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Let

$\int_\gamma z(e^{z^2}+1)dz,$

where $\displaystyle \gamma(t)=e^{it},t \in \left[0,\frac{\pi}{2}\right]$.

In order to apply Cauchy's integral formula, I'll set $f(z)=z^2\left(e^{z^2}+1\right)$ and rewrite

$\int_\gamma z(e^{z^2}+1)dz=\int_\gamma \frac{f(z)}{z} dz.$

$f(0)=0$, so we would have $\int_\gamma z(e^{z^2}+1)dz=0$

Unfortunately, this seems to be wrong, because another evaluation from the source, where I've taken this integral yields $\displaystyle \frac{e^{-1}-e}{2}-1$. Where did I make a mistake?

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    Yes, because of that.2012-07-23

1 Answers 1

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The only thing you need Cauchy for in this problem is to tell you that you're allowed to integrate over a different path with the same endpoints. For instance, consider the change of variable $u=z^2$. Then $ \int_{\gamma}z\left(e^{z^2}+1\right)dz=\frac{1}{2}\int_{\gamma'}\left(e^u+1\right)du, $ where $\gamma'(t)=e^{it}$, $t\in[0,\pi]$. The integrand has no poles, so you can integrate over any contour with the same endpoints ($+1$ and $-1$) without changing the value; in particular you can just evaluate the real integral $ \frac{1}{2}\int_{+1}^{-1}\left(e^u+1\right)du = -\frac{1}{2}\left(e^u + u\right)\Big\vert_{-1}^{+1}=\frac{e^{-1}-e}{2}-1. $