Contour integral with poles on contour

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the evaluation of the integral \(\int_0^{2\pi}\frac{\sin{x} \cos{x}}{\sin{x}+\cos{x}}dx\) using contour integration techniques. Participants explore the implications of having poles on the contour of integration, addressing both theoretical considerations and practical calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a contour integral representation of the original integral, noting that the poles are located on the contour.
  • Another participant questions the well-defined nature of the initial integral due to the presence of a pole inside the contour.
  • A participant suggests that a pole on the contour can be treated as a "1/2 pole," advocating for enclosing it with a small half-circle during integration.
  • Concerns are raised about how divergence manifests in contour integration, with references to discrepancies between results from different computational tools.
  • One participant proposes interpreting the integral in the Cauchy principal-valued sense, considering the implications of poles at specific angles.
  • Another participant discusses the approach of avoiding poles in the contour, leading to a division of the integral into multiple parts, ultimately suggesting that the principal value is zero.
  • There is a critique of the adequacy of the proposed method for handling the integral, emphasizing the need for rigor and clarity in the calculations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on how to handle poles on the contour, with some advocating for the principal value approach while others suggest enclosing the poles. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best method to apply in this scenario.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in their approaches, such as the need for careful consideration of the contour and the implications of divergence. There is also mention of the necessity for precise calculations and clear explanations when dealing with integrals involving poles.

ShayanJ
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In the process of calculating the integral \int_0^{2\pi}\frac{\sin{x} \cos{x}}{\sin{x}+\cos{x}}dx by contour integration,I got the following:

<br /> -\frac{1}{2}[ \LARGE{\oint} \large{\frac{z^2}{(1-i)z^2+i+1}}dz-\LARGE{\oint}\large{\frac{z^{-2}}{(1-i)z^2+i+1}}dz]

Where the contour of integration for both integrals is the unit circle centered at the origin. The poles are at z=\pm i \sqrt{i}=\pm \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}(1-i). As you can see, |z|=1 and so they're on the contour.

My question is,how should I treat such poles?
Should I exclude them and calculate the integrals as \pi i \sum_i r_i or should include them and use 2 \pi i \sum_i r_i ?
How should I decide with what sign each of the residues should appear in the calculation of integrals?

Thanks
 
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The initial integral doesn't look well-defined, it has a pole inside.
 
A pole on the contour is << equivalent to 1/2 pole >>
That is : Enclose the pole inside the contour with a small half-circle. The corresponding angle is pi instead of 2*pi.
This is also true for a pole located on an angular point, with the corresponding angle.
 
mfb said:
The initial integral doesn't look well-defined, it has a pole inside.

Yeah...it'll diverge...I wasn't careful about that.
But how does this divergence show up in contour integration?

A pole on the contour is << equivalent to 1/2 pole >>
That is : Enclose the pole inside the contour with a small half-circle. The corresponding angle is pi instead of 2*pi.
This is also true for a pole located on an angular point, with the corresponding angle.
I did that...but it didn't agree with the result that maple gave me(which is finite!).Although wolframalpha seems to be aware of its divergence.
 
Shyan said:
In the process of calculating the integral \int_0^{2\pi}\frac{\sin{x} \cos{x}}{\sin{x}+\cos{x}}dx by contour integration,I got the following:

<br /> -\frac{1}{2}[ \LARGE{\oint} \large{\frac{z^2}{(1-i)z^2+i+1}}dz-\LARGE{\oint}\large{\frac{z^{-2}}{(1-i)z^2+i+1}}dz]

Where the contour of integration for both integrals is the unit circle centered at the origin. The poles are at z=\pm i \sqrt{i}=\pm \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}(1-i). As you can see, |z|=1 and so they're on the contour.

My question is,how should I treat such poles?
Should I exclude them and calculate the integrals as \pi i \sum_i r_i or should include them and use 2 \pi i \sum_i r_i ?
How should I decide with what sign each of the residues should appear in the calculation of integrals?

Thanks

Whenever you make such a transformation on an integral and you create simple poles on the contour, then the original integral must be interpreted in the Cauchy principal-valued sense. That is, we should consider:

\text{PV}\int_0^{2\pi} \frac{\sin(x) \cos(x)}{\sin(x)+\cos(x)}dx

with poles at ##3\pi/4## and ##7\pi /4##. Now, how about a nice plot showing little indentations around those poles of your particular orientation around them. Either way won't matter as long as we do the calculations correctly in fact, why not do one one way and the other the other way. That'll still work won't it? And while you're at it, review that theorem in your textbook about how to compute the integral over an indentation around a simple pole as the radius goes to zero being equal to ##\theta i r## where ##\theta## is the radial angle extended by the indentation.

Oh yeah, color-code them so we know which one's which.
 
Last edited:
jackmell said:
Whenever you make such a transformation on an integral and you create simple poles on the contour, then the original integral must be interpreted in the Cauchy principal-valued sense. That is, we should consider:

\text{PV}\int_0^{2\pi} \frac{\sin(x) \cos(x)}{\sin(x)+\cos(x)}dx

with poles at ##3\pi/4## and ##7\pi /4##. Now, how about a nice plot showing little indentations around those poles of your particular orientation around them. Either way won't matter as long as we do the calculations correctly in fact, why not do one one way and the other the other way. That'll still work won't it? And while you're at it, review that theorem in your textbook about how to compute the integral over an indentation around a simple pole as the radius goes to zero being equal to ##\theta i r## where ##\theta## is the radial angle extended by the indentation.

Oh yeah, color-code them so we know which one's which.

If I include the poles in the contour and do it with half circles,I'll get zero which seems to be wrong!
 
Shyan said:
If I include the poles in the contour and do it with half circles,I'll get zero which seems to be wrong!

It is zero in the same way that:

$$\text{PV}\int_{-1}^1 \frac{1}{x}dx=0$$

Ok, compute the antiderivative of:

$$\int \frac{\sin(x)\cos(x)}{\sin(x)+\cos(s)}$$

and using that antiderivative, prove that the principle value of that integral is zero by taking the appropriate limiting cases.
 
Ok, let's do it as follows:
First,I choose a contour which avoids including the poles.So the integrals divides to five integrals on five different parts of the contour but because the poles are not included,We have I_1+I_2+I_3+I_4+I_5=0. The PV is I_1+I_3+I_5=-I_2-I_4 so we only have to calculate the integrals around the poles as the part of the contour around them goes to zero.But the boundaries of the integrals around the poles become equal as the radius goes to zero and so the integrals go to zero and we will have zero for the PV.
Was it good enough?
 
Shyan said:
Ok, let's do it as follows:
First,I choose a contour which avoids including the poles.So the integrals divides to five integrals on five different parts of the contour but because the poles are not included,We have I_1+I_2+I_3+I_4+I_5=0. The PV is I_1+I_3+I_5=-I_2-I_4 so we only have to calculate the integrals around the poles as the part of the contour around them goes to zero.But the boundaries of the integrals around the poles become equal as the radius goes to zero and so the integrals go to zero and we will have zero for the PV.
Was it good enough?

Absolutely not. But that's ok. I'm not your teacher. Lemme's see, what would I do if I was and you pulled that stunt on me? Hummm . . . well, I'd tell you that in the real world, outside of class rooms and nicely-worded problems in textbooks, the world is messy, unkind, brutal, and unforgiving and what you said up there is not good enough to fight them off. What you need to be to survive in that world, is to be direct, explicit, exact, and comprehensive in your dealings with life. Now, this problem won't help much in that endeavor, but if you attacked it as such, it would give you practice for one day when it really counts.

So not. Rather plots, color-coded, integrals, residues, explanations, and rigor to show unequivocally that it is such.
 

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