Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/undated/prelims/mathematics-iii-resit/1/b/solution

The product rule gives and . On an interval avoiding , substitution and division by give
For a constant-coefficient differential equation, the coefficient of forces . At , the remaining coefficient also vanishes. Thus
The characteristic equation of a constant-coefficient differential equation is , with complex conjugate roots of a polynomial . Its real solutions and are linearly independent. Therefore the general solution is
The constants can be chosen independently on the two sides of the singular point. The power substitution reducing a differential equation to constant coefficients here is invertible wherever .

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