On some distance measures of complex Pythagorean fuzzy sets and their applications in pattern recognition

The concept of complex fuzzy set (CFS) and complex intuitionistic fuzzy set (CIFS) is two recent developments in the field of fuzzy set (FS) theory. The significance of these concepts lies in the fact that these concepts assigned membership grades from unit circle in plane, i.e., in the form of a complex number instead from [0, 1] interval. CFS cannot deal with information of yes and no type, while CIFS works only for a limited range of values. To deal with these kinds of problems, in this article, the concept of complex Pythagorean fuzzy set (CPFS) is developed. The novelty of CPFS lies in its larger range comparative to CFS and CIFS which is demonstrated numerically. It is discussed how a CFS and CIFS could be CPFS but not conversely. We investigated the very basic concepts of CPFSs and studied their properties. Furthermore, some distance measures for CPFSs are developed and their characteristics are studied. The viability of the proposed new distance measures in a building material recognition problem is also discussed. Finally, a comparative study of the proposed new work is established with pre-existing study and some advantages of CPFS are discussed over CFS and CIFS.