then be written as
:
where
and
are linearly independent holomorphic solutions of the linear second-order ordinary differential equation
:
There are linearly independent accessory parameters, which can be difficult to determine in practise.
For a triangle, when , there are no accessory parameters. The ordinary differential equation is equivalent to the
hypergeometric differential equation and is the
Schwarz triangle function
In complex analysis, the Schwarz triangle function or Schwarz s-function is a function that conformally maps the upper half plane to a triangle in the upper half plane having lines or circular arcs for edges. The target triangle is not necess ...
, which can be written in terms of
hypergeometric functions.
For a quadrilateral the accessory parameters depend on one independent variable . Writing for a suitable choice of , the ordinary differential equation takes the form
:
Thus
are eigenfunctions of a
Sturm–Liouville equation on the interval