Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-1-and-differential-equations-1-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/6/b/solution

In position-velocity variables , the scalar right-hand side is
Its only relevant singularity is . The initial state is separated from it. For an explicit application of part (a), take and in the L1 norm. On the resulting closed ball, , and .
The partial derivatives obey
The ball is convex, so integrating these partial derivatives along a segment between two states gives the uniform Lipschitz condition
Continuity holds on the whole slab, and
Thus , , and the choice satisfies the self-map and contraction bounds in part (a). This proves a unique solution on , with bounded away from zero there.
There is also a useful exact representation. Where , set , the logarithmic derivative. Differentiation cancels the quadratic term:
Solving this first-order linear differential equation gives , and a second integration yields
This function is positive and smooth for every real , satisfies both initial data, and verifies the original ordinary differential equation by direct differentiation. It therefore extends the unique local solution to the entire real line. The logarithmic-derivative reduction of a second-order equation explains why this apparently nonlinear example is explicitly integrable by integration.

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