The UNIQUENESS of the FIELD of COMPLEX NUMBERS

Author(s): WILLIAM WYNNE WILLSON

Source: The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 62, No. 5 (MAY 1969), pp. 369-372
Published by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27958149
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 "There fsessentially only one way
of turning the set of ordered pairs of real numbers
into a field ..."

of the FIELDof COMPLEX

The UNIQUENESS
NUMBERS

ByWILLIAMWYNNEWILLSON same, in the sense that each is isomorphic

Cheltenham Grammar School
to the field of complex numbers.
Cheltenham, England Dorm?n et al. proved that the only
possible rule to make the set S a com
IN A recent paper in this journal Dor mutative group over addition is
man, Tollefson, and Stein1 considered
=
under what binary operations of addition (2) (xi,yi) + (x2,2/2) (xi+ x2,yi + 2/2),
and multiplication the set S of ordered the identitybeing (0, 0).
of real numbers becomes a field. In
pairs Again, they showed that for multiplica
particular they showed that the three tion in S to be commutative and associa
following assumptions lead to infinitely tive and have an identity, there are three
many possible fields, which they classified possible cases:
into three types. The assumptions are
(i) If the identityis (c, d), with c ^ 0,
these:
= u d 0, then
1. (x, y) = (u, v) if and only if -
= v. (3) ( ,yi) fa, yz)
and y
2. Addition is linear, that is to say,

(XhXz)+ (XhXi)= OiXiy , cA

^ ?) + A(xiy2 + X22/1)-?
a
2/12/2,

where the a1 s and b's are fixed* real num dB

-X1X2+ B(xiy2 + X22/1)
bers. c

3. Multiplication is quadratic, that is

to say,

? = where A and are arbitrarily chosen real

(xh Xi) (x3, a) ( AijXiXj, BijXiXj),
numbers.

where all and Bij are real numbers to (ii) If the identityis (c,0), with c^ 0,
be determined but, once determined, are then
fixed. ?
(4) (x,, 2/1)(x2,1/2)
The main purpose of this article is to
-
show that all the resulting fields are the X1X2 + XiVi)+ ByiV*
+ Ayxy2y (X12/2

1Janet again A and are arbitrary real numbers.

Dorm?n, Jeffrey L. Tollefson, and F. Max
Stein, "Fields and Near-Fields
The Mathematics
of Ordered Pairs of
Teacher, LIX (April
(iii) The third case, with identityof
the form (0, d), d 0, is shown by the
Reals,"
1966), 335-41.

The uniqueness of thefield of complex numbers 369

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 authors to be isomorphic with case (ii) /(tei, 2/1)-te2,2/2))
under the mapping ?> \ -1
(x, y) (y, x). Thus
?-M2/12/2,
it can be considered as essentially the (?1X2 tei2/2+Z22/i)+#2/i2/2j
same. ?? \ A ? X\ \
-ViV*, 2/2
-2/1 +Byiy2
Further they note that the operations ( & c c c /)

ofmultiplication (3) and (4) are both dis = .

Y1Y2,
tributive over addition (2). Thus the only (*l*2+y XlF2+X2Fl+?FlF2)
remaining condition needed to make S So ifwe define (Xh Yi) ? (X2,F2) to be
a field is the existence ofmultiplicative in
verses for all (x, y) other than (0, 0). They
(x1X2+ ^ X1Y2+ X2Y1+
Y1Y2, , ,
showed that inverses exist for all (x, y) 2^
those on the mapping / also preserves multiplica
except
- - tion and so is an isomorphism. Writing C
(5) dBx2+ (1 ?A =
cB)xy + cAy2 0, A
for for simplicity, we see that case
-y-,
in case (i), or on
2 -
with a fieldwith
(ii) is always isomorphic
=
(6) + cBxy cAy2 0,
identity (1, 0), and multiplication defined
in case (ii) . by
Now these conies degenerate into (0, 0) (7) (Xh Yi)-(Xt, Y2)
if and only if their discriminants are =
(X1X2+ CFiF2, XXF2 + X2Y1 +BYXY2).
negative. Thus, in either case, S forms a
field under the two operations provided Further, the condition that (6) has nega
tive discriminant (cB)2 + 4cA < 0 gives
we add the condition that the appropriate
(8) B2 + 4C < 0.
discriminant is negative. If the discrimi
nant is zero or positive the resulting sys Now consider the further mapping of
tem is called a "near-field," since it satis thepairs (X, Y) into thefieldof complex
fies all the field axioms except for having numbers g : (X, F) ?> + sF, where s is
certain nonzero elements without in (as yet) an arbitrary complex number.
verses. Then
Since our main purpose is to show that
g{Xh Yl).g(X2, F2)
there is essentially only one field, we start =
(Xi + sFi)(X2 +sY2)
by assuming that these discriminants are =
X1X2 +s2FiF2 + s(XiF2 +X2Y1).
negative. Consider case (ii). As a first sim
plification, since c^0, the mapping of S Comparison with (7) now suggests
choosing s to satisfy
into itself
s2 = C + Bs,
/: (x,y)- (X, F), (9)

where X =
?, Y = because we shall then have
y
c
g(Xi, Fi)-0(X?, F2)
will clearly be one-to-one and onto, and it = X1X2 + C Fi Y2 + s 2Fi +
( Y2 + Fi F2)
willmap the identity(c,0) onto (1,0). =
<7(XiX2 + CYi Y2, Y2 + X2 Fi + Fi Y2)
=
Now g((Xh Fi).(X2, F2)).
= Recall 2
2/0+ (*2,2/2)) f(Xl + X2, 2/1
+ 2/2) (8), that + 4C < 0. Thus equa
/Xl + x2 \ tion (9), s2 = C + Bs, has a negative
discriminant, so that s is complex. Conse
=
(x1 + x2, Y1 + y2). quently the mapping g is one-to-one from
S onto the field of complex numbers.
Thus, if we define (Xh Yx) + (X2, Further, this mapping has been shown to
F2) to be (X1 + X2, Y1 + F2), we have preserve multiplication and clearly pre
fifa, yi)+ fa, =
3/2)) f(xi, yi)+ f(x2,2/2). serves addition. This completes the proof
Again, that all the fields of case (ii) are isomor

370 The Mathematics Teacher May 1969

|

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phic, since they are all isomorphic to Z. cB) +
X12/2+ X2^1

Now consider case (i). A similar ap Cd

proach leads us to choose t (say) to be a (cB dA)+Mi (1+ dA-

root of the equation c?)]
(10) ?2- (1+ dA - cB)t + dA = 0. = -1 /1 dA\
I (-) X1X2 + A(xit/2 + X22/1)

The discriminant of this equation

= (1 + dA -
cB)*
- 4dA d J
= - - - dBx\X2
(1 dA cB)* AcAdB
4- J5(xi2/2 4- X22/1)

equals the discriminant of the conic

(5), which we are assuming to be negative.
Hence t is complex. Thus the mapping dA\
?
1 X1X2 4- A(xiy2 4- X22/1)

?G+G-3'] _ c^3/i3/2~j^

from S with multiplication defined as in

(3) into the complex numbers is one-to ~ XlX2 ^^l2/2 *22/
^
one and onto. Once again this is an iso ((c ~c~)
the addition and ? cA dB
morphism, mapping 2/12/2,-ZiX2 + B(xiy2 4- S22/1)
multiplicationof (2) and (3) onto (ordi
nary) addition and multiplication of com
+ ,
plex numbers. (5- ) ?)
(( , 2/0?(?2,2/2)) by virtue of (3).
Proof:
hfrh 2/04-Mx2,2/2) This completes the proof for case (i).
We are thus led to the surprising and
+
-It (t-?) ?]+[?+ (?-?)'] satisfying conclusion that there is essen
[Si +S2 "I
+ 2/2 Xl+ X>t\
/2/1 tially only one way of turning the set of
c \ d ordered pairs of real numbers into a field
=
( + Xi, 2/1 -f 2/2) (at least provided that the operations of
= + addition and multiplication are respec
W(Xl, 2/1) (*2, 2/2)) by (2).
tively linear and quadratic) and that in
Again this sense the field of complex numbers is
h(xh yi)'h(x2,2/2) unique.

-[7 + (S-7)']07
+ (S-7)'] TURNING to "near-fields," we find a
X1X2 "X12/24- X22/1_ 2xix2 similar situation. Here there are essen
+ "j t
cd tially two different possibilities, according
to whether the discriminants of (5) and
+ c2 1'
r 2/12/2 X12/2+ S22/1 a*T2

L d2 cd J (6) are zero or positive. If the discriminant

is zero we can show that S is isomorphic
From equation (10), t2
=
(1 + dA - c?)i
? to the set D of dual numbers. D can be
dA, so that
defined as the set of ordered pairs of real
h(xh yi)'h(x2,2/2)
numberswith additionas givenby (2) and
~~ "xi^2 + Z22/1 2x1X2 "I
multiplication defined by
c* L cd
? =
(xi, 2/0 (*2,2/2) (X1X2, X13/24- Z22/1).
. 2/1^2 X12/2+Z22/I
Xl^2"j
L d2 cd c2 J Or, more dramatically, we may take D to
- - be the set of expressions of the form
[(14-dA cB)t dA]
?? - 2/12/2 , + ye where y are real numbers and e
is a symbol with e2 = 0. We content our
(1 dA) H-A

The uniqueness of thefield of complex numbers 371

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 selves with stating the necessary map
pings, leaving to the reader the task of
verifying that they are indeed isomor
phisms of S onto D. The mapping for case
(ii) is a Move?
Planning
(x,y)->- c + y(iB+e).
So are many other NCTM members.

Please give the headquarters office

(It should be remembered that the dis
criminant of (6) is now assumed to be six weeks notice before changing
=
zero, so that A _c?2/4.) And for case
your address. Send label from your
(i) themapping is
journalwrapper along with your new

W
(x,,)-*x/
address. Be sure to in
(f) (f) +e(Pc).
permanent

dicate your ZIP Code.

On the other hand, if the discriminant
is positive the set $ is isomorphic to J, the
Mail to: NCTM
set of pairs of real numbers (x, y) with
1201-l?th Street, N.W.
addition defined as in (2) and multiplica
tion given by Washington, D.C.

? =
20036
(xh (x2) y2) (xixi + xiy* +
2/12/2, x2yi).

We may take J to be the set of expressions

of the form + yj, where j2 = 1. Here
the mappings used in the case of nega
tive discriminant will serve again. The
sign of
the discriminant is critical in
Any Typewriter can
that the is onto. Thus
Type Scientific
showing mapping
if the discriminant of (6) and conse
quently of (9) is positive, there are no
complex solutions a + bi of (9) with Symbols!
b 5* 0. But there are solutions a + bj with TECHNICAL,MATHEMATICAL,
for instance
GREEK LETTER OR
6^0,
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S ?-j-J'
VB2 + 4C . A simple adapter and Typit symbol
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2 2 elements are all you need to profes
sionally type symbols along with
with this value of s the mapping g is onto your regular typing.No matter what
J. A similar situation obtains in case (i). make of typewriteryou have, you
can a
Finally we remark that, though there is
transform it into limitless

typing machine!
essentially only one field satisfying the
No more leaving space for symbols
original assumptions, there are two dis
... no more in symbols . . .
inking
tinct near-fields typified by D and J. For no more using improper typewriter
inJ letters inplace of the proper symbols.
= Send today for FREE catalogs on
(x,y)2 (x2+ y2,2xy)
Typit stock symbols and custom sym
bol designing. Specify make and
so that (x, y)2 = (0, 0) only if (x, y)
= type of typewriter. Write to:
(0, 0). But in D (0, 0)2 = (0, l)2
= so that D and J are not iso MECHANICAL ENTERPRISES, INC.
(0, 0),
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morphic.

372 The Mathematics Teacher |May 1969

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