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Principal value of i raised to i

Question

Taking the principal branch of the logarithm, the value of iii^i can be written as e−cπe^{-c\pi}. Find cc.

Short answer

1/21/2. On the principal branch log⁡i=iπ/2\log i=i\pi/2, so ii=eilog⁡i=ei⋅iπ/2=e−π/2i^i=e^{i\log i}=e^{i\cdot i\pi/2}=e^{-\pi/2}, a real number, and c=12c=\tfrac12.

Adapted from QuantQuestions.io; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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