Calculate the integral of 1/(x + sqrt(x^2 – 1)) over the interval [-1, 1]
To calculate the integral:
$$ \int_{-1}^{1} \frac{1}{x + \sqrt{x^2 – 1}} dx $$
First, consider the substitution $ x = \cosh(t) $, which implies $ dx = \sinh(t) dt $.
When $ x = -1 $, $ t = i \pi $ and when $ x = 1 $, $ t = 0 $:
$$ \int_{i \pi}^{0} \frac{1}{\cosh(t) + \sinh(t)} \sinh(t) dt $$
Knowing that $ \cosh(t) + \sinh(t) = e^t $, the integral becomes:
$$ \int_{i \pi}^{0} \frac{\sinh(t)}{e^t} dt = \int_{i \pi}^{0} e^{-t} dt $$
Evaluating this gives:
$$ [ -e^{-t} ]_{i \pi}^{0} = -e^{0} + e^{-i \pi} = -1 + (-1) = -2 $$