Gaussian Integral - Relation To The Gamma Function

Relation To The Gamma Function

The integrand is an even function,

Thus, after the change of variable, this turns into the Euler integral

where Γ is the gamma function. This shows why the factorial of a half-integer is a rational multiple of . More generally,

Read more about this topic:  Gaussian Integral

Famous quotes containing the words relation to, relation and/or function:

    “You must realize that I was suffering from love and I knew him as intimately as I knew my own image in a mirror. In other words, I knew him only in relation to myself.”
    —Angela Carter (1940–1992)

    “There is a constant in the average American imagination and taste, for which the past must be preserved and celebrated in full-scale authentic copy; a philosophy of immortality as duplication. It dominates the relation with the self, with the past, not infrequently with the present, always with History and, even, with the European tradition.”
    —Umberto Eco (b. 1932)

    “Uses are always much broader than functions, and usually far less contentious. The word function carries overtones of purpose and propriety, of concern with why something was developed rather than with how it has actually been found useful. The function of automobiles is to transport people and objects, but they are used for a variety of other purposes—as homes, offices, bedrooms, henhouses, jetties, breakwaters, even offensive weapons.”
    —Frank Smith (b. 1928)