|   | 1 |  initial version  | 
FWIW :
sage: var("a")
a
sage: foo=1/((x-a)^(1/2)*x^(3/4))
sage: foo.integrate((x, 0, oo))
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
RuntimeError                              Traceback (most recent call last)
[ Snip... ]
ValueError: Computation failed since Maxima requested additional constraints; using the 'assume' command before evaluation *may* help (example of legal syntax is 'assume(a>0)', see `assume?` for more details)
Is a positive, negative or zero?` arguments fails
Well...
sage: with assuming(real(a)<0): gee=foo.integrate((x, 0, oo)) ; gee
beta(1/4, 1/4)/(-a)^(1/4)
sage: gee.simplify_factorial()
gamma(1/4)^2/(sqrt(pi)*(-a)^(1/4))
Following Sage's suggestion gives us an usable result for a<0 (and fails for a>=0, BTW).
Let's try someting else. Adding algorithm="sympy" to `integrate arguments fails, because the result cannot (yet) be translated back to Sage. Try it manually :
sage: import sympy
sage: sympy.integrate(*map(sympy.sympify, (foo, (x, 0, oo))))
Piecewise((-a*exp(3*I*pi/4)*gamma(1/4)**2/(sqrt(pi)*polar_lift(a)**(5/4)), (Abs(arg(a) + pi) < pi) | (Ne(1/a, 0) & (Abs(arg(a) + pi) < pi) & Ne(Abs(arg(a) + pi), pi))), (Integral(1/(x**(3/4)*sqrt(-a + x)), (x, 0, oo)), True))
which ultimately means $ \frac{a e^{\frac{3 i \pi}{4}} \Gamma^{2}\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)}{\sqrt{\pi} \operatorname{polar_lift}^{\frac{5}{4}}{\left(a \right)}} $ if abs(arg+pi)<pi, the latter reducing to real(a)<0 in I'm not confused.
Sympy fails to simplify the complicated expressions it uses (and cannot be translated to sage). But, FWIW :
sage: foo._mathematica_().Integrate((x, 0, oo))
ConditionalExpression[Gamma[1/4]^2/((-a)^(1/4)*Sqrt[Pi]), Re[a] < 0]
The real situation is therefore a tad moree complex than described.
Sage's can find an explicit form of the integral under a condition which it cannot find.
Sympy cannot find simplified expressions of its solution.
Mathematica agrees with Sage's integratin and seems to agree to Sympy's condition.
HTH,
 Copyright Sage, 2010. Some rights reserved under creative commons license. Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.
 
                
                Copyright Sage, 2010. Some rights reserved under creative commons license. Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.