For each , the Green's function is a distribution in satisfying
Equivalently, is a classical homogeneous solution on each side of , satisfies the same endpoint conditions, and obeys the Green function jump conditions
To see equivalence, let and denote its jumps. The singular part of is . Matching a unit Dirac delta distribution with no derivative first forces continuity, then the unit derivative jump. Conversely these conditions produce exactly that distribution. The solution for a regular forcing is . The homogeneous endpoint problem has only the zero solution, which ensures uniqueness of this kernel.
In the distribution definition, the Green's function is characterized, for fixed , by
In the classical definition, solve separately for and , with those endpoint conditions, and impose
A jump in would introduce a distributional derivative of the Dirac delta, absent from the right side. Continuity eliminates it; integrating the equation across leaves one quarter of the derivative jump equal to one. These Green function jump conditions make the definitions equivalent. The forced solution is .