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Prove that

$$\int_0^\pi \ln(1+\alpha \cos x)\, dx= \pi \ln\left(\frac{1+\sqrt{1-\alpha^2}}{2}\right).$$

This question is under the Leibnitz's Rule section of my book, but I'm not sure if you're supposed to use it here. Using it simply gives the derivative of $\ln(1+\alpha \cos x)$ with respect to $\alpha$, which isn't really useful. Can anyone help?

Edit: So I've taken some suggestions from the comments and worked out the question. I was able to get pretty close to the answer, but I'm unable to get the answer exactly. I've skipped a couple of steps here, but do let me know if I did something wrong.

$$I(a)=\int_0^\pi \ln(1+\alpha \cos x)\, dx$$

$$I'(a)=\int^\pi_0\frac{cosx}{1+acosx}dx$$

$$I'(a)=\frac{1}{a}\int^\pi_0\frac{acosx+1-1}{1+acosx}dx$$

$$I'(a)=\frac{1}{a}[\pi-\int^\pi_0\frac{1}{1+acosx}dx]$$

By the Tangent Half-Angle Substitution,

$$I'(a)=\frac{1}{a}[\pi-\int^\pi_0\frac{1}{1+acosx}dx]$$

$$I'(a)=\pi[\frac{1}{a}-\frac{1}{\sqrt {1-a^2}}]$$

$$I(a)=\int\pi[\frac{1}{a}-\frac{1}{\sqrt {1-a^2}}]da$$

Using normal integrating techniques,

$$I(a)=\pi[ln\sqrt{1-a^2}+1]$$

Note that I can't get the last term, $\pi ln2$. If I can get this last term, I can get the answer. Now, I'm wondering if it is because it is a constant term, and thus when I have differentiated by $a$, in the beginning, the information in that term is lost. Can someone help me continue or point out where I went wrong?

koifish
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