Paper 3, Section II, C

Asymptotic Methods | Part II, 2016

Consider the integral

I(x)=011t(1t)exp[ixf(t)]dtI(x)=\int_{0}^{1} \frac{1}{\sqrt{t(1-t)}} \exp [i x f(t)] d t

for real x>0x>0, where f(t)=t2+tf(t)=t^{2}+t. Find and sketch, in the complex tt-plane, the paths of steepest descent through the endpoints t=0t=0 and t=1t=1 and through any saddle point(s). Obtain the leading order term in the asymptotic expansion of I(x)I(x) for large positive xx. What is the order of the next term in the expansion? Justify your answer.

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