Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 2 12B Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
For , the beta-integral evaluation givesDifferentiation under the integral sign near is justified by domination at zero and infinity. ThereforeWriting givesSincethe logarithmic moments of the Cauchy kernel yieldThe same expansion gives , agreeing with the supplied identity.
Choose a branch of the complex logarithm with , placing its branch cut down the negative imaginary axis. Thus for , while on the negative real axis for .
Integrate around an upper semicircle, with a small clockwise semicircular indentation above zero. The large arc contributes , and the small arc contributes . The only enclosed pole is , withWriting for the required integral, the negative real segment contributes . Hence the residue theorem givesThe imaginary terms cancel, leavingThe integral converges at both endpoints because is integrable near zero and is integrable at infinity. As a real-variable check, scaling reduces the result to the vanishing first logarithmic moment at , one of the logarithmic moments of the Cauchy kernel.