Derivative using Fundamental Theorem of Calculus when integrand has product of two functions

calculus

I want to find the derivative of the following:

$$exp \left( -\int_{t-\tau(t)}^t \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx \right)$$

I tried to use the Fundamental theorem of calculus of the form:

$$\frac{d}{dx}\int_0^x t^3 \,dx = f(x)\frac{dx}{dx} – f(0)\frac{d0}{dx} = x^3$$

(from Wikipedia) and I got something, but I'm not confident I followed all the rules correctly. I know to start with the chain rule to deal with the $exp()$, but then finding the derivative of the integral is mixing me up. My question for this part is, is it correct to start like this:

$$-\left(\frac{\mu(t)U(t)}{S}\frac{dt}{dt} – \frac{\mu(t-\tau(t))U(t-\tau(t))}{S}\frac{d(t-\tau(t))}{dt}\right)$$

or do I need to deal with the product of functions first before applying the FTC (e.g., via substitution or integrating by parts).

Sorry if this is a silly question. It's been a long time since I took calculus and I couldn't find a similar example online.

Thanks!

Best Answer

As you say, the $\exp$ part is straightforward, so let's look at the derivative of $$ Q = \int_{t-\tau(t)}^t \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx. $$

A standard thing to do here is to write this as a sum of two integrals, splitting at some arbitrary (but fixed) point $b$: \begin{align} Q &= \int_{t-\tau(t)}^t \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx\\ &= \int_{t-\tau(t)}^b \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx + \int_b^t \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx\\ &= -\int_b^{t-\tau(t)} \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx + \int_b^t \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} \,dx\\ \end{align} Now you've got two terms, each of which is amenable to taking derivatives. For the first, you get the derivative $$ -\frac{\mu(t-v(t))U(t-v(t))}{S}\left(1 - v'(t) \right). $$ where that final factor comes from applying the chain rule. For the second, you get just $$ \frac{\mu(t)U(t)}{S}. $$

And that's the end of the story.

To answer the question you asked, though, suppose we define $$ H(x) = \frac{\mu(x)U(x)}{S} $$ Then you have $$ Q = \int_{t-v(t)}^t H(x) dx $$ to which you can apply the FTC, and the derivative involves a difference of expressions involving $H$, which you can then expand back out --- no need to integrate a product at all.

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