Integral of e^cosx: Answers Sought

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the integral of the function \( e^{\cos x} \), exploring its properties and potential methods for evaluation. Participants note the lack of a closed form for the integral and the periodic nature of the function involved.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Some participants discuss using integration by parts and Taylor series expansion as potential methods for approaching the integral. Others question the possibility of expressing the integral in terms of elementary functions and explore the implications of periodicity on the limits of the function as \( x \) approaches infinity.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with various approaches being explored. Participants have raised questions about the limits of the function and its boundedness, while some have provided insights into the periodic nature of the functions involved. There is no explicit consensus on a method or conclusion yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the complexities of the integral and its properties, with some expressing uncertainty about the definitions and implications of limits in this context. The discussion reflects a mix of mathematical reasoning and conceptual exploration.

chwala
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Homework Statement
Find the indefinite integral of ##e^{\cos x}dx##
Relevant Equations
integration
I just came across this and it seems we do not have a definite answer...there are those who have attempted using integration by parts; see link below...i am aware that ##\cos x## has no closed form...same applies to the exponential function.

https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2468863/what-is-the-integral-of-e-cos-x

would appreciate insight...

cheers!
 
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y=e^(cos x) is a periodic function as we see in https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=graph+of+y=e^(cos+x) .
\int_0^{2\pi} e^{\cos x}dx := 2\pi a \approx 7.95493
\int_0^{2\pi} (e^{\cos x}-a) dx = 0
This modified integral is periodic, i.e.,
\int_0^{X_1} (e^{\cos x}-a) dx = \int_0^{X_2} (e^{\cos x}-a) dx
where
X_2=X_1-2n\pi ,0<X_2<2\pi
Any of the modified integral is reduced to the integral in region ##[0,2\pi]##. Surely there exists the integral but I do not expect that it can be expressed by ordinary functions.

\int_{X_1}^{X_2} e^{\cos x}dx=I(x_2)-I(x_1)+a(X_2-X_1)
where
x_1=X_1-2n_1\pi, 0<x_1<2\pi
x_2=X_2-2n_2\pi, 0<x_2<2\pi
I(x):=\int _0^x (e^{\cos t}-a)dt,\ 0<x<2\pi
 
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chwala said:
I will amend the question my bad ; didn't get the English correctly...I meant being expressed as a function.

I think perhaps you are looking for "expressed in terms of elementary functions"; it is trivial, but uninformative, to define <br /> F(t) = \int_0^t e^{\cos u}\,du.
 
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I think you can try to have a infinite sum expanding by Taylor the exponential:

## \int e^{\cos(x)}dx=\int 1+\cos{x}+\frac{\cos^2{x}}{2!}+\frac{\cos^3{x}}{3!} dx ##

now by linearity:

## \int e^{\cos(x)}dx=x+\sin{x}+\int\frac{\cos^2{x}}{2!} dx+\int \frac{\cos^3{x}}{3!} dx + ...##

If you have a closed form for ##\int \cos^n{x}dx## I think you can find an expansion for ##\int e^{\cos{x}}dx##.

Ssnow
 
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Ssnow said:
I think you can try to have a infinite sum expanding by Taylor the exponential:

∫ecos⁡(x)dx=∫1+cos⁡x+cos2⁡x2!+cos3⁡x3!dx

now by linearity:

∫ecos⁡(x)dx=x+sin⁡x+∫cos2⁡x2!dx+∫cos3⁡x3!dx+...

If you have a closed form for ∫cosn⁡xdx I think you can find an expansion for ∫ecos⁡xdx.

Ssnow
we may do further reduction making use of
1676259577561.png

from https://socratic.org/questions/how-do-you-find-the-integral-of-cos-n-x .
I am not patient and see it messy.
 
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interesting ...how would we attempt to find then the limits of ##e^{-\cos x}## and ##e^{cos x}## as ##x## tends to infinity? my interest is on the approach, i can tell from the graph that the limits tend to ##±∞##.
 
They are periodical functions as well as cos x is. They have no limits for x=##\pm \infty##.
1676290081170.png


e^{-\cos x}=e^{\cos(x+\pi)}
1676290246239.png
 
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anuttarasammyak said:
They are periodical functions as well as cos x is. They have no limits for x=##\pm \infty##.View attachment 322205

e^{-\cos x}=e^{\cos(x+\pi)}
View attachment 322206
I need to look at this, can we say that it is bounded ...supremum, infimum? need to check on this man!
 
e^{-1} \le e^{\cos x} \le e
 
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anuttarasammyak said:
e^{-1} \le e^{\cos x} \le e
Nice, yes, If ##y=\cos x## then we have the maximum at ##y=1## and minimum at ##y=-1##... then how comes that this function has no limit? given
##\lim_{x \rightarrow +\infty} {e^{cos x}}##

am i missing something here...
 
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By "no limits", we usually mean "it diverges". So what is the limit of sin x when tends to infinity? It does not exist. We say sin x has no limit to infinity, or that at infinity sin x is undefined. Just a matter of wording, mathematicians once they write a formula they know exactly what it means, irrespective of which exact words are suited best to describe the formula.

"So a function/sequence/series does not converge to a limit, i.e. it diverges, or its limit does not exist". This should be clear. Let us not turn mathematics into semantics, a discipline of linguistics.
 
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