Paper 1, Section II, B

Methods | Part IB, 2009

Find a power series solution about x=0x=0 of the equation

xy+(1x)y+λy=0,x y^{\prime \prime}+(1-x) y^{\prime}+\lambda y=0,

with y(0)=1y(0)=1, and show that yy is a polynomial if and only if λ\lambda is a non-negative integer nn. Let yny_{n} be the solution for λ=n\lambda=n. Establish an orthogonality relation between ymy_{m} and yn(mn)y_{n}(m \neq n).

Show that ymyny_{m} y_{n} is a polynomial of degree m+nm+n, and hence that

ymyn=p=0m+napypy_{m} y_{n}=\sum_{p=0}^{m+n} a_{p} y_{p}

for appropriate choices of the coefficients apa_{p} and with am+n0a_{m+n} \neq 0.

For given n>0n>0, show that the functions

{ym,ymyn:m=0,1,2,,n1}\left\{y_{m}, y_{m} y_{n}: m=0,1,2, \ldots, n-1\right\}

are linearly independent.

Let f(x)f(x) be a polynomial of degree 3. Explain why the expansion

f(x)=a0y0(x)+a1y1(x)+a2y2(x)+a3y1(x)y2(x)f(x)=a_{0} y_{0}(x)+a_{1} y_{1}(x)+a_{2} y_{2}(x)+a_{3} y_{1}(x) y_{2}(x)

holds for appropriate choices of ap,p=0,1,2,3a_{p}, p=0,1,2,3. Hence show that

0exf(x)dx=w1f(α1)+w2f(α2)\int_{0}^{\infty} e^{-x} f(x) d x=w_{1} f\left(\alpha_{1}\right)+w_{2} f\left(\alpha_{2}\right)

where

w1=y1(α2)y1(α2)y1(α1),w2=y1(α1)y1(α2)y1(α1),w_{1}=\frac{y_{1}\left(\alpha_{2}\right)}{y_{1}\left(\alpha_{2}\right)-y_{1}\left(\alpha_{1}\right)}, \quad w_{2}=\frac{-y_{1}\left(\alpha_{1}\right)}{y_{1}\left(\alpha_{2}\right)-y_{1}\left(\alpha_{1}\right)},

and α1,α2\alpha_{1}, \alpha_{2} are the zeros of y2y_{2}. You need not construct the polynomials y1(x),y2(x)y_{1}(x), y_{2}(x) explicitly.

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