For a piecewise continuous function of exponential order on , its unilateral Laplace transform isThe Bromwich inversion formula, at a point of continuity, isThe Bromwich contour is a straight vertical line, traversed upwards, with to the right of the abscissa of convergence and hence of all singularities of the transform. Under the usual piecewise smoothness assumptions, at a jump the symmetric inversion limit gives the mean of the two one-sided values.
In the transform in the question, put . Then andThus the restricted Mellin transform on the unit interval is the Laplace transform of . Apply the Bromwich inversion formula with , where , to obtainHere lies in the convergence half-plane of . At a discontinuity this formula has the same mean-value interpretation. The real natural logarithm defines unambiguously.