 Solution

For real parameters, work on $x>0$ so arbitrary real powers are unambiguous. Taking derivatives givesThe residual after substitution isWhen $\gamma \ne 0$, $x^{\gamma }$ ranges over $(0,\infty )$. Evaluating at the zeros of the cosine first forces the sine coefficient to vanish; then the cosine coefficient vanishes identically. If $\gamma =0$, the nonzero constant $\cos 1$ cannot satisfy the equation. Thus the necessary and sufficient conditions areUnder these conditions the normalized coefficient is $p=(1-\gamma )/x$. The Abel identity gives $W=C{x}^{\gamma -1}$. Choose $C=\gamma$ and apply reduction of order on an interval where $\cos (x^{\gamma })\ne 0$:The substitution $u=x^{\gamma }$ evaluates the integral. After continuation across the cosine zeros,This is a power substitution for an oscillatory second-order equation: in the variable $u=x^{\gamma }$, the equation reduces to the harmonic oscillator equation.