Seek a Frobenius solution with . Since , its lowest coefficient gives the indicial equation
Thus the repeated indicial root is . Equating the coefficient of before setting gives
For this becomes the linear recurrence relation
Every coefficient is fixed by , since the denominator never vanishes for . In particular and then every odd coefficient is zero. Therefore there is , not two merely because the indicial root repeats. If "power series" means an ordinary Taylor series with nonnegative integer powers, the only such solution is zero: its coefficient equation starts with and inductively forces all coefficients to vanish.
A second independent local solution is a logarithmic solution from a repeated Frobenius exponent. Indeed, Abel's identity gives . For the normalized first solution , reduction of order gives
After choosing the harmless multiplicative constant in the numerator, its integrand is , so . The nonzero logarithmic coefficient proves that this second solution is not another pure Frobenius solution.
Normalize the free leading coefficient to . The linear recurrence relation from part (b) gives
Consequently the first four nonzero coefficients are
and the single pure Frobenius solution is
For clarity about the second independent solution, a choice with no added multiple of is
These companion coefficients follow by reduction of order with the normalized Wronskian . The logarithm requires a local branch; it does not supply a second ordinary power series solution.
At zero the indicial equation is , with repeated indicial root zero. To exhibit the analytic solution rather than only its candidate exponent, clear the denominator in the normal form:
Substitute and equate coefficients. With for negative indices, the linear recurrence relation is
Every leading coefficient on the left is nonzero. Hence is free and all later coefficients are determined; the Frobenius method guarantees local convergence up to the next singularity. In particular,
For a second solution, use reduction of order. Writing gives , so part (c) yields
The additive constant in the integral only adds a multiple of . As within , its integrand is
Therefore
The nonzero Wronskian proves linear independence, and the logarithm is unavoidable for this second local solution.
In the shifted variable , substitute the Frobenius solution into . Equating the coefficient of gives
Thus the linear recurrence relation, valid for , is
For the indicial root , this becomes
For the indicial root , rename the coefficients ; then
With , the first terms of the two Frobenius solutions are
Let , the golden ratio. Since , multiplication by gives . Adding this recurrence relation to the one for yields
Thus the extra exponential term changes the initial values, but not the linear recurrence relation.
A nonzero root of multiplicity supplies independent solutions to a constant-coefficient linear recurrence relation. Substitution reduces its repeated factor to the th forward difference operator. A zero root needs separate initial-data treatment: for characteristic polynomial , the recurrence is , leaving the first values arbitrary.
Terminating Frobenius series Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
A terminating Frobenius series is a Frobenius method solution whose analytic power series factor has only finitely many nonzero coefficients. Its coefficient linear recurrence relation must allow the first omitted coefficient and all following coefficients to be zero. At an integer separation of characteristic exponents at a regular singular point, a resonant coefficient equation can become , permitting such a choice rather than forcing a logarithmic term. With exponent zero, termination produces a polynomial solution.
Consider the real matrix
The Cayley-Hamilton theorem gives . Consequently
Thus
All four entries come from just two scalar coefficients. If , multiplying once by and replacing gives the linear recurrence relation
Equivalently , with . The appearance of Fibonacci numbers is explained by , where advances the Fibonacci recurrence. No eigenvectors need to be computed.
Figure 1.
Cayley–Hamilton reduces powers of a chosen two-by-two matrix to two integer coefficients; the fifth power is 55A − 21I
. Details.
The same identity computes an inverse. Rearrange it as , giving
This works because the constant term of this characteristic polynomial is nonzero and the coefficients lie in a field. Generally, when over a field, rearranging the Cayley-Hamilton theorem expresses as a polynomial evaluated at a matrix. Over a general commutative ring, a nonzero constant need not be a unit; invertibility requires that extra condition.
Variable-coefficient affine recurrence Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-14
A variable-coefficient affine recurrence is a linear recurrence relation with coefficients allowed to depend on the index. If every is nonzero, a discrete integrating factor reduces it to a telescoping series.