Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2018/8/b/solution

Substitute the power series and its termwise derivatives into the ordinary differential equation. The coefficient of , for , is
The bracket factors as , so the power-series solution of a differential equation satisfies
The odd and even recurrence relations terminate: , , and , , . Thus the full solution is . The two polynomials have independent initial data at zero, and the leading coefficient never vanishes on the real axis, so every real solution of a differential equation for this equation is their linear combination on the entire real axis. The given initial data select , :

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