ODE Lecture Notes Section 4.1 Page 1 of 6 Section 4.1: General Theory of nth Order Linear Equations Big Idea: The techniques and theorems regarding second-order linear differential equations can be extended to higher-order differential equations. Big Skill: You should be able to verify solutions, compute Wronskians, and determine linear independence of solutions. Usual form of an nth order linear differential equation: dny d n 1 y dy P0 t n P1 t n 1 Pn 1 t Pn t y G t dt dt dt Assumptions: The functions P0 t , , Pn t , G t are continuous and real-valued on some interval I : t , and P0 t 0 for any t I . Linear differential operator form: dny d n 1 y L y n p1 t n1 dt dt pn 1 t dy pn t y g t dt Notes: Solving an nth order equation ostensibly requires n integrations This implies n constants of integration Also implies n initial conditions to completely specify an IVP: n 1 n 1 o y t0 y0 , y t0 y0 , y t0 y0 Theorem 4.1.1: Existence and Uniqueness Theorem (for nth-Order Linear Differential Equations) If the functions where p1 , , pn , and g are continuous on the open interval I, then exists exactly one solution y t of the differential equation dny d n1 y dy p1 t n 1 pn 1 t pn t y g t that also satisfied the initial conditions n dt dt dt n 1 y t0 y0 , y t0 y0 , y t0 y0 n1 . This solution exists throughout the interval I. Practice: 4 1. Determine an interval in which the solution of t t 1 y et y 4t 2 y t is sure to exist. ODE Lecture Notes Section 4.1 Page 2 of 6 The Homogeneous Equation: L y y n p1 t y n1 pn1 t y pn t y 0 Notes: If the functions y1 , y2 , , yn are solutions, then so is a linear combination of them, y t c1 y1 t c2 y2 t To satisfy the initial conditions, we get n equations in n unknowns: c1 y1 t0 c2 y2 t0 cn yn t0 y0 c1 y1 t0 c2 y2 t0 c1 y1 n 1 t0 c2 y2 n 1 t0 yn cn yn n 1 t0 y0 n 1 y1 y2 yn y1 n 1 y2 n 1 yn n 1 , pn are continuous on the open interval I, if the functions n n 1 , yn are solutions of y p1 t y W y1 , y2 , Notes: y t c1 y1 t c2 y2 t y n pn1 t y pn t y 0 , and if yn 0 for at least one point in I, then every solution of the differential equation can be written as a linear combination of y1 , y2 , 0 Note that a slightly modified form of Abel’s Theorem still applies: W y1 , y2 , yn t c exp p1 t dt Theorem 4.1.2: If the functions where p1 , y1 , y2 , cn yn t0 y0 This system will have a solution for c1 , c2 , , cn provided the determinant of the matrix of coefficients is not zero (i.e., Cramer’s Rule again). In other words, the Wronskian is nonzero, just like for second-order equations. y1 y2 yn W y1 , y2 , cn yn t p1 t y y1 , y2 , n 1 , yn . cn yn t is called the general solution of pn1 t y pn t y 0 . , yn are said to form a fundamental set of solutions. ODE Lecture Notes Section 4.1 Page 3 of 6 Practice: 2. Verify that y1 t 1, y2 t t , y3 t cos t , y4 t sin t are solutions of y y 0 , and compute their Wronskian. 4 ODE Lecture Notes Section 4.1 Page 4 of 6 Linear Dependence and Independence: The functions f1 , f 2 , , f n are said to be linearly dependent on an interval I if there exist constants k1 , k2 , , kn , NOT ALL ZERO, such that k1 f1 t k2 f 2 t FOR ALL t I . The functions f1 , f 2 , dependent there. kn f n t 0 , f n are said to be linearly independent on I if they are not linearly Practice: 3. Determine if f1 t 1, f 2 t t , f3 t t 2 are linearly dependent or independent on t . If they are dependent, write a linear relationship between them. ODE Lecture Notes Section 4.1 Page 5 of 6 4. Determine if f1 t 1, f 2 t t , f3 t 2 t are linearly dependent or independent on t . If they are dependent, write a linear relationship between them. ODE Lecture Notes Section 4.1 Theorem 4.1.3: If y1 , y2 , , yn is a fundamental set of solutions to y n p1 t y n1 Page 6 of 6 pn1 t y pn t y 0 on an interval I, then y1 , y2 , , yn are linearly independent on I. Conversely, if y1 , y2 , , yn are linearly independent solutions of the equation, then they form a fundamental set of solutions on I. The Nonhomogeneous Equation: L y y n p1 t y n1 pn1 t y pn t y g t Notes: If Y1(t) and Y2(t) are solutions of the nonhomogeneous equation, then L Y1 Y2 t L Y1 t L Y2 t g t g t 0 I.e., the difference of any two solutions of the nonhomogeneous equation is a solution of the homogeneous equation. So, the general solution of the nonhomogeneous equation is: y t c1 y1 t c2 y2 t cn yn t Y t , where Y(t) is a particular solution of the nonhomogeneous equation. We will see that the methods of undetermined coefficients and reduction of order can be extended from second-order equations to nth-order equations.