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Re [z]

gives the real part of the complex number z.

Details
Details and Options Details and Options
Examples  
Basic Examples  
Scope  
Numerical Evaluation  
Specific Values  
Visualization  
Function Properties  
Function Identities and Simplifications  
Applications  
Properties & Relations  
Possible Issues  
Neat Examples  
See Also
Tech Notes
Related Guides
Related Links
History
Cite this Page

Re [z]

gives the real part of the complex number z.

Details

  • Mathematical function, suitable for both symbolic and numerical manipulation.
  • Re [expr] is left unevaluated if expr is not a numeric quantity.
  • Re automatically threads over lists.
  • Re can be used with Interval and CenteredInterval objects. »

Examples

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Basic Examples  (4)

Find the real part of a complex number:

Find the real part of a complex number expressed in polar form:

Plot over a subset of the complex plane:

Use Re to specify regions of the complex plane:

Scope  (29)

Numerical Evaluation  (7)

Evaluate numerically:

Complex number input:

Evaluate to high precision:

Mixedprecision complex inputs:

Evaluate efficiently at high precision:

Re threads elementwise over lists and matrices:

Re can be used with Interval and CenteredInterval objects:

Specific Values  (6)

Values of Re at fixed points:

Value at zero:

Values at infinity:

Exact inputs:

Evaluate for complex exponentials:

Evaluate symbolically:

Visualization  (5)

Visualize on the real axis:

Plot on the real axis:

Visualize Re in the complex plane:

Visualize Re in three dimensions:

Use Re to specify regions of the complex plane:

Function Properties  (5)

Re is defined for all real and complex inputs:

The range of Re is the whole real line:

This is true even in the complex plane:

Re is an odd function:

Re is not a differentiable function:

The difference quotient does not have a limit in the complex plane:

There is only a limit in certain directions, for example, the real direction:

Obtain this result using ComplexExpand :

TraditionalForm formatting:

Function Identities and Simplifications  (6)

Automatic simplification:

Expand assuming real variables x and y:

Simplify Re using appropriate assumptions:

Express a complex number as a sum of its real and imaginary parts:

Express in terms of real and imaginary parts:

Find the real part of a Root expression:

Applications  (3)

Flow around a cylinder as the real part of a complexvalued function:

Construct a bivariate real harmonic function from a complex function:

The real part satisfies Laplace's equation:

Reconstruct an analytic function from its real part :

Example reconstruction:

Check the result:

Properties & Relations  (8)

Use Simplify and FullSimplify to simplify expressions containing Re :

Prove that the disk is in the right half-plane:

ComplexExpand assumes variables to be real:

Here z is not assumed real, and the result should be in terms of Re and Im :

FunctionExpand does not assume variables to be real:

ReImPlot plots the real and imaginary parts of a function:

Use Re to describe regions in the complex plane:

Reduce can solve equations and inequalities involving Re :

With FindInstance you can get sample points of regions:

Use Re in Assumptions :

Integrate often generates conditions in terms of Re :

Possible Issues  (2)

Re can stay unevaluated for numeric arguments:

Additional transformation may simplify it:

Re is a function of a complex variable and is therefore not differentiable:

As a complex function, it is not possible to write Re [z] without involving Conjugate [z]:

In particular, the limit that defines the derivative is direction dependent and therefore does not exist:

Use ComplexExpand to get differentiable expressions for real-valued variables:

Neat Examples  (1)

Use Re to plot a 3D projection of the Riemann surface of :

See Also

Im   ReIm   Abs   Arg   ComplexExpand   Complex   I   Surd

History

Introduced in 1988 (1.0) | Updated in 2021 (13.0)

Wolfram Research (1988), Re, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Re.html (updated 2021).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Re, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Re.html (updated 2021).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Re." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2021. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Re.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Re. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Re.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_re, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Re}", year="2021", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Re.html}", note=[Accessed: 17-November-2025]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_re, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Re}, year={2021}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Re.html}, note=[Accessed: 17-November-2025]}

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