Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-2/4/b/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 2 4 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For this real integral choose , so the upper bank of the positive real axis has . Use a counterclockwise keyhole contour with inner radius and outer radius , enclosing . The upper-bank contribution tends to . On the lower bank, , and the reversed orientation makes its contribution .
The large arc is because , while the small arc is . Both vanish, givingThe residues on this branch areThe residue theorem yieldsThereforeThe branch cut in (a) was arbitrary; here placing it on the integration axis makes the bank contributions directly proportional to the desired positive-real integral.
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