Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/paper-2/4/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2010 Paper 2 4 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Put and . The denominator of the complex rational function becomesThe quadratic formula gives its two zeros, hence the two poles:Their product is , so . To locate them one also needs to exclude the possibility of both lying on the unit circle. Here their moduli are explicit:Both are simple poles: takes the nonzero values and at them. In particular their residues are and .
For the real integral, use the change of variables . As runs from to , this traverses the unit circle once counterclockwise, andThus . Only is enclosed. The residue theorem, or Cauchy integral formula after subtracting its simple-pole part, givesThe real denominator is positive because . As an independent check, write ; a period shift reduces the answer to the existing reciprocal affine sine integral.
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