MHB Find Laplace Transform of $ t^2+1)^2 $ without Expansion

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The discussion focuses on finding the Laplace transform of the function (t^2 + 1)^2 without expanding it. Participants suggest using derivatives of the function to derive the transform, noting that the second derivative can be utilized to express the Laplace transform in terms of known transforms. The final result is determined to be F(s) = 24/s^5 + 4/s^3 + 1/s. There is also a mention of the reasoning behind avoiding expansion, emphasizing the value of creative problem-solving in learning Laplace transforms. The conversation highlights the importance of alternative methods in mathematical problem-solving.
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How do you find the laplace transform of this without expanding it?

$ L(t^2+1)^2 $
 
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nacho said:
How do you find the laplace transform of this without expanding it?

$ L(t^2+1)^2 $

You can use the fact that for n positive integer is...

$\displaystyle \int_{0}^{\infty} t^{n}\ e^{- s\ t}\ dt = \frac{n!}{s^{n+1}}\ (1)$ ... expanding $\displaystyle (1 + t^{2})^{2}$ in powers of t... Kind regards $\chi$ $\sigma$

I didn't realize immediately that it was requested 'without expanding' ... very sorry!...
 
nacho said:
How do you find the laplace transform of this without expanding it?

$ L(t^2+1)^2 $

The possible solution is the use of a 'forgotten formula' ['forgotten' in the sense that it is neglected from most of the Complex Analysis 'Holybooks'...] according to which if You have two L-transformable functions $f_{1}(t)$ and $f_{2} (t)$ with L-transforms $F_{1} (s)$ and $F_{2} (s)$ and abscissas of convergence $\sigma_{1}$ and $\sigma_{2}$, then the L-transform of the product is given by the integral... $\displaystyle \mathcal {L} \{f_{1}(t)\ f_{2}(t)\} = \frac{1}{2\ \pi\ i}\ \int_{\gamma - i\ \infty}^{\gamma + i\ \infty} F_{1} (z)\ F_{2}(s - z)\ dz\ (1)$

... where $\displaystyle \sigma_{1} < \gamma < \sigma - \sigma_{2},\ \sigma> \sigma_{1} + \sigma_{2}$. In Your case is $\displaystyle f_{1}(t) = f_{2} (t) = 1 + t^{2} \implies F_{1}(s) = F_{2}(s) = \frac{1}{s} + \frac{2}{s^{3}},\ \sigma_{1}=\sigma_{2}=0$. May be it exists a more comfortable way but till now I didnn't succed to find it!(Emo)...Kind regards $\chi$ $\sigma$
 
nacho said:
How do you find the laplace transform of this without expanding it?

$ L(t^2+1)^2 $

To compute this without expanding requires a little trick (especially if you're allowed to do this without using the integral definition of $\mathcal{L}\{f(t)\}$).

Let $f(t) = (t^2+1)^2$. We note that $f(0)=1$.

Thus, $f^{\prime}(t) = 4t(t^2+1)$ and hence $f^{\prime}(0) = 0$.

Finally, we see that $f^{\prime\prime}(t) = 4(t^2+1) + 8t^2 = 12t^2+4$.

Why did we compute all these derivatives? Well, we know that $\mathcal{L}\{f^{\prime\prime}(t)\} = s^2F(s) - sf(0) - f^{\prime}(0)$, which in our case would be $\mathcal{L}\{f^{\prime\prime}(t)\}=s^2F(s)-s$.

Therefore,

\[\mathcal{L}\{12t^2+4\} = \mathcal{L}\{f^{\prime\prime}(t)\} = s^2F(s)-s\]

We now compute the appropriate Laplace transforms and solve for $F(s)$:

\[s^2F(s) - s = \mathcal{L}\{12t^2+4\} = 12\cdot\frac{2!}{s^3}+4\cdot\frac{1}{s}=\frac{24}{s^3}+\frac{4}{s} \implies F(s) = \frac{24}{s^5} + \frac{4}{s^3}+\frac{1}{s}\]

Therefore, $\mathcal{L}\{(t^2+1)^2\} = \dfrac{24}{s^5}+\dfrac{4}{s^3}+\dfrac{1}{s}$.

I hope this makes sense!
 
Question for the OP. Why would you want to compute this transform without expanding? I mean expanding would be the easiest approach.

BTW - Nice work Chris!

Following Chris's lead, you could keep going
\begin{align}
f(t) &= (t^2+1)^2,\;\;\; &f(0)&=1\\
f'(t) &= 4t(t^2+1)\;\;\; &f'(0)&=0\\
f''(t) &=4(t^2+1) + 8t^2,\;\;\;&f''(0)&=4\\
f'''(t) &= 8t + 16t,\;\;\;&f'''(0)&=0\\
f^{(4)}(t)&=24,\;\;\;&f^{(4)}(0)&=24\\
f^{(5)}(t)& = 0,
\end{align}

Then

$\mathcal{L}\{f^{(5)}(t)\} = s^5F(s) - f(0) s^4 - f'(0) s^3 - f''(0) s^2 - f'''(0) s - f^{(4)}(0) = 0.$

Substitute $f$ and its derivative at zero and solve for $F$ (same answer)
 
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Thanks for the responses.

@Jester, really no other reason than for the sake of it. I've just started to learn laplace transforms and am finding a little out of the box thinking helps a lot.
 
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We all know the definition of n-dimensional topological manifold uses open sets and homeomorphisms onto the image as open set in ##\mathbb R^n##. It should be possible to reformulate the definition of n-dimensional topological manifold using closed sets on the manifold's topology and on ##\mathbb R^n## ? I'm positive for this. Perhaps the definition of smooth manifold would be problematic, though.

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