This identity came out while solving the indefinite integral
I=∫dx(x+1)√x2+x+1
I got my answer as
I=F(x)=ln−1+√x2+x+1−1−2x+√x2+x+1
but the answer given in the book was
I=G(x)=lnx+√x2+x+1x+2+√x2+x+1
Checking the two answers with WA shows that both are correct.
So it is natural then to ask... what is the relation between these two expressions?
After some short struggle, I found that the relation is as follows:
−1+√x2+x+1−1−2x+√x2+x+1=(−1)⋅x+√x2+x+1x+2+√x2+x+1
One can easily prove this by letting a=√x2+x+1 and then doing some simple algebraic manipulations.
Of course (4) is true only for those real values of x for which both sides are well-defined.
The curious thing is that even though F(x) and G(x) have identical derivatives (identical when viewed as an expression of x, I mean), they are never simultaneously well-defined. Why? Because when f(x)=−1+√x2+x+1−1−2x+√x2+x+1 and g(x)=x+√x2+x+1x+2+√x2+x+1 are both defined and non-zero, they have opposite signs (as (4) shows). So we can take logarithm either from one or the other but not from both at the same time.
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