"For which alpha does the integral int_2^+inf ( e^(alpha x)/((x−1)^alpha ln x) converge? For which values of α does the integral int_2^+inf ( e^(alpha x)/((x−1)^alpha ln x) dx converge?

saucletbh

saucletbh

Answered question

2022-09-20

For which α does the integral 2 + e α x ( x 1 ) α ln x d x converge?
For which values of α does the integral
2 + e α x ( x 1 ) α ln x d x
converge?
I'm lost here.
For simplicity, let us denote the above integral as I 1
I was able to prove (I noticed that it's kind of standard exercise though) that:
I 2 = 2 + 1 ( x 1 ) α ln β x
I2 converges for α > 1 and   β.
converges for α = 1 and β > 1. For β 1 it diverges.
diverges for α < 1 and   β.
So my strategy was to use I 2 to prove the converges/divergence of I 1 , by means of inequalities, but I get nothing from this.
For instance I did the following:
For α > 1 we have that
0 < 2 + d x x α ln x 2 + e α x ( x 1 ) α ln x d x
That is, for β = 1
0 < I 2 I 1
From 1. we know that I 2 converges, but this doesn't tell us anything about the convergence of I 1 .
The answer given by my textbook is that I 1 converges for α < 0, but I don't know how to arrive at that conclusion.

Answer & Explanation

Cremolinoer

Cremolinoer

Beginner2022-09-21Added 11 answers

The main point is that exponentials are always going to dominate polynomials Specifically, for any ϵ > 0 there exists a constant C ϵ such that e x C ϵ ( x 1 ) ϵ for all x 2. This implies that for α > 0, e α x C ϵ α ( 1 x ) α ϵ , so choosing ϵ < 1 such that 0 < α ( 1 ϵ ) < 1, we find
e α x ( x 1 ) α log x C ϵ α 1 ( x 1 ) α ( 1 ϵ ) log x
and so by comparison with I 2 you know I 1 diverges. Similarly, if α < 0 then e α x / 2 C 2 α ( x 1 ) 2 α and hence
e α x ( x 1 ) α log x C 2 α / 2 1 ( x 1 ) α log x ,
so by comparison with I 2 you know I 1 converges.
hotonglamoz

hotonglamoz

Beginner2022-09-22Added 1 answers

What you've shown about the integral w/o the exponential factor is actually somewhat harder conceptually than the integral at hand. If α < 0 then the exponential factor is an exponential decay which overpowers any of the other behavior and will make the integral converge. If α > 0 ,, it's an exponential growth that will likewise make it diverge. α = 0 you've already handled.

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