TITLE: Why is $-\int_{-\infty}^\infty \log\left[1+2f'(x)(1-\cos\phi)\right]\,dx$ equal to $\phi^2$?
QUESTION [10 upvotes]: I came across this integral involving the derivative $f'(x)$ of the Fermi function $f(x)=(1+e^x)^{-1}$:
$$I(\phi)=-\int_{-\infty}^\infty \log\left[1+2f'(x)(1-\cos\phi)\right]\,dx.$$
I'm pretty certain that $I(\phi)=\phi^2$ for $|\phi|<\pi$, periodically repeated, as in the plot. It means that only the ${\cal O}(\phi^2)$ term in a Taylor expansion of the integrand has a nonzero contribution, but I am unable to prove this. (Mathematica returns a polylog function, and will not simplify it further.) Any help would be much appreciated, I'm hoping such a simple answer will have a simple derivation --- perhaps without needing special functions?

REPLY [9 votes]: It is clear that $I(0)=0$, hence by Leibniz's integration rule, it suffices to show that
$$\int_{-\infty}^\infty\frac{-2f'(x)\sin\phi}{1+2f'(x)(1-\cos\phi)}\,dx=2\phi,\qquad |\phi|<\pi.$$
We can assume, without loss of generality, that $0<\phi<\pi$. By a bit of algebra, we can rewrite the last equation as
$$\int_{-\infty}^\infty\frac{e^x\sin\phi}{e^{2x}+2(\cos\phi)e^x+1}\,dx=\phi.$$
By the change of variables $u=(e^x+\cos\phi)/\sin\phi$, this becomes
$$\int_{\frac{\cos\phi}{\sin\phi}}^\infty\frac{du}{u^2+1}=\phi,$$
which in turn can be verified by calculus:
$$\int_{\frac{\cos\phi}{\sin\phi}}^\infty\frac{du}{u^2+1}=\arctan(\infty)-\arctan\left(\frac{\cos\phi}{\sin\phi}\right)=\frac{\pi}{2}-\left(\frac{\pi}{2}-\phi\right)=\phi.$$
The proof is complete.

REPLY [4 votes]: We have 
$$I(t)=-\int_{-\infty}^\infty l_x(t)\,dx,$$
where 
$$l_x(t):=l(t):=\ln(1+2f'(x)(1-\cos t)).$$
Next, 
$$l_x''(t)=l''(t)=-\frac{2 e^x \left(c \left(e^{2 x}+1\right)+2 e^x\right)}{\left(2 c e^x+e^{2 x}+1\right)^2},$$
where $c:=\cos t\in(-1,1]$ for $|t|<\pi$. 
So, by substitution $e^x=u$, for $c\in(-1,1]$, 
$$I''(t)=-\int_{-\infty}^\infty l''_x(t)\,dx=2,$$
which implies $I(t)=t^2$ for $|t|<\pi$ (since $l_x(0)=0=l'_x(0)$ and hence $I(0)=0=I'(0)$).