Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-1-and-differential-equations-1-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/6/b/solution
Past exam of the algebra 1 and differential equations 1 course of the University of Oxford 2015 6 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
In position-velocity variables , the scalar right-hand side isIts 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 obeyThe ball is convex, so integrating these partial derivatives along a segment between two states gives the uniform Lipschitz conditionContinuity holds on the whole slab, andThus , , 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 yieldsThis 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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