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In mathematics, an ordinary differential equation (ODE) is a differential equation containing one or more functions of one independent variable and its derivatives. The term ordinary is used in contrast with the term partial differential equation which may be with respect to more than one independent variable.
Contents
- Background
- Definitions
- General definition
- System of ODEs
- Solutions
- Singular solutions
- Reduction to quadratures
- Fuchsian theory
- Lies theory
- SturmLiouville theory
- Existence and uniqueness of solutions
- Local existence and uniqueness theorem simplified
- Global uniqueness and maximum domain of solution
- Reduction of order
- Reduction to a first order system
- Summary of exact solutions
- Software for ODE solving
- References
ODEs that are linear differential equations have exact closed-form solutions that can be added and multiplied by coefficients. By contrast, ODEs that lack additive solutions are nonlinear, and solving them is far more intricate, as one can rarely represent them by elementary functions in closed form: Instead, exact and analytic solutions of ODEs are in series or integral form. Graphical and numerical methods, applied by hand or by computer, may approximate solutions of ODEs and perhaps yield useful information, often sufficing in the absence of exact, analytic solutions.
The general solution to a linear equation can be written as y = yc + yp.
Background
Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) arise in many contexts of mathematics and science (social as well as natural). Mathematical descriptions of change use differentials and derivatives. Various differentials, derivatives, and functions become related to each other via equations, and thus a differential equation is a result that describes dynamically changing phenomena, evolution, and variation. Often, quantities are defined as the rate of change of other quantities (for example, derivatives of displacement with respect to time), or gradients of quantities, which is how they enter differential equations.
Specific mathematical fields include geometry and analytical mechanics. Scientific fields include much of physics and astronomy (celestial mechanics), meteorology (weather modelling), chemistry (reaction rates), biology (infectious diseases, genetic variation), ecology and population modelling (population competition), economics (stock trends, interest rates and the market equilibrium price changes).
Many mathematicians have studied differential equations and contributed to the field, including Newton, Leibniz, the Bernoulli family, Riccati, Clairaut, d'Alembert, and Euler.
A simple example is Newton's second law of motion — the relationship between the displacement x and the time t of an object under the force F, is given by the differential equation
which constrains the motion of a particle of constant mass m. In general, F is a function of the position x(t) of the particle at time t. The unknown function x(t) appears on both sides of the differential equation, and is indicated in the notation F(x(t)).
Definitions
In what follows, let y be a dependent variable and x an independent variable, and y = f(x) is an unknown function of x. The notation for differentiation varies depending upon the author and upon which notation is most useful for the task at hand. In this context, the Leibniz's notation (dy/dx,d2y/dx2,...dny/dxn) is more useful for differentiation and integration, whereas Lagrange's notation (y′,y′′, ... y(n)) is more useful for representing derivatives of any order compactly, and Newton's notation
General definition
Given F, a function of x, y, and derivatives of y. Then an equation of the form
is called an explicit ordinary differential equation of order n.
More generally, an implicit ordinary differential equation of order n takes the form:
There are further classifications:
The general solution to a linear equation can be written as y = yc + yp.
System of ODEs
A number of coupled differential equations form a system of equations. If y is a vector whose elements are functions; y(x) = [y1(x), y2(x),..., ym(x)], and F is a vector-valued function of y and its derivatives, then
is an explicit system of ordinary differential equations of order n and dimension m. In column vector form:
These are not necessarily linear. The implicit analogue is:
where 0 = (0, 0,... 0) is the zero vector. In matrix form
For a system of the form
Solutions
Given a differential equation
a function u: I ⊂ R → R is called the solution or integral curve for F, if u is n-times differentiable on I, and
Given two solutions u: J ⊂ R → R and v: I ⊂ R → R, u is called an extension of v if I ⊂ J and
A solution that has no extension is called a maximal solution. A solution defined on all of R is called a global solution.
A general solution of an nth-order equation is a solution containing n arbitrary independent constants of integration. A particular solution is derived from the general solution by setting the constants to particular values, often chosen to fulfill set 'initial conditions or boundary conditions'. A singular solution is a solution that cannot be obtained by assigning definite values to the arbitrary constants in the general solution.
Singular solutions
The theory of singular solutions of ordinary and partial differential equations was a subject of research from the time of Leibniz, but only since the middle of the nineteenth century did it receive special attention. A valuable but little-known work on the subject is that of Houtain (1854). Darboux (starting in 1873) was a leader in the theory, and in the geometric interpretation of these solutions he opened a field worked by various writers, notable ones being Casorati and Cayley. To the latter is due (1872) the theory of singular solutions of differential equations of the first order as accepted circa 1900.
Reduction to quadratures
The primitive attempt in dealing with differential equations had in view a reduction to quadratures. As it had been the hope of eighteenth-century algebraists to find a method for solving the general equation of the nth degree, so it was the hope of analysts to find a general method for integrating any differential equation. Gauss (1799) showed, however, that the differential equation meets its limitations very soon unless complex numbers are introduced. Hence, analysts began to substitute the study of functions, thus opening a new and fertile field. Cauchy was the first to appreciate the importance of this view. Thereafter, the real question was to be not whether a solution is possible by means of known functions or their integrals but whether a given differential equation suffices for the definition of a function of the independent variable or variables, and, if so, what are the characteristic properties of this function.
Fuchsian theory
Two memoirs by Fuchs (Crelle, 1866, 1868), inspired a novel approach, subsequently elaborated by Thomé and Frobenius. Collet was a prominent contributor beginning in 1869, although his method for integrating a non-linear system was communicated to Bertrand in 1868. Clebsch (1873) attacked the theory along lines parallel to those followed in his theory of Abelian integrals. As the latter can be classified according to the properties of the fundamental curve that remains unchanged under a rational transformation, so Clebsch proposed to classify the transcendent functions defined by the differential equations according to the invariant properties of the corresponding surfaces f = 0 under rational one-to-one transformations.
Lie's theory
From 1870, Sophus Lie's work put the theory of differential equations on a more satisfactory foundation. He showed that the integration theories of the older mathematicians can, by the introduction of what are now called Lie groups, be referred to a common source, and that ordinary differential equations that admit the same infinitesimal transformations present comparable difficulties of integration. He also emphasized the subject of transformations of contact.
Lie's group theory of differential equations has been certified, namely: (1) that it unifies the many ad hoc methods known for solving differential equations, and (2) that it provides powerful new ways to find solutions. The theory has applications to both ordinary and partial differential equations.
A general approach to solve DEs uses the symmetry property of differential equations, the continuous infinitesimal transformations of solutions to solutions (Lie theory). Continuous group theory, Lie algebras, and differential geometry are used to understand the structure of linear and nonlinear (partial) differential equations for generating integrable equations, to find its Lax pairs, recursion operators, Bäcklund transform, and finally finding exact analytic solutions to the DE.
Symmetry methods have been recognized to study differential equations, arising in mathematics, physics, engineering, and many other disciplines.
Sturm–Liouville theory
Sturm–Liouville theory is a theory of a special type of second order ordinary differential equations. Their solutions are based on eigenvalues and corresponding eigenfunctions of linear operators defined in terms of second-order homogeneous linear equations. The problems are identified as Sturm-Liouville Problems (SLP) and are named after J.C.F. Sturm and J. Liouville, who studied such problems in the mid-1800s. The interesting fact about regular SLPs is that they have an infinite number of eigenvalues, and the corresponding eigenfunctions form a complete, orthogonal set, which makes orthogonal expansions possible. This is a key idea in applied mathematics, physics, and engineering. SLPs are also useful in the analysis of certain partial differential equations.
Existence and uniqueness of solutions
There are several theorems that establish existence and uniqueness of solutions to initial value problems involving ODEs both locally and globally. The two main theorems are
which are both local results.
Note that uniqueness theorems like the Lipschitz one above do not apply to DAE systems, which may have multiple solutions stemming from their (non-linear) algebraic part alone.
Local existence and uniqueness theorem simplified
The theorem can be stated simply as follows. For the equation and initial value problem:
if F and ∂F/∂y are continuous in a closed rectangle
in the x-y plane, where a and b are real (symbolically: a, b ∈ ℝ) and × denotes the cartesian product, square brackets denote closed intervals, then there is an interval
for some h ∈ ℝ where the solution to the above equation and initial value problem can be found. That is, there is a solution and it is unique. Since there is no restriction on F to be linear, this applies to non-linear equations that take the form F(x, y), and it can also be applied to systems of equations.
Global uniqueness and maximum domain of solution
When the hypotheses of the Picard–Lindelöf theorem are satisfied, then local existence and uniqueness can be extended to a global result. More precisely:
For each initial condition (x0, y0) there exists a unique maximum (possibly infinite) open interval
such that any solution that satisfies this initial condition is a restriction of the solution that satisfies this initial condition with domain
In the case that
where Ω is the open set in which F is defined, and
Note that the maximum domain of the solution
This means that F(x, y) = y2, which is C1 and therefore locally Lipschitz continuous, satisfying the Picard–Lindelöf theorem.
Even in such a simple setting, the maximum domain of solution cannot be all ℝ, since the solution is
which has maximum domain:
This shows clearly that the maximum interval may depend on the initial conditions. The domain of y could be taken as being
The maximum domain is not ℝ because
which is one of the two possible cases according to the above theorem.
Reduction of order
Differential equations can usually be solved more easily if the order of the equation can be reduced.
Reduction to a first-order system
Any explicit differential equation of order n,
can be written as a system of n first-order differential equations by defining a new family of unknown functions
for i = 1, 2,... n. The n-dimensional system of first-order coupled differential equations is then
more compactly in vector notation:
where
Summary of exact solutions
Some differential equations have solutions that can be written in an exact and closed form. Several important classes are given here.
In the table below, P(x), Q(x), P(y), Q(y), and M(x,y), N(x,y) are any integrable functions of x, y, and b and c are real given constants, and C1, C2,... are arbitrary constants (complex in general). The differential equations are in their equivalent and alternative forms that lead to the solution through integration.
In the integral solutions, λ and ε are dummy variables of integration (the continuum analogues of indices in summation), and the notation ∫xF(λ)dλ just means to integrate F(λ) with respect to λ, then after the integration substitute λ = x, without adding constants (explicitly stated).