Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ia/paper-2/5b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ia Paper 2 5B Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The origin is an ordinary point, since the coefficients of the second-order linear differential equation are polynomials. Seek a power series . Matching the coefficients of and gives . Matching the coefficient of givesThus the four residue classes of indices modulo four evolve separately. The initial conditions for the first solution give , , and henceThe second set of initial conditions gives , , andAn empty product equals one. In either power series, the ratio of successive nonzero terms tends to zero for every fixed : the coefficient ratio is of order , while the power increases by four. The ratio test therefore proves convergence for every , and termwise differentiation verifies the differential equation. These normalized solutions are linearly independent.
For their Wronskian , differentiating and substituting the differential equation givesThus the Abel identity yieldsOn the interval containing zero where has no zero,Since , integration proves the requested reduction of order formula:This is a local formula around the origin, as requested. The power series define both solutions globally; an ordinary integral through a zero of is not intended. Reduction of order across a zero of the known solution instead uses continuation of the actual solution.
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