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A new approach to ordering complex numbers

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

A NEW APPROACH TO ORDERING COMPLEX NUMBERS

Dharmendra Kumar Yadav

Department Of Applied Mathematics, HMR Institute Of Technology & Management
G.T.Karnal Road, Hamidpur, Delhi-36, India
E-mail: dkyadav1978@yahoo.co.in, dkyadav1378@rediffmail.com
Mobile No.: +91 9891643856

ABSTRACT
In the present paper a new technique to ordering complex numbers have been discussed by applying the
concepts of ordering real numbers on the real number line. The hidden property of ordering complex
numbers in the extended complex plane and in its stereographic projection has been explained with its
geometrical meaning in a little attempt. To order the complex numbers, a property named as D-law of
trichotomy has been introduced with a very new concept of equi-radii complex numbers. This property
has been derived from the law of trichotomy defined on the real numbers by making use of modulus of
complex numbers.

Key Words: Real numbers, Real number line, order properties of real numbers, Complex Numbers, Law
of trichotomy, Argand plane, Ordering of complex numbers, Stereographic projection, etc.

Mathematics Subject Classification2000: 30A10, 00A08.

1. INTRODUCTION
Complex numbers were being used by mathematicians long before they were first properly defined, so it
is difficult to trace the exact origin. The earliest fleeting reference to square roots of negative numbers
perhaps occurred in the work of the Hellenized Egyptian Mathematician and inventor Heron of
Alexandria in the 1 st century CE, when he considered the volume of an impossible frustum of a pyramid,
though negative numbers were not conceived in the Hellenistic world. It became more prominent in the
16 th century, when closed formulas for the roots of cubic and quartic polynomials were discovered by
Italian mathematicians Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia and Gerolamo Cardano. They realized that these
formulas sometimes required the manipulation of square roots of negative numbers. Two Indian
Mathematicians Mahavira(850) who first stated in his book ‘Ganitsara Sangraha’ that ‘a negative
quantity is not a square quantity’ and Bhaskara(1150) wrote in his book ‘Bijaganita’ that ‘ there is no
square root of a negative quantity, for it is not a square’ were acquinted about this problem. The fact
that square root of a negative number does not exist in the real number system was recognized by the
‘Greeks’.

The term ‘imaginary’ for these quantity was coined by Rene Descartes in 1637 and was meant to be
derogatory. Bombelli also used the square root of negative number in finding the cubic roots of x3 =
15x+4. He was probably the first mathematician to have a clear idea of a complex number. He discussed
imaginary and complex numbers in a treatise written in 1572 called ‘L’ Algebra’. It was Swiss
Mathematician Leonhard Euler(1707-1783) who introduced the imaginary unit ‘iota’ with symbol ‘i’
for the square root of (-1) with the property i 2 = -1 or -1 = i possibly in 1748 and complex numbers
came into existence. Though the existence of complex numbers was not completely accepted until the

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

geometrical interpretation had been described by Casper Wessel in 1797 and C.F.Gauss in 1799 as
points in a plane. Although the idea of representing a complex number by a point in a plane had been
suggested by several mathematicians earlier, it was Argand’s proposal that was accepted. Gauss used it
and proved “the Fundamental Theorem Of Algebra” in his Ph.D. thesis in 1799 which had been given
by Albert Girard. Hamilton, an Irish mathematician, in 1833 introduced the complex number notation
a+ib and made the connection with the point (a,b) in the plane although many mathematicians argued
that they had found this earlier.

The idea of the graphic representation of complex numbers had appeared, however, as early as 1685, in
Wallis’s De Algebra tractatus. In 1804 the Abbe Buee independently came upon the same idea which
Wallis had suggested that ±√-1 should represent a unit line, and its negative, perpendicular to the real
axis. Buee’s paper was not published until 1806, in which year Jean-Robert Argand also issued a
pamphlet on the same subject. It is to Argand’s essay that the scientific foundation for the graphic
representation of complex numbers is now generally reffered. Nevertheless, in 1831 Gauss found the
theory quite unknown, and in 1832 published his chief memoir on the subject, thus bringing it
prominently before the mathematical world. The 18 th century saw the labors of French Mathematician
Abraham de Moivre and Leonhard Euler. To De Moivre is due (1730) the well-known formula which
bears his name, de Moivre’s formula: (cos+ i sin)n = (cosn + i sinn) and to Euler(1748) Euler’s
formula of complex analysis: ei = cos + i sin.

At last but not the least, the credit must also be shared with a number of contributors of high rank in the
advancement of the Complex Analysis: Madhava of Sangamagrama, Mourey(1828), A.L.Cauchy,
N.H.Abel, Hankel(1867), Kummer(1844), L.Kronecker(1845), Scheffler(1845,1851,1880),
Bellavitis(1835,1852), Peacock(1845), DeMorgan(1849), F. Eisenstein, F. Klein(1893), E. Galois,
Weierstrass, Schwarz, R. Dedekind, O. Holder, Berloty, H. Poincare, Eduard Study and A. MacFarlance.
Mobius must also be mentioned for his numerous memoirs on the geometrical applications of complex
numbers, and Dirichlet for the expansion of the theory to include primes, congruences, reciprocity, etc.,
as in the case of real numbers.

Recently Yadav[15] introduced some theorems and conjecture which give some relations between real
and imaginary numbers. He proved that i<0, -i>0, i<-∞, and –i>∞. He, then, introduced imaginary
number line to represent imaginary numbers on it. He also introduced a new mathematical system
‘Imaginary Analysis’. These new concepts are totally different from the conventional Complex
Analysis and their applications are still in progress.

2. PRELIMINARY IDEAS
We shall discuss the present paper under the following terms:

2.1. Real Numbers: The set of rational and irrational numbers. It can be represented by points on a line
called the real number line. The point corresponding to zero is called the origin.

2.2. Ordering Real Numbers: Every real number can be represented by a point on the real number line
and conversely to each point on the line there is one and only one real number. If a point A
corresponding to a real number ‘a’ lies to the right of a point B corresponding to real number ‘b’, we
say that a>b or b<a.

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

2.3. Order Properties of Real Numbers: If x<y is defined to mean that there is a positive number ‘n’
such that y=x+n, then this order relation is called a linear ordering.
It has two properties: (i) Law of Trichotomy: for any two real numbers x and y, exactly one of x<y,
x=y, or x>y is true.

(ii) Law of Transitivity: if x<y and y<z, then x<z.

Many other order properties exist for the real numbers, e.g., Law of addition, Law of multiplication,
Law of Archimedean, Well-ordering property, etc.

2.4. Imaginary Unit: It is denoted by ‘i’ with the property defined in introduction.

2.5. Complex Number: Generally it is denoted by Z and is written as Z = a + i b, where a and b are real
numbers known as real and imaginary parts respectively.

2.6. Complex Plane: Each complex number a+ib can be represented by a point P(a,b) in the xy-plane
and conversely each point (a,b) in the xy-plane represents a complex number a+ib. The xy-plane is
called the argand plane/complex plane, where x-axis is regarded as real axis and y-axis as imaginary
axis.
2.7. Ordering Of Complex Numbers: The notion of linear ordering < does not apply to complex
numbers till date i.e. given two complex numbers Z 1 and Z2, it is impossible to decide that which one
among these two Z1>Z2 or Z1<Z2 is true, if both of them are not purely real numbers.
In the present paper, an attempt has been made to order the complex numbers
by introducing D-law of trichotomy on the complex number system.

2.8. Stereographic Projection: Just as real numbers are represented geometrically by points on a line,
so complex numbers are represented by points in a plane. The idea of expressing complex numbers
geometrically as points on a plane was formulated by Gauss in his dissertation in 1799 and,
independently, by Argand in 1806. But other geometric interpretations of complex numbers are
possible. Instead of using points on a plane, we can use points on other surfaces. Riemann found the
sphere particularly convenient for this purpose. Points of the sphere are projected from the North Pole
(N) onto the tangent plane/complex plane(P) at the South Pole(S) and thus there corresponds to each
point of the plane a definite point of the sphere. With the exception of the North Pole itself, each point of
the sphere corresponds to exactly one point of the plane. For completeness we say that the point at the
North Pole N itself corresponds to the “point at infinity” of the plane. This correspondence is called a
Stereographic Projection. The sphere is sometimes called the Riemann Sphere. The set of all points
of the complex plane including the point at infinity is called the Entire Complex Plane, the Entire Z-
Plane, or the Extended Complex Plane.

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

2.9. Pseudo-Ordering of Complex Numbers: we say that z1<z2 if we have either (i) ‫׀‬z1‫׀>׀‬z 2‫ ׀‬or (ii)
‫׀‬z1‫׀=׀‬z2‫ ׀‬and arg(z1)<arg(z2).

2.10. Dictionary Order or Lexicographic Order: suppose z=a+ib, w=c+id, we define z<w if a<c, and
also if a=c but b<d.

2.11. Law of Trichotomy for the Modulus of Complex Numbers: This can be defined as, for any two
complex numbers z and w, we have ‫׀‬z‫׀>׀‬w‫׀‬, or ‫׀‬z‫׀<׀‬w‫׀‬, or ‫׀‬z‫׀=׀‬w‫׀‬.

2.12. Order: Let S be a set. An order on S is a relation, denoted by <, with the following two properties:
(i) if x,y ε S, then one and only one of the statements x<y, x=y, y<x is true. (ii) if x, y, z ε S, and x<y,
y<z, then x<z.

2.13. Ordered Set: An ordered set is a set S in which an order is defined.

2.14. Ordered Field: An ordered field is a field which is also an ordered set.

3. DISCUSSION ON CONVENTIONAL CONCEPT:

The complex number system is a natural extension of real number system. Real and complex numbers
obey the same basic laws of arithmetic. But unlike real numbers, Complex numbers do not have a
natural ordering, i.e. the notion of linear ordering < does not apply to complex numbers. The inequality
z<w is meaningless unless both z and w are real, whereas the statement │z│<│w │ means that the point
z is closer to the origin than the point w is, where │z│ denotes the distance between the point z and the
origin, or the length of the vector representing z.

To define the order property on complex numbers Apostol[4] discussed ‘pseudo-ordering’ by using
modulus and argument of complex numbers as discussed in sec.[2.9] and Rudin[5] defined ‘dictionary
order or lexicographic order’ in another way as discussed in sec.[2.10]. But their aim was restricted to
make the set of complex numbers an ordered field/ordered set. They did not discuss its geometrical
meaning and failed to order the complex numbers.

In the real number system, for every real number ‘a’ represented by the point A on the real number line,
there exists a real number ‘b=-a’ represented by the point B on the real number line such that OA=OB,
where O is the origin. If the point A lies to the right of the point B, then OA>OB or OB<OA i.e., a>b or
b<a. But this concept can not be applied to the complex numbers. Though for every complex number
z1=a+ib denoted by point P, there exists a complex number z 2=-z1= -a-ib denoted by a point Q on a
straight line as shown in Fig.3.1 such that OP=OQ but the concept of ordering does not apply on these
complex numbers as in the case of real numbers.

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

From the above figure it is clear that OP=OQ<OS=OR i.e. │z1│<│z2│; where │z1│=OP and │z2
│=OR. Now the question arises, can we order the complex numbers by considering their modulus
values?

The answer is ‘Absolutely Not’ because for the complex numbers z=a+ib, w=-a-ib, we have │z│=│w│
but neither z>w or z<w nor z=w. So we can not order z and w by considering their modulus values only.
But this is true only when we regard z as the distance between the origin and the point P
representing the complex number z on the complex plane. We can order the complex numbers by
making use of their modulus only if we take another geometrical meaning of z instead of its distance
from the origin.In this paper the modulus value of the complex numbers have been taken as a tool to
define the order on complex numbers by considering different geometrical meaning of z.

4. ORDERING COMPLEX NUMBERS

If we study the concept of extended complex plane and its stereographic projection, by applying the
concept of representing real numbers on the real number line, we find that the secret of ordering the
complex numbers is hidden in it. We know that two symbols, - and +, have been adjoined to R but
only one symbol, , has been adjoined to C, the set of complex numbers. It means that the complex
numbers start from zero(0) and ends to  i.e., the magnitude of complex numbers lie between 0 and +
as in the real numbers. This gives the clue to order the complex numbers.

Let us consider the geometrical representation of complex numbers on the extended complex plane from
the Riemann sphere by stereographic projection in the following figure4.1 as discussed in [4] shown
below:

From the above figure, we conclude that the extended complex plane can be regarded as a set of infinite
number of concentric circles centred at the origin whose radii varies from 0 to +, i.e.,

C={Z=r, where 0  r < } i.e. 0 z< +.

i.e. every complex number can be regarded as a point on the circumference of one of the circles except
the complex number 0+i0 i.e. the origin(0,0), which is the center of the concentric circles. This complex
number 0+i0 i.e. origin can be regarded as a circle of radius 0 with center at 0. Therefore the extended
complex plane can also be shown geometrically as follows:

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

From the above figure, it is clear that 0 =z0z1z2z3z4………z=, where

│zi│=ri and 0 ri < +. This complex plane can be named as Circular Complex Plane and not a
square plane as we read in Argand plane.

This means that if we allow the concept of modulus of complex numbers to order the complex numbers,
then all the complex numbers lying on the circumference of the circles zi= ri is less than those
complex numbers lying on the circumference of the circleszj= rj, for i<j.
But the problem arises for the complex numbers lying on the same circumference of the same circle. For
example, z=4+i3, w=-4-i3 lie on the same circlez=5. Here z=5=w but neither z>w or z<w nor
z=w. Let us call these complex numbers as Equi-radii Complex Numbers and denote it by [z]=[w] i.e.
all the complex numbers lying on the same circumference of the same circle are equi-radii complex
numbers and they are equal in the sense that their modulus values are equal. Then the law of trichotomy
can be defined on complex numbers in another modified form which can be named as D-law of
Trichotomy due to its derived form. Let us define the D-law of trichotomy as follows: For any two
complex numbers z and w, exactly one of z>w, z<w, or [z]=[w] is true according as z>w,
z<w, orz=wrespectively.

By the above property defined on the two complex numbers, we can order all complex numbers. For
example, order the complex numbers z1=1+i, z2=2-i, z3=2+i, and z4=3+i.
Since we have

 z1=2,  z2=5,  z3=5 and z4=10.

Therefore applying the above property, we have  z1< z2= z3< z4; i.e., z1 < [z2] = [z3] < z4
where z2 and z3 are equi-radii complex numbers.

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

5. GEOMETRICAL MEANING OF D-LAW OF TRICHOTOMY

We have defined D-law of trichotomy for any two complex numbers in last section[4]. The geometrical
meaning of this law can be interpreted as follows:

(5.1) If we denote the complex numbers z, w by the points P and Q on the Argand plane. Then
(i) z>w ifz>wmeans that OP>OQ i.e. the point P(z) is farther than the point Q(w) from the origin
as shown in fig.5.1(i).

(ii) z<w if z<w means that OP<OQ i.e. the point P(z) is nearer than the point Q(w) to the origin
as shown in fig.5.1(ii), and

(iii) [z]=[w] if z=w means that the point P(z) and Q(w) are at equal distance from the origin as
shown in fig.5.1(iii) and (iv).

(5.2) If we consider the equation of the circle z-a=r, then

(i) z>w if z>w means that the area of the circle having the point z on its circumference is greater
than that of the area of the circle having the point w on its circumference, where both circles are
concentric with the centre at the origin, as shown in fig.5.2(i).

(ii) z<w if │z│<│w│ means that the area of the circle having the point z on its circumference is less
than that of the area of the circle having the point w on its circumference, where both circles are
concentric with the centre at the origin, as shown in fig.5.2(ii), and

(iii) [z]=[w] if │z│=│w│ means that both the points z and w lie on the same circumference of the same
circle | z│=│w│=r centred at the origin and they have equal areas, as shown in fig.5.2(iii).

(5.3) At last if we take the inverse of stereographic projection of the complex numbers from z-plane onto
the Riemann sphere, as discussed in section[4], then

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International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

(i) z>w if │z│>│w│ means that the volume of the solid (a part of sphere) bounded by the extended
complex plane and the plane passing through the circle │z│ on the sphere is greater than the volume of
the solid bounded by the extended complex plane and the plane passing through the circle│w│ on the
sphere. Also the arcual distance OP(z)>OQ(w) on the surface of the sphere, as shown in fig.5.3(i).

(ii) z<w if │z│<│w│ means that the volume of the solid bounded by the extended complex plane and
the plane passing through the circle│z│ on the sphere is less than the volume of the solid bounded by
the extended complex plane and the plane passing through the circle│w│ on the sphere. Also the arcual
distances OP(z)<OQ(w) on the surface of the sphere, as shown in fig.5.3.(ii), and

(iii) [z]=[w] if │z│=│w│ means that the volume of the two solids and their arcual distances are equal.
Also z and w are the points lying on the same plane passing through the circle│z│=│w│ on the sphere,
as shown in fig.5.3(iii).

6. ORDER PROPERTIES OF COMPLEX NUMBERS

Following the above D-law of trichotomy on the set of complex numbers, we have the following order
relations defined on it:

6.1. Linear Ordering: If z<w, then there exists a complex number c such that w=z+c.

6.2. Law Of Trichotomy: For any two complex numbers z and w one and only one of the following
possibilities hold: z>w, z<w or [z]=[w]. Here there exists another possibility z=w but z=w implies
[z]=[w].

6.3. Law of Transitivity: If z<w and w<c, then z<c.

6.4. Law of Addition: If z<w, then z+c<w+c for all complex numbers c.

6.5. Law of Multiplication: If z<w and │c│>o, then zc<wc.

6.6. Law of Archimedean: If z and w are two non-zero complex numbers, then there exists a complex
number c as well as a real number n such that z<cw and z<nw.

6.7. Well-Ordering Property: If C be a non-empty set of complex numbers, then C has a least complex
number(z) such that z≤w for every w in C in the sense that either │z│<│w│ or [z]=[w].

6.8. Ordered Set: The set C of complex numbers is an ordered set under the D-law of trichotomy.

6.9. Ordered Field: The set C of complex numbers is an ordered field under the D-law of trichotomy.

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 International J. of Math. Sci. & Engg. Appls. (IJMSEA), Vol. 2 No. III (2008), pp. 211-223

4. CONCLUSIONS
The D-law of trichotomy defined for the complex numbers gives the possibility of ordering the complex
numbers and adds many properties related to the ordering of complex numbers, that have been
undefined for a long time. This new concept will be very useful for further study and research as well as
it will advance the complex number system.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to pay his heartiest thanks to Dr.D.K.Sen, R.S.More College, Govindpur,
Dhanbad(VBU,Hazaribag,India), Prof.D.E.Joyce(Clark University), Prof. Gautam Bharali (I.I.Sc.,
Bangalore,India), Ms. Sarita Agrawal(GPMCE, Buddhpur, Delhi-36,India), Dr. Shalini Gupta(HOD
Applied Sciences), Dr. Padmaja Panda, and Mrs. Mamta Choudhary HMRITM for frank discussion and
encouragement in preparing the paper. At last but not the least the author is highly greateful to Mr. Anil
Kumar Gupta(Chairman), Prof. Dr. R. C. Sachdeva(Director), and Prof. P. D. Chhabra(Additional
Director) HMRITM, Hamidpur, Delhi, India for providing research facilities constantly.
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