I was given the following Sturm-Liouville differential equation problem: x^2y′′+5xy′+lambda y=0, y(1)=y(e^{pi})=0

Amina Richards

Amina Richards

Answered question

2022-10-29

Sturm-Liouville problem - Partial Differential Equations
I was given the following Sturm-Liouville differential equation problem:
x 2 y + 5 x y + λ y = 0
y ( 1 ) = y ( e π ) = 0
I displayed the equation in the traditional Sturm-Liouville manner and found that the weight function equals x 3 , but I am having trouble finding the eigenvalues for this problem.
We were told in class that because the coefficients of the ODE are functions of x and not constants, we should guess a solution for y in the form of x m and continue from there finding the eigenvalues.
Doing that I got a simple quadratic equation involving m:
m 2 4 m + λ = 0
But because it is a quadratic equation where p and q are both non zero I can't seem to find a way to divide the eigenvalues into the common categories which we usually did in class (for λ < 0 , > 0 , = 0), like in this case for instance:
m 2 + λ = 0
I believe the solution is very simple but just can't find it, help would be much appreciated!

Answer & Explanation

elulamami

elulamami

Beginner2022-10-30Added 22 answers

Step 1
If you substitute x m into x 2 y + 5 x y + λ y = 0, you get
m ( m 1 ) + 5 m + λ = 0 m 2 + 4 m + λ = 0 m = 4 ± 16 4 λ 2 = 2 ± 4 λ
The corresponding solutions are
1 x 2 x 4 λ , 1 x 2 x 4 λ .
To put x 2 y + 5 x y + λ y = 0 into Sturm-Liouville form, multiply by x 3 :
( x 5 y ) = λ x 3 y 1 x 3 ( x 5 y ) = λ y
Step 2
This problem is considered in L x 3 2 ( 1 , e π ), where x 3 is the weight function for the space. The solutions of the above when λ = 0 are both in L x 3 2 ( 1 , e π ) because they are regular on (1,eπ). To solve the eigenvalue problem, search for A,B such that
y ( x ) = A 1 x 2 x 4 λ + B 1 x 2 x 4 λ
satisfies
y ( 1 ) = 0 , y ( e π ) = 0.
The first condition is satisfied by setting B = A, which gives
y ( x ) = A x 2 [ x 4 λ x 4 λ ] = A x 2 [ e i λ 4 ln x e i λ 4 ln x ] = A x 2 2 i sin ( λ 4 ln x )
The condition y ( e π ) = 0 gives the eigenvalue equation
sin ( λ 4 π ) = 0.

Do you have a similar question?

Recalculate according to your conditions!

Ask your question.
Get an expert answer.

Let our experts help you. Answer in as fast as 15 minutes.

Didn't find what you were looking for?