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Let $X=ϵx$ and suppose $k^2(X)$ stays positive and sufficiently smooth in the region considered. Write $y=\exp [{ϵ}^{-1}{S}_0(X)+S_1(X)+\cdots ]$ in ${ϵ}^2{y}_{XX}+k^2(X)y=0$. The leading and first transport equations of the WKB approximation areWith $K=\sqrt{k^2}>0$, they give $S_0^{\prime }=\pm iK$ and $S_1=-\frac{1}{2}\log K+\text{constant}$. Thus the leading WKB approximation for a slowly varying oscillator isThe amplitude is fixed by the transport equation, not just by replacing the constant wave number in a sinusoid. The local validity condition is that variation of $K$ over a wavelength is small, for example $|dK/dx|/K^2\ll 1$.

If $k^2=-{\kappa }^2<0$, the same calculation gives the evanescent formAt a classical turning point where $k^2$ vanishes, these amplitudes diverge and the separated WKB descriptions cease to be uniform. For a simple zero, an Airy turning-point connection formula replaces them in an $O({ϵ}^{2/3})$ interval in $X$; it connects oscillation to exponential behavior with the usual quarter-phase shift. A higher-order zero needs a different local canonical problem, so the Airy statement assumes a simple turning point.

For a smooth positive weight $r$ on the closed interval, let $T={\int }_0^{\pi }\sqrt{r(x)}dx$. The local wave number in the Sturm-Liouville problem is $\sqrt{\lambda }\sqrt{r}$, and the condition at zero selects a sine. Imposing the condition at $\pi$ gives the WKB quantization conditionFor weighted normalization ${\int }_0^{\pi }r|y_n{|}^{2}dx=1$, rapidly oscillating averaging gives $C_n\sim \sqrt{2/T}$. There is no turning-point phase correction here because $r$ stays positive at both endpoints with Dirichlet boundary conditions.

In the specified example $r(x)=(x+1{)}^{-2}$, so $T=\log (1+\pi )=L$ and ${\lambda }_n^{\mathrm{WKB}}=(n\pi /L{)}^2$. To solve exactly, set $t=\log (x+1)$ and $y=\sqrt{x+1}w(t)$. Direct differentiation reduces the Euler-Cauchy equation to $w^{\prime \prime }+(\lambda -1/4)w=0$ on $0<t<L$, with zero endpoint values. Hence the inverse-square weighted Dirichlet spectrum isValues $\lambda \le 1/4$ give no nonzero solution satisfying both endpoint conditions. The WKB eigenfunction shape after leading quantization is actually identical to this exact shape; the leading eigenvalue omits $1/4$.

Using the exact eigenvalue as the reference, its relative error isThus $n\ge 3$ is sufficient and necessary among positive integers. Referencing the approximate value instead gives $n>5L/\pi$, and the same integer answer.

Let $K(X)=|k(X)|>0$ on a smooth interval, with $X=ϵx$. For the WKB approximation for a slowly varying oscillator, writeSubstitution into ${ϵ}^2{y}_{XX}+K(X{)}^{2}y=0$ gives, at the first two orders,Thus $S_0^{\prime }=\pm iK$ and $S_1^{\prime }=-K^{\prime }/(2K)$. The leading WKB approximation isThe $K^{-1/2}$ amplitude is the transport correction accompanying the rapid wave phase. Real solutions are equivalent real sine and cosine combinations.

For validity, $K$ must be smooth, nonzero and slowly varying compared with the local wavelength. In physical $x$ derivatives, sufficient local checks are $|K_x|/K^2\ll 1$ and $|K_{xx}|/K^3\ll 1$. Indeed each displayed branch has relative residualSmooth positive $K(X)$ bounded away from zero has these properties on fixed slow intervals. At a zero of $k$ the WKB approximation fails and a classical turning point requires a different local analysis, often an Airy turning-point connection formula. Rapid variations, coefficient singularities and excessively long accumulation of wave phase error also lie outside this leading approximation.

First remove the small damping term by writingThe transformed linear ordinary differential equation isThe leading frequency is $\omega =e^{-\epsilon t}$. Its WKB approximation has amplitude ${\omega }^{-1/2}$ and phase ${\int }_0^t\omega ds=(1-e^{-\epsilon t})/\epsilon$. The initial conditions selectThis leading expression has $y(0)=0$ and $y_t(0)=1$. Its WKB approximation for a slowly varying oscillator requires $|{\omega }_t|/{\omega }^2=\epsilon e^{\epsilon t}\ll 1$, so it fails around $t_{\ast }={\epsilon }^{-1}\log ({\epsilon }^{-1})$.

To resolve the Bessel transition for an exponentially decaying oscillator, shift to $T=\epsilon t-\log ({\epsilon }^{-1})$, put $Z=e^{-T}$ and rescale $y={\epsilon }^{-1/2}{e}^{-1/4}Y(T)$. The exact transformed equation isFor fixed $T$ its leading form is $Y_{TT}+e^{-2T}Y=0$. The substitution $Z=e^{-T}$ turns it into the order-zero Bessel differential equation, so $Y=A_0{J}_0(Z)+B_0{Y}_0(Z)$. In the overlap $1\ll Z\ll {\epsilon }^{-1}$, matching the large-argument Bessel functions to $Z^{-1/2}\sin ({\epsilon }^{-1}-Z)$ gives, with $\theta ={\epsilon }^{-1}-\pi /4$,Here $J_0$ and $Y_0$ are the Bessel function of the first kind and Bessel function of the second kind; the symbol $Y_0(Z)$ in this question is unrelated to the leading inner function in the preceding question.

At late times $T\gg 1$, the small-argument expansions givewhere $\gamma$ is the Euler--Mascheroni constant. The solution becomes asymptotically linear rather than maintaining the exponentially growing WKB envelope. Its leading late-time slope is ${\epsilon }^{1/2}{e}^{-1/4}\sqrt{2/\pi }\cos \theta$. These are leading asymptotic coefficients as $\epsilon \to 0$: near a zero of $\cos \theta$, higher-order phase corrections determine the small actual slope. The formula is not an absolute-error estimate uniform to arbitrarily late times. The exact late slope of an exponentially damped oscillator, obtained from a Kummer function and a Wronskian, provides a separate check even near those exceptional phases.

Set $X=ϵx$. The equation becomesSince $k$ is positive for every $X\ge 0$, there is no classical turning point. The leading WKB approximation for a slowly varying oscillator isThe condition $y(0)=0$ selects a sine, and $y_x(0)=1$ fixes its coefficient. Sincethe result isThe WKB validity measureis uniformly $O(ϵ)$ and tends to zero at both ends of $X\ge 0$. With no turning point, the approximation is therefore uniformly valid on the entire stated half-line.

With $X=ϵx$, the equation isThe leading WKB approximation for a slowly varying oscillator isIt requires smooth nonzero $k$, $ϵ|k^{\prime }|/|k{|}^2\ll 1$, and distance from every classical turning point large compared with its turning-point scale.

For $k(X)=\sqrt{1+X^2}$,Since $k(0)=1$ and $k^{\prime }(0)=0$, the initial data select the cosine branch without an $O(1)$ phase correction. Hence, for $x>0$ in the WKB regime,