Closed curve line integral over conservative field not equal to $0$

line-integralsmultivariable-calculusvector analysis

In the screenshot below, I am trying to evaluate two closed line integrals over the regions $C_1=x^2+y^2=1$ and $C_2=4x^2+9y^2=36$. In this specific case, however, the partials of the line integral are equal to each other ($P_y=Q_x$). Thus, since this is a conservative field over a closed path, the integrals should evaluate to 0 (which means they are equal).

The part I do not understand is part B, where we are asked to actually evaluate the two line integrals. Parametrizing the path $x^2+y^2 = 1$ and evaluating it yields $2\pi$ — which I do not get. If the vector field is conservative, and the path is closed, how does the line integral evaluate to a non-zero value?

Thanks for all the help!

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Best Answer

You’re making a common mistake: when the domain isn’t simply connected, being irrotational doesn’t always mean that the vector field is conservative. In this case, there’s a hole in the domain at the origin, so the integral along a closed path that surrounds this hole might not vanish.