It's fun to be square

Calculus Level 5

S = 0 1 0 1 y 1 x 3 y 3 d y d x \large S=\int_{0}^{1}\int_{0}^{1}\dfrac{y}{1-x^3y^3} \, dy\; dx Find ( π S ) 2 \left(\dfrac{\pi}{S}\right)^2 .


The answer is 27.

This section requires Javascript.
You are seeing this because something didn't load right. We suggest you, (a) try refreshing the page, (b) enabling javascript if it is disabled on your browser and, finally, (c) loading the non-javascript version of this page . We're sorry about the hassle.

2 solutions

Mark Hennings
May 3, 2016

With some easy integration and some fun with the polygamma function: S = 0 1 0 1 y 1 x 3 y 3 d y d x = 0 1 ( 0 1 y 1 x 3 y 3 d x ) d y = 0 1 ( 0 y 1 1 u 3 d u ) d y = 0 1 ( 0 y n = 0 u 3 n d u ) d y = 0 1 n = 0 y 3 n + 1 3 n + 1 d y = n = 0 1 ( 3 n + 1 ) ( 3 n + 2 ) = n = 0 ( 1 3 n + 1 1 3 n + 2 ) = 1 3 n = 0 ( 1 n + 1 3 1 n + 2 3 ) = lim n 1 3 [ ψ ( n + 1 3 ) ψ ( 1 3 ) ψ ( n + 2 3 ) + ψ ( 2 3 ) ] = 1 3 [ ψ ( 2 3 ) ψ ( 1 3 ) ] = π 3 3 \begin{array}{rcl} S \; = \; \displaystyle \int_0^1 \int_0^1 \frac{y}{1-x^3y^3}\,dy\,dx & = & \displaystyle \int_0^1 \left(\int_0^1 \frac{y}{1 - x^3y^3}\,dx\right) \,dy \\ & = & \displaystyle \int_0^1 \left(\int_0^y \frac{1}{1-u^3}\,du\right)\,dy \; = \; \int_0^1 \left(\int_0^y \sum_{n=0}^\infty u^{3n}\,du \right)\,dy \\ & = & \displaystyle \int_0^1 \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{y^{3n+1}}{3n+1}\,dy \; = \; \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{1}{(3n+1)(3n+2)} \\ & = & \displaystyle \sum_{n=0}^\infty \left(\frac{1}{3n+1} - \frac{1}{3n+2}\right) \; = \; \tfrac13\sum_{n=0}^\infty \left(\frac{1}{n + \frac13} - \frac{1}{n+\frac23}\right) \\ & = & \displaystyle \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac13\Big[\psi\big(n +\tfrac13\big) - \psi\big(\tfrac13\big) - \psi\big(n + \tfrac23\big) + \psi\big(\tfrac23\big)\Big] \\ & =& \displaystyle \tfrac13\big[\psi\big(\tfrac23\big) - \psi\big(\tfrac13\big)\big] \; = \; \frac{\pi}{3\sqrt{3}} \end{array} making the answer ( 3 3 ) 2 = 27 (3\sqrt{3})^2 = \boxed{27} .

Yes, that works! (+1) I used a similar approach with a different "end game." I will post my solution when I get to it.

Otto Bretscher - 5 years, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

On further thought, it would be much simpler to finish S = 0 1 d y 0 y 1 1 u 3 d u = 0 1 d u u 1 1 1 u 3 d y = 0 1 1 u 1 u 3 d u = 0 1 1 1 + u + u 2 d u = [ 2 3 tan 1 ( 2 u + 1 3 ) ] 0 1 = π 3 3 \begin{array}{rcl} S & = & \displaystyle \int_0^1 dy\, \int_0^y \frac{1}{1-u^3}\,du \; = \; \int_0^1 du\, \int_u^1 \frac{1}{1-u^3}\,dy \; = \; \int_0^1 \frac{1-u}{1-u^3}\,du \\ & = & \displaystyle \int_0^1 \frac{1}{1+u+u^2}\,du \; = \; \Big[\tfrac{2}{\sqrt{3}} \tan^{-1}\left(\tfrac{2u+1}{\sqrt{3}}\right)\Big]_0^1 \; = \; \frac{\pi}{3\sqrt{3}} \end{array}

Mark Hennings - 5 years, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

Yes, exactly! That's what I had in mind! (+1)

Happily, there is no need to post my solution then ;)

Otto Bretscher - 5 years, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

@Otto Bretscher There are many interesting solutions to this problems (the summation part). The two you give and a few more are discussed here and here

Otto Bretscher - 5 years, 1 month ago

WOAHHH! Bestest solution!

Pi Han Goh - 5 years, 1 month ago

As the limits of integration are constant we can exchange d x dx and d y dy .

So the integral becomes:-

0 1 0 1 y 1 ( x y ) 3 d x d y \Large \int_{0}^{1}\int_{0}^{1} \frac{y}{1-(xy)^{3}} dx dy

Substituting x y = t xy=t

we have:-

0 1 0 y 1 1 t 3 d t d y \Large \int_{0}^{1}\int_{0}^{y} \frac{1}{1-t^{3}} dt dy

Now we want to change the order of d t dt and d y dy

So we have:-

0 1 t 1 1 1 t 3 d y d t \Large \int_{0}^{1}\int_{t}^{1} \frac{1}{1-t^{3}} dy dt

Evaluating we have:-

0 1 1 t 1 t 3 d t \Large \int_{0}^{1}\ \frac{1-t}{1-t^{3}}dt

= 0 1 1 1 + t + t 2 d t \Large = \int_{0}^{1}\frac{1}{1+t+t^{2}}dt

= 0 1 1 ( t + 1 2 ) 2 + 3 4 d t \Large = \int_{0}^{1}\frac{1}{(t+\frac{1}{2})^{2} + \frac{3}{4}}dt

which is

2 3 ( tan 1 ( 3 ) tan 1 ( 1 3 ) ) \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}}(\tan^{-1}(\sqrt{3}) - \tan^{-1}(\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}))

= π 3 3 =\frac{\pi}{3\sqrt{3}}

Also we could do it using series:-

The series that @Mark Hennings arrived at can be solved using complex numbers too and using taylor series of l n ( 1 x ) ln(1-x)

Using that it can be written as

( 1 3 ( ω 2 ω ) ( l n ( 1 ω ) l n ( 1 ω 2 ) ) ) \Re(\frac{1}{3}(\omega^{2}-\omega)(ln(1-\omega)-ln(1-\omega^{2})))

where omega is a complex cube root of unity and ( . ) \Re(.) denotes the real part.

I'll leave it upto the really interested to find out how the expression in complex numbers written above evaluates to the series

r = 0 ( 1 3 r + 1 1 3 r + 2 ) \sum_{r=0}^{\infty}(\frac{1}{3r+1} - \frac{1}{3r+2})

0 pending reports

×

Problem Loading...

Note Loading...

Set Loading...