Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-1/8/f/solution

At the smaller indicial root , the equation is : it leaves free. For , the valid recurrence is
Choosing makes every later coefficient zero. The resulting terminating Frobenius series is therefore
Substitution gives and ; the three terms in the equation sum to .
Termination is a permitted choice, not a condition forced on every smaller-root solution. Retaining the free adds the solution in part (e), so the general real solution on is . This is exactly the freedom explained by undetermined coefficient at Frobenius resonance. On either negative interval avoiding and , analogous real formulas use and .

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