Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ib/paper-1/13c/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ib Paper 1 13C a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Put , so , and write . Choose the branch of the complex logarithm with , whose cut is the downward imaginary axis. Define and integrate along the positively oriented upper semicircle, indented above zero. The straight pieces run from to and from to ; the small arc runs clockwise from argument to zero.
On the negative real axis , so the two straight pieces tend to . The outer arc is and the inner arc is , both tending to zero. The only enclosed pole is , with residue . The residue theorem therefore givesUsing yieldsThe same bounds show convergence of the real integral at both zero and infinity.
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