Minor simplification problem in integral

[ijabbott]

(11-02-2018 10:39 PM)Carsen Wrote:  Hi ijabbott,

Try using the Partial Fractions command. I believe it accomplishes what you are aiming for.

Nearly. It produces a complex fraction:

\[\frac{\mathsf{ATAN}\left(\frac{x}{a}\right)}{2*a^2}+\frac{\frac{x}{2*a}}{a^2+x^2​}\]

Using 'expand' on that produces:

\[\frac{\frac{1}{2}*x}{a*(a^2+x^2)}+\frac{\frac{1}{2}*\mathsf{ATAN}\left(\frac{x}{​a}\right)}{a^2}\]

Which is pretty close to what I was expecting, although the 2s in \(\frac{1}{2}\) could be moved to the bottom.