Raising to a non-integer Power for Complex Analysis

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I am considering the following complex potential for a fluid flow

$w = U a \bigg(\frac{z}{a} \bigg)^{\pi/ \alpha}$.

I would like to obtain the velocity potential and stream function from this: one could do this by writing out $z = r e^{i \theta}$ and then expanding out the power. However, what does one do in the situation that the power is not an integer, as now the power is a fraction of $\pi$, which is irrational.