Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 72 2 a ii Solution 2026-10-06
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, changes to its negative while preserving , so the average is zero. Hence ; the wave phase average again gives .
Equivalently, expand the position-dependent damping in its uniformly convergent power series for bounded . Each term 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 correction on this time scale.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 72 2 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Introduce the slow time and use the method of multiple scales with , . The initial data give and . At first order the equation for the correction isThe averaged amplitude for position-dependent damping follows from the solvability condition in the method of multiple scales, which removes the resonant sine and cosine terms. With brackets denoting a full-period average, this givesThe wave phase average vanishes because changes sign under .
For the quadratic position-dependent damping, and , soSolving this logistic equation with gives . Thus the uniformly valid leading approximation isHere is any fixed finite positive constant. Bounded nonresonant corrections and the averaging estimate make the error uniform on this slow-time interval. The leading expression meets the position datum exactly and the velocity datum to leading order; the first-order correction supplies its adjustment.