Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/10/b/solution

Take and , and write and . Substitution of into the forced harmonic oscillator equation gives
Equating the independent sine and cosine coefficients yields
Thus the required phase matching for a displacement referenced driven oscillator is
For a positive amplitude , one must also choose the correct quadrant: and . Squaring and adding the coefficient equations gives
For arbitrary forcing phase, the steady response is instead , where has the sine and cosine just specified. A change of time origin can put this displacement into , but it also changes the stated forcing phase.
The source's requested parameter list for omits ; in general it cannot be omitted. As a concrete counterexample, take and . The prescribed cosine response exists for every , but , so fixing all four listed parameters does not fix the amplitude. Likewise, with fixed , positive damping and nonzero , the second coefficient equation prevents a nonzero pure-cosine response. The forcing phase is an essential part of the condition.

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