Can the integral of cos^-1(arctan) be evaluated directly?

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SUMMARY

The integral of the function defined as s = integral from 0 to 2π of cos-1(arctan((2π/b)*a*cos(2πx/b)))dx is complex and requires careful interpretation of the notation. The discussion reveals a common misunderstanding where cos-1 is often misinterpreted as sec instead of arccos. The integral is confirmed to be a definite integral, and while numerical approximations can be made, an analytical solution remains elusive. Tools like Wolfram Mathematica can assist in evaluating such integrals, but the exact form may not yield a straightforward closed solution.

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  • Understanding of definite integrals and their properties
  • Familiarity with inverse trigonometric functions, specifically arccos and secant
  • Basic knowledge of calculus, including integration techniques
  • Experience with computational tools like Wolfram Mathematica for integral evaluation
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  • Research the properties of inverse trigonometric functions, focusing on arccos and secant
  • Learn how to apply the Leibniz rule for differentiation under the integral sign
  • Explore numerical integration techniques, such as the trapezium rule, for approximating complex integrals
  • Investigate elliptic integrals and their applications in evaluating integrals that do not have closed forms
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Mathematicians, calculus students, and anyone involved in advanced integration techniques or numerical analysis will benefit from this discussion. Additionally, those using computational tools for integral evaluation will find relevant insights.

jamie516
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Ok, I am trying to integrate the following function, and not getting very far: it's s=integral between 0 and 2pi of cos^-1(arctan((2*pi/b)*a*cos(2*pi*x/b)))dx)^-1 where a and b are known variables. What I would like to know, is can this integral be evaluated directly, or must I use the trapezium rule, and if so how would I do that?
 
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by known variables, do you mean constant in the formula? If so, it should be possible to integrate as what you then have is
(cos-1(X*cos(2pi * x/b)-1dx
to integrate. You should be able to integrate that although I can't remember what the integral of the inverse trig functions are off the top of my head. It may be a pretty complex integral but I'd expect it to be possible to do so with a closed-form solution.

edit: Ignore that... I misread the original formula and didn't match up the brackets... need to re-evaluate
 
Last edited:
yes, they are constants
 
Just trying to visualize the formula.

s= \displaystyle\int_0^{2\pi} \sec\left(\arctan\left(\left(\dfrac{2\pi}{b}\right) a \cos\left(\dfrac{2\pi x}{b}\right)\right)\right)dx )^-1

What about the last missing ")^-1"?
 
That is correct, and the whole integral is ^-1.
 
so you would need a ( in front of the integral sign to complete it
 
<br /> s= \dfrac{1}{\displaystyle\int_0^{2\pi} \sec\left(\arctan\left(\left(\dfrac{2\pi}{b}\right ) a \cos\left(\dfrac{2\pi x}{b}\right)\right)\right)dx}<br />

I couldn't solve it. Neither did "Derive 6".

Regards.
 
Last edited:
yes, that is right, and a and b can be any numbers really, as they define the shape of the sine wave.
 
I haven't done any calculuations yet, but one thought that got into my attention, is perhaps you should take derivative under the integral sign of a or b, and use the theorem, that:
(d/da)S f(x,a)dx=S df(x,a)/da dx.
Not sure if that will ease the calculations, but it sure as hell worth the effort.

Cheers.
 
  • #11
Maxima got this from your basic function without the constants

Code:
integrate(sec(atan(cos(x))), x);

[tex]\int{\sqrt{cos^2(x)+1}}dx[/tex]

which of course has no analytical solution =(

edit: with a constant such as the 'a' here

Code:
integrate(sec(atan(a*cos(x))), x);

[tex]\int{\sqrt{a^2cos^2(x)+1}}dx[/tex]
 
  • #12
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #13
This is a DEFINITE integral which means I'm sure that a computer program can make a numeric approximation, hopefully.
 
  • #14
Pinu7 said:
This is a DEFINITE integral which means I'm sure that a computer program can make a numeric approximation, hopefully.

certainly approximations can be made but the OP would like to have an analytical answer.
 
  • #15
Waaaaaaiiiiiit just a minute here. The integral that GRfrones suggested,

\int_0^{2\pi} \sec\left(\arctan\left(\left(\dfrac{2\pi}{b}\right ) a \cos\left(\dfrac{2\pi x}{b}\right)\right)\right)dx

does not appear to be the integral in the original post (following the standard convention of notations):

"integral between 0 and 2pi of cos^-1(arctan((2*pi/b)*a*cos(2*pi*x/b)))dx"

GRfrones seems to have interpreted "cos^(-1)(stuff)" as "sec(stuff)", but I would take this to be "arccos(stuff)", as that's pretty much exclusively what "cos^(-1)(stuff)" means, and so I would have thought the integral is

\int_0^{2\pi} \cos^{-1}\left(\arctan\left(\left(\dfrac{2\pi}{b}\right ) a \cos\left(\dfrac{2\pi x}{b}\right)\right)\right)dx

Is it really GRfrones' interpretation? If so, then the OP should take care when writing "cos^(-1)" to mean "sec", as I can think of no instance where "cos^(-1)" would be taken to mean the secant.
 
  • #16
Mute said:
Waaaaaaiiiiiit just a minute here. The integral that GRfrones suggested,

\int_0^{2\pi} \sec\left(\arctan\left(\left(\dfrac{2\pi}{b}\right ) a \cos\left(\dfrac{2\pi x}{b}\right)\right)\right)dx

does not appear to be the integral in the original post (following the standard convention of notations):

"integral between 0 and 2pi of cos^-1(arctan((2*pi/b)*a*cos(2*pi*x/b)))dx"

GRfrones seems to have interpreted "cos^(-1)(stuff)" as "sec(stuff)", but I would take this to be "arccos(stuff)", as that's pretty much exclusively what "cos^(-1)(stuff)" means, and so I would have thought the integral is

\int_0^{2\pi} \cos^{-1}\left(\arctan\left(\left(\dfrac{2\pi}{b}\right ) a \cos\left(\dfrac{2\pi x}{b}\right)\right)\right)dx

Is it really GRfrones' interpretation? If so, then the OP should take care when writing "cos^(-1)" to mean "sec", as I can think of no instance where "cos^(-1)" would be taken to mean the secant.

The OP has already identified the correct integral
 
  • #17
djeitnstine said:
The OP has already identified the correct integral

I'm aware of that, I wanted to double-check, and point out that if that is the correct integral then the use of "cos^{-1}" to mean "sec" is not a good idea, as it conflicts with the standard usage of the symbol.
 
  • #18
Changing it from sec to arccos stops the integral from working on wolfram as well. I'm not sure that is a good or bad thing though, considering the integral it returns for the one identified as correct by the OP :)
 

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