NEC-LIST:Symbolic Integration

A few days ago, I asked for help in a search for an analytical answer to a
very "simple" integral. Thank you to all who answered.

It has been quite a constructive experience. I was able to get access to
Mathematica, Maple and Derive.

I am researching integrals of the form: Int (x^n).exp(r)/r.dx where r^2=x^2
+ c.

For n odd, there are explicit solutions to this problem. For n even, I
have not been able to derive any. that is when I thought about using a
symbolic tool.

The results are: Maple and Derive both quickly served up answers for n
odd, and both quickly new that they didn't have an answer for n even.
On the other hand, Mathematica didn't seem to know what it knew. Although
I would check any answer that I got from any of these engines, I would be
particularly careful about answers from Mathematica.

The end result of all this, is that my "simple" integral, the above with
n=2, still does not have an explicit solution - but at least now I know it's
not just me!

Malcolm M Bibby

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