Any hint for evaluating $\int_0^\theta \sec^2(\phi)\cdot\sqrt{\sec2\phi}\,d\phi\;$

calculuselliptic integralsindefinite-integralsintegration

How can I evaluate this integral? $$\int_0^\theta \sec^2(\phi)\cdot\sqrt{\sec2\phi}\,d\phi$$

I tried integral by parts using $u = \sqrt{\sec2\phi}$ and $dv =\sec^2(\phi) d\phi$ but ended up falling into a worse integral to solve

If anyone is curious about the origin of the problem, this integral appears when I tried to calculate the length of a hyperbola projected onto a sphere via stereographic projection.

In Wolfram alpha I can get the result but I'm curious how to do it, anyway below is the wolfram result, where $E(\phi,2)$ is the Elliptic Integral of the Second Kind with $k=2$ and $F(\phi,2)$ Elliptic Integral of the First Kind with $k=2$

$$\sqrt{\sec(2\phi)} \left(\sqrt{\cos(2\phi)} E(\phi,2) + \sqrt{\cos(\phi)} F(\phi,2) – \sin(2\phi) + \tan(\phi) \right)$$

Best Answer

The substitution $$\tan \phi = t, \qquad \sec^2 \!\phi \,d\phi = dt$$ transforms the definite integral to $$\int_0^{\tan \theta} \sqrt{\frac{1 + t^2}{1 - t^2}} \,dt = E(t \mid -1)\big\vert_0^{\tan \theta} = E(\tan \theta \mid -1) ,$$ where $E$ is the incomplete elliptic integral of the second kind (N.b. notation conventions for elliptic integrals vary.) The first equality follows from recognizing the integral as the Legendre normal form of $E$ for $k^2 = -1$.

Notice that for $\theta = \frac{\pi}{4}$ the (then improper) integral is equal to $E(i) = \sqrt{2} E\left(\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\right)$, where here $E(\,\cdot\,)$ denotes the complete elliptical integral of the second kind.

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