Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / iii / Paper 72 / 2 / a / ii / Solution

Use the same method of multiple scales and its solvability condition in the method of multiple scales. The position-dependent damping function is odd, so the lemma that odd position-dependent damping has zero first-order amplitude drift applies. In its wave amplitude average, $\psi \mapsto \psi +\pi$ changes $\sin (A\cos \psi )$ to its negative while preserving ${\sin }^2\psi$, so the average is zero. Hence $A^{\prime }=0$; the wave phase average again gives ${\theta }^{\prime }=0$.

Equivalently, expand the position-dependent damping in its uniformly convergent power series for bounded $A$. Each term ${\cos }^{2m+1}\psi \sin \psi$ has only even sine Fourier harmonics, so none resonates with the unit-frequency oscillator. With the initial wave amplitude and wave phase unchanged, the leading uniform approximation isThere is no first-order slow drift. Effects at the next order accumulate only an $O(ϵ)$ correction on this time scale.