Using the former definition above, the dilogarithm function is analytic everywhere on the complex plane except at z = 1 {\displaystyle z=1} , where it has a logarithmic branch point. The standard choice of branch cut is along the positive real axis ( 1 , ∞ ) {\displaystyle (1,\infty )} . However, the function is continuous at the branch point and takes on the value Li 2 ( 1 ) = π 2 / 6 {\displaystyle \operatorname {Li} _{2}(1)=\pi ^{2}/6} .
Spence's Function is commonly encountered in particle physics while calculating radiative corrections. In this context, the function is often defined with an absolute value inside the logarithm:
Zagier p. 10 ↩
"William Spence - Biography". https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Spence/ ↩
"Biography – GALT, JOHN – Volume VII (1836-1850) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=37522 ↩
Zagier ↩
Weisstein, Eric W. "Dilogarithm". MathWorld. /wiki/Eric_W._Weisstein ↩
Weisstein, Eric W. "Rogers L-Function". mathworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved 2024-08-01. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ ↩
Rogers, L. J. (1907). "On the Representation of Certain Asymptotic Series as Convergent Continued Fractions". Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. s2-4 (1): 72–89. doi:10.1112/plms/s2-4.1.72. http://doi.wiley.com/10.1112/plms/s2-4.1.72 ↩