Complex line
Encyclopedia
In mathematics
, a complex line is a one-dimension
al affine subspace
of a vector space
over the complex numbers. A common point of confusion is that while a complex line has dimension one over C (hence the term "line"), it has dimension two over the real numbers R, and is topologically equivalent to a real plane, not a real line.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, a complex line is a one-dimension
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
al affine subspace
Affine transformation
In geometry, an affine transformation or affine map or an affinity is a transformation which preserves straight lines. It is the most general class of transformations with this property...
of a vector space
Vector space
A vector space is a mathematical structure formed by a collection of vectors: objects that may be added together and multiplied by numbers, called scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be real numbers, but one may also consider vector spaces with scalar multiplication by complex...
over the complex numbers. A common point of confusion is that while a complex line has dimension one over C (hence the term "line"), it has dimension two over the real numbers R, and is topologically equivalent to a real plane, not a real line.