90

$$\int_0^1\frac{\mathrm dx}{\sqrt{1-x}\ \sqrt[4]x\ \sqrt[4]{2-x\,\sqrt3}}\stackrel?=\frac{2\,\sqrt2}{3\,\sqrt[8]3}\pi\tag1$$ The equality numerically holds up to at least $10^4$ decimal digits.

Can we prove that the equality is exact?

An equivalent form of this conjecture is $$I\left(\frac{\sqrt3}2;\ \frac14,\frac14\right)\stackrel?=\frac23,\tag2$$ where $I\left(z;\ a,b\right)$ is the regularized beta function.


Even simpler case: $$\int_0^1\frac{\mathrm dx}{\sqrt{1-x}\ \sqrt[6]{9-x}\ \sqrt[3]x}\stackrel?=\frac\pi{\sqrt3},\tag3$$ which is equivalent to $$I\left(\frac19;\ \frac16,\frac13\right)\stackrel?=\frac12.\tag4$$


A related question.

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    Is it a routine of yours to randomly choose equations in the morning, approximate them by the afternoon, and conjecture them in the night? – chubakueno Oct 27 '13 at 05:36
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    Where is this coming from ? – Claude Leibovici Oct 27 '13 at 05:40
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    @chubakueno I would say it's a hobby. – Vladimir Reshetnikov Oct 27 '13 at 05:40
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    I am sure you know that this is a hypergeometric function$$ \int_{0}^1 \frac{dx }{\sqrt{1-x} \sqrt[4]{x}\sqrt[4]{ 2-x \sqrt{3}}}=\frac{2^{9/4} \pi^{3/2} }{\Gamma^2\left(\frac14\right)}{}_2F_1\left( \frac14, \frac34, \frac54,\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} \right) $$ Your answer almost certainly follows from some combination of its quadratic (or higher-order) transformations. But to be honest, I don't see what can one learn in the course of such calculation. – Start wearing purple Oct 27 '13 at 05:45
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    Vladimir, you've been posting a lot of conjectures about integrals of this form. Given as @O.L. says that they seem to be related to Hypergeometric functions, could your questions be more systematically written down as - "How can we simplify the hypergeometric function for various inputs?" – Bennett Gardiner Oct 27 '13 at 05:51
  • 10,000 digits!? I am interested in how the integral was calculated to that many places. – Bennett Gardiner Oct 27 '13 at 05:52
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    @BennettGardiner It can be evaluated in a closed form in terms of hypergeometric functions, and then there are very fast-converging numeric algorithms for them. Particularly, I checked this example with Mathematica. – Vladimir Reshetnikov Oct 27 '13 at 05:55
  • It's also equal to $$\int_{0}^1 \frac{dx }{\sqrt{1-x} \sqrt[4]{x}\sqrt[4]{ 2-x \sqrt{3}}} = \frac{4 \sqrt[4]{2+\sqrt{3}} \sqrt{\pi } , \Gamma \left(\frac{3}{4}\right)}{\Gamma \left(\frac{1}{4}\right)}_2F_1\left(\frac{1}{4},\frac{1}{2};\frac{5}{4};-3-2 \sqrt{3}\right)$$

    by using the substitution $x \to 1-x$

    – Alexander Vlasev Oct 27 '13 at 06:13
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    From there it would be "enough" to prove that

    $$\frac{, _2F_1\left(\frac{1}{4},\frac{3}{4};\frac{5}{4};\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right)}{, _2F_1\left(\frac{3}{4},1;\frac{5}{4};-3-2 \sqrt{3}\right)}=\left(2 \left(2+\sqrt{3}\right)\right)^{3/4}$$

    – Alexander Vlasev Oct 27 '13 at 06:17
  • I didn't get the $\large 2/3$ pre factor ( see my answer below ). It would be nice that the OP checks my result against his conjecture. – Felix Marin Oct 27 '13 at 08:21
  • @VladimirReshetnikov I'm checking my result. It will be back in a few minutes. – Felix Marin Oct 28 '13 at 00:56
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    @VladimirReshetnikov With some brute force I found 41 algebraic values (up to symmetry, not counting $x=\frac12$) among $I^{-1}(x;a,b)$ with $x$, $a$, $b$ rational numbers with denominators below $12, 8, 8$. There don't seem to be any with $a,b=\frac15,\frac17,\frac18$, nor does there seem to be any pattern to the minimal polynomials of those numbers. – Kirill Oct 29 '13 at 07:40
  • @VladimirReshetnikov Out of curiosity, how did you conjectured the RHS? Did you just tried "irrrational multiples of $\pi$"?Did you got the $\sqrt[8]{3}$ term by "intelligent bruteforece"?. – chubakueno Oct 30 '13 at 04:18
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    @chubakueno I analyzed results of Mathematica function InverseBetaRegularized with rational arguments. Some results were easy to prove to be algebraic, and for some other algebraic candidates were suggested by RootApproximant that agreed with the exact results up to thousands decimal digits, so they looked like plausible conjectures. As @Kirill mentioned above, there are above 40 such conjectures for moderate rational arguments. – Vladimir Reshetnikov Oct 31 '13 at 16:33
  • @chubakueno ...and conjectures for InverseBetaRegularized can easily be trasformed to corresponding conjectures for BetaRegularized, Beta, Hypergeometric2F1 and definite integrals from elementary functions. – Vladimir Reshetnikov Oct 31 '13 at 16:37

3 Answers3

105

For $\alpha, \beta, \gamma \in (0,1)$ satisfying $\alpha+\beta+\gamma = 1$ and $\mu \in \mathbb{C} \setminus [1,\infty)$, define

$$ F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu) = \int_0^1\frac{dx}{x^\alpha(1-x)^\beta(1-\mu x)^\gamma} \quad\text{ and }\quad \Delta = \frac{\Gamma(1-\alpha)\Gamma(1-\beta)}{\Gamma(1+\gamma)} $$ When $|\mu| < 1$, we can rewrite the integral $F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu)$ as

$$\begin{align} F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu) = & \int_0^1 \frac{1}{x^\alpha(1-x)^{\beta}}\left(\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\gamma)_n}{n!}\mu^n x^n\right) dx = \sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\gamma)_n}{n!}\frac{\Gamma(n+1-\alpha)\Gamma(1-\beta)}{\Gamma(n+1+\gamma)}\mu^n\\ = & \Delta\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\gamma)_n (1-\alpha)_n}{n!(\gamma+1)_n}\mu^n = \Delta\gamma \sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(1-\alpha)_n}{n!(\gamma+n)}\mu^n \end{align}$$ This implies $$ \mu^{-\gamma} \left(\mu\frac{\partial}{\partial \mu}\right) \mu^{\gamma} F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu) = \Delta\gamma \sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(1-\alpha)_n}{n!}\mu^n = \Delta\gamma\frac{1}{(1-\mu)^{1-\alpha}} $$ and hence $$F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu) = \Delta\gamma \mu^{-\gamma} \int_0^\mu \frac{\nu^{\gamma-1}d\nu}{(1-\nu)^{1-\alpha}} = \Delta\gamma \int_0^1 \frac{t^{\gamma-1} dt}{(1-\mu t)^{1-\alpha}} = \Delta \int_0^1 \frac{dt}{(1 - \mu t^{1/\gamma})^{1-\alpha}}$$

Notice if we substitute $x$ by $y = 1-x$, we have

$$F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu) = \int_0^1 \frac{dy}{y^\beta(1-y)^\alpha(1-\mu - \mu y)^{\gamma}} = \frac{1}{(1-\mu)^\gamma} F_{\beta\alpha}(-\frac{\mu}{1-\mu})$$

Combine these two representations of $F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu)$ and let $\omega = \left(\frac{\mu}{1-\mu}\right)^{\gamma}$, we obtain

$$F_{\alpha\beta}(\mu) = \frac{\Delta}{(1-\mu)^{\gamma}}\int_0^1 \frac{dt}{( 1 + \omega^{1/\gamma} t^{1/\gamma})^{1-\beta}} = \frac{\Delta}{\mu^\gamma}\int_0^\omega \frac{dt}{(1 + t^{1/\gamma})^{1-\beta}}$$

Let $(\alpha,\beta,\gamma) = (\frac14,\frac12,\frac14)$ and $\mu = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}$, the identity we want to check becomes

$$\frac{\Gamma(\frac34)\Gamma(\frac12)}{\Gamma(\frac54) (\sqrt{3})^{1/4}}\int_0^\omega \frac{dt}{\sqrt{1+t^4}} \stackrel{?}{=} \frac{2\sqrt{2}}{3\sqrt[8]{3}} \pi\tag{*1}$$

Let $K(m)$ be the complete elliptic integral of the first kind associated with modulus $m$. i.e.

$$K(m) = \int_0^1 \frac{dx}{\sqrt{(1-x^2)(1-mx^2)}}$$ It is known that $\displaystyle K(\frac12) = \frac{8\pi^{3/2}}{\Gamma(-\frac14)^2}$. In term of $K(\frac12)$, it is easy to check $(*1)$ is equivalent to

$$\int_0^\omega \frac{dt}{\sqrt{1+t^4}} \stackrel{?}{=} \frac23 K(\frac12)\tag{*2}$$

To see whether this is the case, let $\varphi(u)$ be the inverse function of above integral. More precisely, define $\varphi(u)$ by following relation:

$$u = \int_0^{\varphi(u)} \frac{dt}{\sqrt{1+t^4}}$$

Let $\psi(u)$ be $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(\varphi(u) + \varphi(u)^{-1})$. It is easy to check/verify $$ \varphi'(u)^2 = 1 + \varphi(u)^4 \implies \psi'(u)^2 = 4 (1 - \psi(u)^2)(1 - \frac12 \psi(u)^2) $$

Compare the ODE of $\psi(u)$ with that of a Jacobi elliptic functions with modulus $m = \frac12$, we find

$$\psi(u) = \text{sn}(2u + \text{constant} | \frac12 )\tag{*3}$$

Since we are going to deal with elliptic functions/integrals with $m = \frac12$ only, we will simplify our notations and drop all reference to modulus, i.e $\text{sn}(u)$ now means $\text{sn}(u|m=\frac12)$ and $K$ means $K(m = \frac12)$.

Over the complex plane, it is known that $\text{sn}(u)$ is doubly periodic with fundamental period $4 K$ and $2i K$. It has two poles at $i K$ and $(2 + i)K$ in the fundamental domain. When $u = 0$, we want $\varphi(u) = 0$ and hence $\psi(u) = \infty$. So the constant in $(*3)$ has to be one of the pole. For small and positive $u$, we want $\varphi(u)$ and hence $\psi(u)$ to be positive. This fixes the constant to $i K$. i.e.

$$\psi(u) = \text{sn}(2u + iK )$$

and the condition $(*2)$ becomes whether following equality is true or not.

$$\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} (\omega + \omega^{-1}) \stackrel{?}{=} \text{sn}( \frac43 K + i K)\tag{*4}$$

Notice $ 3( \frac43 K + i K) = 4 K + 3 i K $ is a pole of $\text{sn}(u)$. if one repeat apply the addition formula for $\text{sn}(u+v)$

$$\text{sn}(u+v) = \frac{\text{sn}(u)\text{cn}(v)\text{dn}(v)+\text{sn}(v)\text{cn}(u)\text{dn}(u)}{1-m\,\text{sn}(u)^2 \text{sn}(v)^2}$$

One find in order for $\text{sn}(3u)$ to blow up, $\text{sn}(u)$ will be a root of following polynomial equation: $$3 m^2 s^8-4 m^2 s^6-4 m s^6+6 m s^4-1 = 0$$ Substitute $m = \frac12$ and $s = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(t+\frac{1}{t})$ into this, the equation $\omega$ need to satisfy is given by:

$$(t^8 - 6 t^4 - 3)(3 t^8 + 6 t^4 - 1 ) = 0$$

One can check that $\omega = \sqrt[4]{\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2-\sqrt{3}}}$ is indeed a root of this polynomial. As a result, the original equality is valid.

achille hui
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    A nice solution! (+1) Can we verify the other integrals in the same way? – Shobhit Bhatnagar Oct 31 '13 at 09:35
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    @Integral, I don't know but I fear the chance is slim. The radicals in the other question has degree > 4! So the functions involved should be hyper-elliptic instead of elliptic functions. Without an elliptic function around, it is sort of hard (at least for me) to impose non-trivial polynomial constraints on the parameters/values in the corresponding integrals. – achille hui Oct 31 '13 at 09:52
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    @achillehui This is brilliant! What about the integral $(3)$ from my question above? – Vladimir Reshetnikov Oct 31 '13 at 16:24
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    @VladimirReshetnikov Let $I(s) = \int_0^{s} \frac{dt}{\sqrt{1+t^6}}$, it is easy to verify (3) is equivalent to $I(\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}) = \frac12 I(\infty)$. If I didn't make any mistake, then $$\frac{(1-\sqrt{3})s^2+1}{(1+\sqrt{3})s^2+1} = \text{cn}\left( 2\sqrt[4]{3} I(s),\Big|,\frac{2+\sqrt{3}}{4} \right)$$ and (3) can be verified using the double angle formula for $\text{cn}(\cdot)$. – achille hui Nov 01 '13 at 02:59
24

Here is another approach for evaluating the integral (3).

Using @achille hui's transformation, we can write

$$ I=\int_0^1\frac{dx}{\sqrt[3]{x}\sqrt{1-x}\sqrt[6]{9-x}}= \frac{4\pi^2 2^{\frac{1}{3}}}{\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^3}\int_0^\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x^6}}dx $$ Using the substitution $x=\sqrt{t}$, we get $$ I=\frac{\pi^2 2^{\frac{4}{3}}}{\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^3}\int_0^\frac{1}{2}\frac{1}{\sqrt{t+t^4}}dt $$ We can now transform this integral into a beta integral using the substitution $t=\frac{1-y}{2+y}$. This gives us

\begin{align*} I &= \frac{\pi^2 2^{\frac{4}{3}}}{\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^3} \int_0^1\frac{1}{\sqrt{1-y^3}}dy \\ &= \frac{\pi^2 2^{\frac{4}{3}}}{3\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^3}B\left(\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{2} \right) \\ &= \frac{\pi^2 2^{\frac{4}{3}}}{3\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^3}\left( \frac{\sqrt{3}\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^3}{\pi 2^{\frac{4}{3}}}\right) \\ &= \frac{\pi}{\sqrt{3}} \end{align*}

0

This is my unworthy attempt at solving the integral. I’m not sure how to find the closed form of the final hypergeometric function

The integral to evaluate is $$ I = \int_0^1 \frac{\mathrm{d}x}{\sqrt{1-x}\ \sqrt[4]{x}\ \sqrt[4]{2 - x \sqrt{3}}} $$

We can rewrite the integrand as: $$ I = \int_0^1 x^{-1/4} (1 - x)^{-1/2} (2 - x \sqrt{3})^{-1/4} \mathrm{d}x $$

Factor out (2^{-1/4}) from the last term: $$ I = 2^{-1/4} \int_0^1 x^{-1/4} (1 - x)^{-1/2} \left(1 - \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}x\right)^{-1/4} \mathrm{d}x $$

This integral is in the form of an Euler-type integral representation for the Gauss hypergeometric function ${}_2F_1(a, b; c; z)$: $$ \int_0^1 t^{\beta - 1} (1 - t)^{\gamma - \beta - 1} (1 - z t)^{-\alpha} \mathrm{d}t = B(\beta, \gamma - \beta) \, {}_2F_1(\alpha, \beta; \gamma; z) $$

Comparing the two expressions, we identify: \begin{align*} \beta - 1 &= -\frac{1}{4} \implies \beta = \frac{3}{4}, \\ \gamma - \beta - 1 &= -\frac{1}{2} \implies \gamma - \frac{3}{4} - 1 = -\frac{1}{2} \\ &\implies \gamma - \frac{7}{4} = -\frac{1}{2} \implies \gamma = \frac{7}{4} - \frac{2}{4} = \frac{5}{4}, \\ \alpha &= \frac{1}{4}, \\ z &= \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}. \end{align*}

So the integral $I$ can be expressed as: $$ I = 2^{-1/4} B\left(\frac{3}{4}, \frac{1}{2}\right) \, {}_2F_1\left(\frac{1}{4}, \frac{3}{4}; \frac{5}{4}; \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right) $$

The Beta function (B(x, y)) is defined as $B(x, y) = \frac{\Gamma(x)\Gamma(y)}{\Gamma(x + y)}$. So, $$ B\left(\frac{3}{4}, \frac{1}{2}\right) = \frac{\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)}{\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4} + \frac{1}{2}\right)} = \frac{\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)}{\Gamma\left(\frac{5}{4}\right)}. $$

We know $\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{2}\right) = \sqrt{\pi}$ and $\Gamma(z + 1) = z \Gamma(z)$, so $\Gamma\left(\frac{5}{4}\right) = \frac{1}{4}\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)$. Thus, $$ B\left(\frac{3}{4}, \frac{1}{2}\right) = \frac{\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)\sqrt{\pi}}{\frac{1}{4}\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)} = \frac{4\sqrt{\pi}\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)}{\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)}. $$

Substituting this into the expression for $I$: \begin{align*} I &= 2^{-1/4} \frac{4\sqrt{\pi}\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)}{\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)} \, {}_2F_1\left(\frac{1}{4}, \frac{3}{4}; \frac{5}{4}; \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right) \\ &= 2^{7/4} \frac{\sqrt{\pi}\Gamma\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)}{\Gamma\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)} \, {}_2F_1\left(\frac{1}{4}, \frac{3}{4}; \frac{5}{4}; \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right) \end{align*}