Home page for accesible maths Math 101 Chapter 4: Taylor series and complex numbers

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4.45 Homogeneous second-order differential equation

Theorem

Let a,b,ca,b,c be real constants with a>0a>0, and let the differential equation ad2ydx2+bdydx+cy=0a{{d^{2}y}\over{dx^{2}}}+b{{dy}\over{dx}}+cy=0 have auxiliary equation as2+bs+c=0.as^{2}+bs+c=0.

(i) If there are distinct real roots pp and qq, then the general solution is

y(x)=Aepx+Beqx;y(x)=Ae^{px}+Be^{qx};

(ii) if there is a double real root pp, then the general solution is

y(x)=Aepx+Bxepx;y(x)=Ae^{px}+Bxe^{px};

(iii) if there is a pair of complex conjugate roots α±iβ\alpha\pm i\beta, then

y(x)=Aeαxcosβx+Beαxsinβx.y(x)=Ae^{\alpha x}\cos\beta x+Be^{\alpha x}\sin\beta x.