How can I solve this equation:
((a^2 - 1)*((a^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[a] - a))/(2*Sqrt[2*(a^2 - 1)^4]) == C*x
I am looking a solution for $a$ in function of $x$. I tried Solve and similar methods but I got unevaluated expression.
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3 Answers
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11
One way: Derive the differential equation of the family (solve for the constant and differentiate); and use DSolve to solve it.
D[(1/x)((a^2 - 1)*((a^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[a] - a)) /
(2*Sqrt[2*(a^2 - 1)^4]) /. a -> a[x], x] // Together // Numerator;
{dsol} = DSolve[% == 0, a, x] /. C[1] -> c
(*
{{a -> Function[{x},
InverseFunction[-(1/2) Log[1 - #1^2] +
1/2 Log[-ArcTanh[#1] - #1 + ArcTanh[#1] #1^2] &][c + Log[x]/2]]}}
*)
Evaluating an InverseFunction on exact input can sometimes take a long time. Be sure to use approximate machine reals when plotting or doing other numerical work. (This is accomplished by N below. Alternatively one could use the iterator {x, -1., 1.} instead of {x, -1, 1} to specify the plot domain.)
Block[{c = 1},
Plot[a[N@x] /. dsol, {x, -1, 1}]
]
While InverseFunction can be inconvenient at times, the solution dsol does present a as a function of x and the parameter c.
Update: I guess I should point out that the inverse function is basically just the solution to the equation written in the form of an inverse function.
This simpler solution is equivalent to the produced by dsol:
{a -> Function[{x},
InverseFunction[1/(1 - #1^2)*(-ArcTanh[#1] - #1 + ArcTanh[#1] #1^2) &][Exp[2 c] x]]}
It is equivalent to the OP's original equation via Exp[2 c] == 2 Sqrt[2] C. (Please note that capital C is a Protected Mathematica symbol.)
answered Apr 17, 2016 at 14:50
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$\begingroup$ thank you for your answer. Your graph (dsol) presents solution to this equation and it looks like
Tanh[Constant*x], where Constant is related to c. For different values of c the shape ofTanh[]will be different. So, how can I find this Constant? For example, to have solution in form ofTanh[x]. $\endgroup$– JohnCommented Apr 17, 2016 at 22:53 -
$\begingroup$ @JohnM. You're welcome. I think you can see from this image that, while
dsolproduces a sigmoid-like plot similar toTanh, it is not in fact the same. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 17, 2016 at 23:23 -
$\begingroup$ Thank you again. This was useful. I noticed that I can not represent dsol with
Tanh[x], they are similar but not the same. However, is there a way to represent this curve (sigmoid function) with some function (approximate solution) in term of x? $\endgroup$– JohnCommented Apr 18, 2016 at 0:38 -
$\begingroup$ @Michael E2 Why you have another functional course? $\endgroup$– user36273Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 9:37
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1$\begingroup$ @JohnM. Over a finite interval, one can construct an interpolating function with
NDSolveorFunctionInterpolation, which would evaluate faster thanInverseFunction. Or one could use another approximation method, such as a Chebyshev series expansion I used here. One might try fitting a formula (seeFindFit,LinearModelFit, and the whole*Fitfamily). $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 9:59
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1
If it may also be a graphic solution? Consider:
FunctionDomain[ArcTanh[a], a]
(* -1 < a < 1 *)
((a^2 - 1)*((a^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[a] - a))/(2*Sqrt[2*(a^2 - 1)^4]) == c*x;
x[a_] = 1/c*((a^2 - 1)*((a^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[a] - a))/(2*Sqrt[2*(a^2 - 1)^4]);
With c as parameter
p = Plot[x[a] /. c -> 1, {a, -1, 1}, AxesLabel -> Automatic, GridLines -> Automatic]
p1 = Join @@ Cases[Normal@p, Line[x1__] :> x1, Infinity];
a = Interpolation@Thread@{Last /@ p1, First /@ p1}
Plot[a[x], {x, -3, 3}, GridLines -> Automatic, AxesLabel -> Automatic]
Edit
The easiest way to find the function a(x) is to build the inverse of f(a).
f = 1/c*((#^2 - 1)*((#^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[#] - #))/(2*Sqrt[2*(#^2 - 1)^4]) &;
a = InverseFunction@f
This function can be evaluated numerically with c as parameter, e.g.
c = 1;
Table[a[x], {x, -2, 2}] // N
(* {-0.888998, -0.76291, 0., 0.76291, 0.888998} *)
Plot[{f[x], a[x]}, {x, -2, 2}, GridLines -> Automatic,
PlotLegends -> {"f[x]", "a[x]"}, AspectRatio -> 0.8]
Edit 2
Please forgive me, I have a problem with the solutions. I follow here Michel E2's method.
f = ((a^2 - 1)*((a^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[a] - a))/(2*Sqrt[2*(a^2 - 1)^4]) - c x /. a -> a[x];
df = D[f, x] // Simplify
sol = DSolve[df == 0, a, x] /. C[1] -> 0
c = 1;
Plot[a[x] /. sol, {x, -2, 2}, GridLines -> Automatic]
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$\begingroup$ thank you for your solution. Using @MichaelE2's and your method I solved my problem. $\endgroup$– JohnCommented Apr 18, 2016 at 22:07
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I am going to give a generic answer which work in such cases. The main idea is to go numerical. You solve it for some parameter values and get an idea of the function which might be the answer.
dat = Table[{c, x,
a /. NSolve[((a^2 - 1)*((a^2 - 1)*ArcTanh[a] - a)) /(2*Sqrt[2*(a^2 - 1)^4])
== c x && 0 < a < 10, a][[1]]}, {c, 0.1, 1, .1}, {x, 0.1, 1., .1}]
dat1 = Flatten[dat, 1];
f = Interpolation[dat1];
Plot3D[f[c, x], {c, 0.1, 1}, {x, 0.1, 1}]
Ignore the Solve::rantz error message. Note that I use [[1]] and a range 0 < a < 10. This comes handy if you have multiple root and also gives faster result because it looks for root only within that region.
