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I would like to prove that if $f(a+re^{it})\in \Bbb{R}$ for all $t\in \Bbb{R}$ then $f$ is constant. Of course $f$ is holomorphic on a domain $U$ and $r>0$ such that $\overline{D(a,r)}$ is included in $U$.

This question arose from another one witch is if $t\mapsto\vert f(a+re^{it}) \vert$ is constant and doesn't vanish on $U$ (domain) then $f$ is constant.

I am stuck here, It's cleary related to the maximum principle but how can I use it here ?

1 Answers1

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I think the shortest solution is to use the maximum principle for harmonic functions. If $f = u + iv$ (where $u$ and $v$ are real-valued), your assumption shows that $v = 0$ on the circle $\partial D(a,r)$.

By the maximum princple (applied on $v$ and $-v$), it follows that $v = 0$ on $D(a,r)$, and by the identity principle thus on $U$. In other words, $f$ must be real-valued on $U$ and this in turns (for example via Cauchy-Riemann) implies that $f$ is constant.

mrf
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