Improper Integral with trig integral

shubox
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Homework Statement


∫(dx/((1+x^2)^2) from 0 to ∞
Determine whether the improper integral converges and if so, evaluate it.

Homework Equations


1+ tan^2(x) = sec^2(x)
1/sec(x) = cos(x)

The Attempt at a Solution


Initially I had no idea how to approach this problem. The answer in the back of the book is ∏/4, which tells me that maybe trig integrals are involved. So i started off with:
lim(R→∞) ∫(dx/((1+x^2)^2) from 0 to R.
x=tan(x)
lim(R→∞) ∫(dx/((1+tan^2(x))^2) from 0 to R.
=lim(R→∞) ∫(dx/(sec^4(x)) from 0 to R.
I do not know where to go from here. Any help would be appreciated
 
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shubox said:

Homework Statement


∫(dx/((1+x^2)^2) from 0 to ∞
Determine whether the improper integral converges and if so, evaluate it.


Homework Equations


1+ tan^2(x) = sec^2(x)
1/sec(x) = cos(x)

The Attempt at a Solution


Initially I had no idea how to approach this problem. The answer in the back of the book is ∏/4, which tells me that maybe trig integrals are involved. So i started off with:
lim(R→∞) ∫(dx/((1+x^2)^2) from 0 to R.
x=tan(x)
lim(R→∞) ∫(dx/((1+tan^2(x))^2) from 0 to R.
=lim(R→∞) ∫(dx/(sec^4(x)) from 0 to R.
I do not know where to go from here. Any help would be appreciated

It's not a good idea to use the same variable in your substitution.

Let x=tan(θ) then dx = sec2(θ) dθ .

After finding the anti-derivative in terms of θ, change back to x, plug in the limits of integration, then take the limit.
 
Oh I see now. Subsituting in dx cancels out sec2(θ) which then results in θ. Replacing θ with x gives arc tangent and then solving the integral from -∞ to ∞ results in ∏.
Thanks for helping
 
shubox said:
Oh I see now. Subsituting in dx cancels out sec2(θ) which then results in θ. Replacing θ with x gives arc tangent and then solving the integral from -∞ to ∞ results in ∏.
Thanks for helping

Not quite.

The denominator is (sec2(θ))2 .

Then use cos2(θ) = (1/2)(cos(2θ) + 1) .
 
By the way, tan(\theta) goes to infinity as \theta goes to \pi/2. So once you have made the substitution, instead of going to infinity, you limit should be going to \pi/2.
 
Ah I forgot the quantity squared. But after doing that I got the same thing: 1/2(cos(2θ)+1)
Taking the integral of this from ∏/2 to -∏/2 results in ∏/2 which is the answer in the back of the book.

sweeet, makes sense now. thanks alot.
 
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