Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-perturbation-methods-and-applied-complex-variables-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/a/3/i/solution
Past exam of the perturbation methods and applied complex variables course of the University of Oxford 2009 A 3 i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Choose in the WKB approximation and substitute . The leading equation isso take . At the next order,givingup to an absorbed constant. Label the recessive and dominant branches respectively byThe formal outer solution is . The point zero is a simple wave turning point: vanishes and the WKB amplitude diverges.
The boundary condition at infinity selects , with to be fixed by matching. This statement concerns the actual recessive branch. One cannot literally send in the truncated small- formulas: their ordering fails when is no longer small, and their common Gaussian factor would then spuriously suggest that both branches decay.
To justify the selection, remove the first derivative exactly with . ThenThe coefficient is positive for , so it has distinct dominant and recessive branches. For very large , the dominant branch restores growth of exponential rate , while the recessive branch decays. Matching to this recessive branch removes .
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