Class Nr.

The measure of the unit ball in Rn

The purpose of this section is to show an explicit formula representing the volume of the unit ball B1 p0q €
Rn . We use notation ωn  mpB1 p0qq for the Lebesgue measure of the unit ball, and S n
1 : B B1 p0q.
We are going to recall some theorems which are going to be used through this course and in this section.

Theorem 1. (Folland. Theorem 2.47) Suppose Ω is an open set in Rn and G : Ω Ñ Rn is a C 1 -

diffeomorphism (bijective, with a C 1 inverse). If f is a Lebesgue measurable function on GpΩq then f  G
is Lebesgue measurable on Ω. If f ¥ 0 or f P L1 pGpΩq, mq then
» »
f py qdy  f  Gpxq| det DxG|dx.
G Ω p q Ω

Theorem 2. (Folland. Theorem 2.49) There is a unique Borel measure σ  σn
1 on S n
1 such that the
Borel measure m, in Rn , is decomposed as m  ρ  σ, with ρ being the Borel measure in R. Moreover, if
f is Borel measurable on Rn , and f ¥ 0, or f P L1 pRn q then
» »8»
f pxqdx  f prx1 qrn
1 dσ px1 qdr (1)
Rn S n
1
»8»
0

 f px1 qdσ px1 qdr. (2)

0 BBr p0q
The last formula is known as the polar coordinates formula in Rn . It is no more but a generalization
of the classical polar (and spherical) coordinates system in lower dimensions.

Exercise 1. By using a change of variable, prove equality (2).

Last theorem has a simple version in the case that function f is radial (that is, symmetric with respect
to the origin in Rn . For example f px1 , x2 q  ex1 x2 is symmetric in R2 because f px1 , x2 q  g prq with
2 2

g prq  er .)
2

Corollary 1. If f is a measurable function on Rn , nonnegative or integrable, such that f pxq  g p|x|q for
some function g on p0, 8q (that is, f is radial), then
» »8
f pxqdx  mpS
n 1
q g prqrn
1 dr. (3)
Rn 0

Let us recall the classical polar coordinates in R2 and R3 to compare with formulas (2), and (3).
For the polar coordinates in R2 we have the diffeomorphism

G : p0, 8q  S 1 ÝÑ R2 zt0u
pr, θq ÞÝÑ px, yq  Gpr, θq : pr cos θ, r sin θq.

1
 Then G is a diffeomorphism and
 Bf
B f1

 Bf2 BBfθ2
B
1
Jr,θ r

 Br Bθ

 cos θ
r sin θ ,
sin θ r cos θ

which implies | det Jr,θ  r|.

Thus, applying Theorem 1,
» »
f px, y qdpx, y q  f  Gpr, θq| det Dr,θ G|dpr, θq
R2 p0,8qS 1
» 8 » 2π
 f pr cos θ, r sin θqrdθdr
0 0
»8 » 2π
 f prpcos θ, sin θqqrdθdr
0 0
»8 » 2π
 f prx1 qrdx1 dr.
0 0

Observe that x1 : pcos θ, sin θqT is a unitary vector in R2 .

Exercise 2. Do the same we did above in the three-dimensional case. That is, let

G : p0, 8q  S 2 ÝÑ R3 zt0u
pr, θ, ϕq ÞÝÑ px, yq  Gpr, θq : pr cos θ cos ϕ, r sin θ sin ϕ, r sin ϕq.
Prove that G is a diffeomorphism by finding the determinant of the Jacobian matrix and apply Theorem 1
to get an explicit formula for the integral of any function f P L1 pR3 q.

Exercise 3. Find the general polar coordinates in Rn through the following diffeomorphism:

G : Rn zt0u ÝÑ p0, 8q  S n
1



x ÞÝÑ pr, θq  Gpxq : |x|, |xx| .

Prove that G is a diffeomorphism by finding the determinant of the Jacobian matrix and apply Theorem 1
to get equation (1) for any function f P L1 pRn q.

0.1 How to use polar coordinates to find the measure of the unit ball?
Let »8
I : e
x dx.
2

8

2
 Then, by Fubini’s theorem, and using polar coordinates in R2 ,
»8 »8
 e
x dx e
y dy
2 2 2
I

8
»8 »8

8
 e
x
y dxdy
2 2

»
8
8
 e
x
y dxdy
2 2

R2
» 8 » 2π
 e
r rdθdr
2

0
»8
0

 2π e
r rdr.
2

Then, by making the change of variables s  r2 , we obtain

»8
I 2
π e
s ds  π.
0

As a general fact, we summarize this as the following formula:

»8
?
e
x dx 
2
π.

8
Exercise 4. Last process can be repeated inductively. Prove that, for a real number a ¡ 0, one has
»
π n{2
e
ax dx 
2
.
Rn a

0.1.1 The Gamma Function

If x P R, x ¡ 0, let the Gamma function given by
»8
Γpxq : tx
1 e
t dt.
0

Last integral is finite (why?). It is very easy to prove the following properties.
Exercise 5. Prove the following properties of the Gamma function.
1. Γp1q  0

 ?π
1

2. Γ 2

3. Γpx 1q  xΓpxq (Integration by parts formula)

4. Γpnq  pn
1q!, n P N

 n
21 n
23    12 ?π, n P N
1
  
5. Γ n 2
 
6. 1
2
Γ n 1
2
 nΓ n2 , n P N
Proposition 1.
2π n{2
mpS n
1 q  .
Γ n2

3
Proof. By using Exercise 4, with a  1, and since e
|x| is radial, by applying Corollary 1,
2

»
π {  e
|x| dx
n 2 2

n
»R8 »
 e
r rn
1 dσ px1 qdr
2

S n
1
0
»8
 mpS
n 1
q rn
1 e
r dr.
2

Thus, by making the change of variables t  r2 ,

»8
π {
n 2
 mpS
q t
e
t 2tdt1{2
n 1 n 1
2

»0
mpS n
1 q 8
1
t
 2
t e dt
n
2

0
mpS n
1 q
n
 2
Γ
2
.

Corollary 2.
π n{2
mpB n q  n
.
Γ 2
1

Proof. Indeed, by the polar coordinates formula in Rn applied to the function f pxq  1,
»
mpB n
q : 1dx
Bn
»1
 mpS
n 1
q rn
1 dr
0

 mpS n
1q n1 .

Remark 1. Note that

mpS n
1 q  nmpB n q  nωn .