How can I plot the complex graph of $x^x$ in Mathematica? [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How to plot imaginary part of a function
Plotting Complex Quantity Functions

For example, this Wolfram Alpha query shows this graph:

But it does not show the code for plotting it in Mathematica. Plot[x^x, {x, -1, 1}] only plots the real values. How can I do this in Mathematica?

Answer 1

Plot[{Re[x^x], Im[x^x]}, {x, -1, 2}]

Answer 2

Here's a view that shows how the graph starts to spiral for negative $x$ values, if we take the complex values into account.

ParametricPlot3D[{x, Re[Exp[x*Log[x]]], Im[Exp[x*Log[x]]]}, 
  {x, -4, 2}, PlotRange -> All, ViewVertical -> {0, 1, 0},
  BoxRatios -> {2, 1, 1}, ViewPoint -> {2, 2, 12}]

In fact, if we write $x^x = e^{x\log(x)}$, this naturally generallizes to $x^x = e^{x\log(x) + 2i\pi k}$; each $2i\pi k$ represents another branch of the complex logarithm. In this context, we see that this graph just forms one spiral of a family of spirals.

x2x[0.0, _] = x2x[0, _] = 1;
x2x[x_, k_] := Exp[x (Log[x] + 2 I Pi k)];
Table[points3D[k] = Table[
  z =  x2x[x, k];
  {x, Re[z], Im[z]},
  {x, -4, 2, 0.005}],
{k, -7, 7}];
Graphics3D[Table[{If[k == 0, Thick, Opacity[0.5]], 
  Line[points3D[k]]}, {k, -4, 4}],    
  Axes -> True, PlotRange -> {{-4, 2}, {-4, 4}, {-4, 4}}, 
  BoxRatios -> {2, 1, 1}, ViewPoint -> {2, 2, 12}, 
  ViewVertical -> {0, 1, 0}]

In elementary classes, you might see the claim that $(p/q)^{p/q}$ is defined for $p$ negative and $q$ odd and positive. Thus the graph might look something like so.

Plot[x^x, {x, 0, 2}, PlotStyle -> Directive[Thick, Black],
  Epilog -> Point[Table[{i/31, Abs[(i/31)^(i/31)]}, {i, -63, -1, 2}]],
  PlotRange -> {{-2, 2}, {-2, 4}}]

From the complex perspective, the dots arise as spots where one of the spiral threads punctures the $x$-$z$ plane.

Answer 3

As yulinyu has pointed out, something like the following will give you the desired plot.

Plot[Through[{Re, Im}[x^x]], {x, -2, 2}, Evaluated -> True]

You might also be interested in this excellent answer by Simon Woods to create a graph of the plot over the complex domain. Using his function and evaluating the following gives you a pretty picture

domainPlot[#^# &]