Diffusion Equation PDE: Solving for u(x, t) with Initial Condition e^(-x^2)

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on solving the diffusion equation given by the partial differential equation (PDE) \( u_{tt} - 4u_{xx} = 0 \) with the initial condition \( u(x, 0) = e^{-x^2} \). The general solution is expressed as \( u(x, t) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{4\pi kt}} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-\frac{(x - y)^2}{4kt}} \varphi(y) \, dy \). The attempt to solve the integral using integration by parts and combining exponents was unsuccessful, leading to the suggestion of using Fourier transforms to simplify the problem and find the inverse transform.

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Homework Statement


Solve
u_{tt} - 4u_{xx} = 0, x \in \mathbb{R}, t > 0
u(x, 0) = e^{-x^2}, x \in \mathbb{R}

Homework Equations


General solution to the diffusion equation:
u(x, t) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{4\pi kt}} \int\limits_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^\frac{{-(x - y)^2}}{4kt} \varphi(y) \, dy

The Attempt at a Solution


u(x, t) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{4\pi kt}} \int\limits_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^\frac{{-(x - y)^2}}{4kt} e^{-y^2}

That's about as good as I've got. Integration by parts gets me no further. I've tried to combine the exponents in the integrand, but that leaves me with
- \frac{x^2 + y^2 - 2xy + 4kty^2}{4kt}
I have an example in a textbook where they do similar, then complete the square so that they can substitute p, then integrate \int\limits_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-p^2} \, dp as \sqrt{\pi}... but I can't complete the square in this case.
 
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Start from scratch, it'll be easier. Take Fourier transforms w.r.t x of the PDE and the initial condition, then look for the inverse transform.
 

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