Past exam of the differential equations 2 course of the University of Oxford 2017 3 a ii Solution 2026-10-31
Substitute a Frobenius series into the transformed equation. For , equating the coefficient of gives the recurrence relationAt the larger indicial root , the coefficient of is , so a Frobenius solution always exists. At the smaller indicial root , the first two equations areSince , the exceptional equation is consistent exactly whenThese are both admissible values, including the zero value; the singular wording of the question does not remove either. This is the undetermined coefficient at Frobenius resonance: at either value is free, whereas otherwise the second independent solution requires a Logarithmic Frobenius solution.
Explicit pairs demonstrate sufficiency and linear independence. In the variable one may takeBoth displayed have leading term , while . They therefore give independent Frobenius solutions with the two indicial exponents, and direct differentiation verifies the equation. The point is an apparent regular singular point in these two cases.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2006 Paper 1 6 iii Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
Substituting into the recurrence, and into the recurrence, satisfies every coefficient equation. They give and . Thus on a positive interval not crossing a singular point,Their Wronskian is , nonzero for , , proving independence on each ordinary interval. Both functions are analytic near , so this is an apparent regular singular point: a pole in normalized coefficients need not force a singular solution. The Wronskian can vanish at that singular point without making the two functions linearly dependent on an ordinary interval.