Evaluate:∫10√1(1−t2)2−(n+1)2t2n(1−t2n+2)2dt
where n is any positive integer.
Introduction: This integral came up while studying the distribution of the roots of random polynomials - and I can't crack it. It seems impervious to methods of integration I know. Neither Mathematica nor Wolfram-Alpha could find a closed form, not only for this general integral, but any special case of n>1.
My attempt:
For n=1, the integral is pretty trivial to compute - expanding the integrand gives:
∫10√1t4−2t2+1−4t2t8−2t4+1
Which simplifies quite easily to:
∫101t2+1
The antiderivative of the integrand is tan−1t. Evaluating at the limits gives:
∫10√1t4−2t2+1−4t2t8−2t4+1=π4−0=π4
However, this method does not work for n>1, and niether does any method I know of.
Numerical values:
Listed below are the approximate numerical values for this integral. Neither Wolfram Alpha nor the Inverse Symbolic calculator were able to find closed forms for these numbers.
n=21.01868
n=31.17241
n=41.28844
n=51.38198
n=61.46049
Any help on this integral would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Answer
It appears that the integral when n=2 can be represented in terms of elliptic integrals:
I(2)=π2−1√6(Π(23∣13)−K(13)).
Here the arguments of elliptic functions follow Mathematica conventions: that is,
K(m)=∫π/20dθ√1−msin2θ
and
Π(n∣m)=∫π/20dθ(1−nsin2θ)√1−msin2θ.
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