Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-differential-equations-2-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/1/b/ii/solution

Expand in the Fourier sine basis, using unnormalized eigenfunctions:
Projection of onto each eigenfunction gives
When , every eigenvalue is nonzero and the eigenfunction expansion is uniquely determined:
When , the exceptional index is , for which the eigenfunction is . If , its coefficient equation is , an inconsistency: there is no solution. If , the coefficient equation is , and is arbitrary. The full family is
This is the Fredholm alternative directly in the coefficient equations: nonzero eigenvalues fix their coefficients; a zero eigenvalue requires zero forcing in that direction and leaves the corresponding coefficient free. An inconsistent equation at a zero eigenvalue cannot be repaired by assigning an infinite coefficient.
For convergence, Lipschitz continuity implies absolute continuity of , with bounded derivative almost everywhere. One integration by parts gives ; since the denominators grow quadratically, apart from the single free coefficient. The solution series and its first derivative therefore converge uniformly. The second derivative converges in , and the resulting Sobolev space solution satisfies . As is a continuous function, this is a classical solution, with both boundary conditions satisfied. The forcing's Fourier sine series is interpreted on the open interval or in ; its endpoint values need not equal the endpoint values of .

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