Some expansions related to the Hubbell rectangular-source integral (Q1184802): Difference between revisions

The integral in question is given as follows: \[ f(a,b)=\int_ 0^ b\left[\arctan {a \over \sqrt{1+x^ 2}}\right] {dx \over \sqrt{1+x^ 2}} =\int_ 0^ 1 \int_ 0^ 1 {ab \over {1+a^ 2x^ 2+b^ 2y^ 2}} dx dy. \] With numerical evaluations in mind \((0\leq a\leq b<\infty)\), the authors derive, by standard methods, expressions of the form \(f=F+S\), where \(F\) is \(a\arctan b\) or \({\pi\over 2}\text{arsinh} a\), while \(S\) is an infinite series, the terms of which involve hypergeometric functions \(_ 2F_ 1\) or \(_ 3F_ 2\). (In (1.12), a factor \({a\over b}\) seems to be missing.) The truncation error is discussed, and some numerical examples are studied. As a generalization of \(f\), the authors consider the integral \[ H{{a,b,p,\lambda} \brack {\alpha,\beta,\gamma}}=a\int_ 0^ b x^ \lambda (x^ 2+p)^{-\alpha} {_ 2F_ 1}\left(\alpha,\beta;\gamma;-{a^ 2 \over {x^ 2+p}}\right) dx. \] Expressons which are anlogues of those obtained for \(f\) are established (there are some minor errors in these results). Reviewer's remark: \(H\) and \(f\) are, essentially, Appell functions \(F_ 2\), and the authors' series expressions for \(H\) and \(f\) could be readily obtained from a known analytic continuation formula.