Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ii/paper-3/7e/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 7E Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
After division by , the coefficients are and . At , and are analytic functions, so is a regular singular point. Its indicial equation is . There are no other finite singular points of a differential equation. At infinity the regular singular point criterion for a second-order equation would require , but ; hence infinity is an irregular singular point.
Substituting reduces the equation to , soA linearly independent pair is and . Their Wronskian is . The second has a removable singularity at and value , whereas the first has a simple pole, agreeing with the two characteristic exponents at a regular singular point, . The integer difference does not require a logarithm. At infinity has an essential singularity, consistent with the irregular singular point; the existence of the simpler solution does not make infinity regular.
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