Let and . Their cross partial derivatives agree: . On the simply connected plane, this makes the differential form exact. Integrating gives ; matching then requires , so one potential is
The ordinary differential equation states along a solution. Its initial condition fixes the constant to . Hence the solution is specified implicitly by
At the initial point , so the implicit function theorem guarantees a unique local branch through that point.
The real equation has domain . Its integrating factor is
Thus the linear ordinary differential equation becomes . After integration, . The initial condition gives , hence
The first initial condition gives . The original first equation gives , whereas the general solution gives . Thus and
The corresponding has , checking the other initial condition.
Where , divide by it to obtain . The integrating factor is , and the product rule gives
The initial condition gives . Hence
The simplified expression has a differentiable extension through , with . Direct substitution verifies the original undivided differential equation there as well: its left side is . Thus the maximal interval containing on which this solution is finite is ; the apparent exclusion of arose only from division by . This is continuation through a zero of the leading ODE coefficient.
For this first-order linear differential equation, an integrating factor on an interval avoiding zeros of is . The product rule then gives
The initial condition gives , hence . Thus
The displayed interval is the maximal one containing the specified initial point, since the coefficient is undefined at its endpoints.
Again , but the principal inverse sine would give at . The required branch is , corresponding to . Therefore
At the bracket is , as required. Both the initial condition and the original differential equation are thus satisfied on the stated branch.
The initial condition gives . Since belongs to the principal inverse sine range, choose in part (i). The particular solution is
The upper endpoint is excluded because there and the original tangent ceases to be defined.
Use the substitution for a homogeneous first-order differential equation. Since , it gives
Where , this separable differential equation integrates to , hence . One can obtain the same relation without division by : the equation gives , so , including .
All real branches of the inverse sine are captured by
Each branch is used on an interval with and , with fixed . The strict inequality excludes zeros of , where the original tangent is undefined. When , the formula includes all straight-line solutions . Keeping both families of inverse sine branches is essential for the two different initial conditions below.
Here and , so the reduced ordinary differential equation is . Its repeated characteristic root gives . The first initial condition sets . The original equation gives , hence .
Recover to obtain
Direct differentiation verifies and both initial conditions.
The zero solution satisfies both the ordinary differential equation and the initial condition. The right-hand side is continuously differentiable in near , so the Picard-Lindelöf theorem gives local uniqueness; equivalently the nonzero family in part (a) can never take the value zero at . Thus
The restriction is the maximal interval containing on which the original ordinary differential equation is defined.
Using the general solution in part (a), the initial condition gives
Therefore the solution of this initial value problem is
The formula is used on the interval containing where the original ordinary differential equation and the displayed expression are defined.
The wave equation is a homogeneous linear partial differential equation. Consequently, if and solve it, every constant linear combination also solves it. This is the superposition principle, because partial differentiation distributes over the linear combination.
The same statement holds for the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. Initial conditions combine in the same way; an arbitrary combination need not retain a fixed nonzero initial displacement.
For the two travelling profiles, the initial conditions imply
Since , is constant. One may therefore choose
where the constants cancel in the sum. The D'Alembert formula then gives
This agrees exactly with the restricted-domain solution from part (b). The whole-line cosine profile already has zero spatial derivative at both and for every time, so its restriction satisfies the Neumann boundary conditions without further modification.
For the given differential form, set and . Their partial derivatives satisfy
In fact an explicit potential is
since and . Thus the differential form is an exact differential form on all of .
Replacing by suggests the potential
Direct differentiation verifies that is exactly the left-hand side of the required ordinary differential equation. This direct verification remains valid even for negative ; it does not require a real square root . Therefore
The initial condition gives . Solving this quadratic equation in and selecting the branch that has gives
The second expression also defines the removable value . The maximal open interval containing on which this is a differentiable real solution is
At either endpoint the square root vanishes and , while , so the original ordinary differential equation cannot hold there with a finite derivative.
At , the initial conditions imply
Differentiate the first relation and solve for the two derivatives:
Fix a reference point and set . Taking antiderivatives gives
The constants must be opposite to preserve the first initial condition; the arbitrary constant of integration does not change . Substitution yields D'Alembert's formula:
The fundamental theorem of calculus verifies that its time derivative at zero is , and its value at zero is . The oriented integral also makes the formula valid for negative .
Solving the transformed ordinary differential equation with its initial condition gives . The Fourier inversion theorem therefore yields
For the Gaussian multiplier suppresses large spatial frequencies, which explains the smoothing produced by heat conduction.
Complete the square in the Fourier transform exponent:
The supplied shifted Gaussian integral therefore gives
This is the Fourier transform of a Gaussian, with angular-wavenumber convention .
Take the spatial Fourier transform of the heat equation. Two integrations by parts, with decaying fields and first derivatives at infinity, give . Thus each mode satisfies the ordinary differential equation
Inserting the transformed initial condition and integrating the time equation gives
Finally set . The inverse Fourier transform, evaluated by the same Gaussian identity, gives
Equivalently the Gaussian initial data for the heat equation evolve as
The profile broadens and its peak decreases, while its total integral remains , as required by diffusion without loss on the whole line. Direct differentiation verifies the equation and the initial limit.