Double Integral 51
Hard Iterated Integrals

Calculate the following integral: double integral over D

Calculate the following integral: $$ \iint_D x^2y\sqrt{1-x^3-y^3}\,dx\,dy, $$ where $D$ is the region $x\geqslant0$, $y\geqslant0$, $x^3+y^3\leqslant1$.

Explanation of Method

The substitution $u=x^3$, $v=y^3$ removes all the cube-root structure from the region (turning it into the flat triangle $u+v\leqslant1$) and, remarkably, the extra Jacobian factors combine with $x^2$ to cancel exactly, leaving a clean integrand $v^{-1/3}(1-u-v)^{1/2}$. A further substitution reduces the $u$-integral to a power function, and the remaining $v$-integral is precisely the Beta function integral.

  1. Substitute $u=x^3$, $v=y^3$ to flatten the region into a triangle.
  2. Integrate with respect to $u$ using $w=1-u-v$.
  3. Recognize the remaining $v$-integral as a Beta function integral.

Step 1 · Change of variables

Let $u=x^3$, $v=y^3$, so $x=u^{1/3}$, $y=v^{1/3}$, $dx=\frac13u^{-2/3}\,du$, $dy=\frac13v^{-2/3}\,dv$. The region becomes $u\geqslant0,\,v\geqslant0,\,u+v\leqslant1$, and:

$$ x^2y\sqrt{1-x^3-y^3}\,dx\,dy = u^{2/3}v^{1/3}\sqrt{1-u-v}\cdot\frac19 u^{-2/3}v^{-2/3}\,du\,dv = \frac19 v^{-1/3}\sqrt{1-u-v}\,du\,dv. $$

$$ I = \frac19\int_0^1\int_0^{1-v} v^{-1/3}(1-u-v)^{1/2}\,du\,dv. $$

Step 2 · Integrate with respect to $u$

Fix $v$ and let $w=1-v-u$; when $u=0$, $w=1-v$, and when $u=1-v$, $w=0$:

$$ \int_0^{1-v}(1-u-v)^{1/2}\,du = \int_0^{1-v} w^{1/2}\,dw = \frac23(1-v)^{3/2}. $$

$$ I = \frac{2}{27}\int_0^1 v^{-1/3}(1-v)^{3/2}\,dv. $$

Step 3 · Recognize the Beta function

Using $\displaystyle B(p,q)=\int_0^1 v^{p-1}(1-v)^{q-1}\,dv$ with $p-1=-\frac13$ and $q-1=\frac32$, i.e. $p=\frac23$, $q=\frac52$:

$$ I = \frac{2}{27}\,B\!\left(\frac23,\frac52\right). $$

Step 4 · Express in terms of the Gamma function

$$ B\!\left(\frac23,\frac52\right) = \frac{\Gamma\!\left(\frac23\right)\Gamma\!\left(\frac52\right)}{\Gamma\!\left(\frac{19}{6}\right)}, \qquad \Gamma\!\left(\frac52\right)=\frac34\sqrt\pi, $$

so:

$$ I = \frac{2}{27}\cdot\frac{\frac34\sqrt\pi\,\Gamma\!\left(\frac23\right)}{\Gamma\!\left(\frac{19}{6}\right)} = \frac{\sqrt\pi\,\Gamma\!\left(\frac23\right)}{18\,\Gamma\!\left(\frac{19}{6}\right)}. $$


Additional Notes

Result

The solution to the integral is:

$$ \iint_D x^2y\sqrt{1-x^3-y^3}\,dx\,dy = \frac{2}{27}\,B\!\left(\frac23,\frac52\right) = \frac{\sqrt\pi\,\Gamma\!\left(\frac23\right)}{18\,\Gamma\!\left(\frac{19}{6}\right)} \approx 0.0569. $$