Existence of square roots and logarithms
Does there exist an open connected set in the complex plane on which the identity function has an analytic square root but not an analytic logarithm?
Solution 1:
Suppose $U \subseteq \mathbb{C}$ is a connected open set on which an analytic square root can be defined. Then it follows easily that $U$ cannot contain the origin, and every closed curve in $U$ must have even winding number around the origin. But any closed curve in the plane with nonzero winding number around the origin contains in its image a simple closed curve with winding number one around the origin, so $U$ cannot have any closed curves with nonzero winding number around the origin, and hence an analytic logarithm exists on $U$.
See also this question.