Heat Equation Time dependant heat loss

PAR
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Homework Statement


Solve the heat equation: u_{t} = u_{xx} - u - x*e^{-t}
BC: u(0,t) = 0, u(1,t) = 0
IC: u(x,0) = x


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



The only progress I've made so far is figuring out that the steady state solution is zero. Other than that I don't know where to start with the time dependent solution. Basically I could use some help starting this problem, thanks!
 
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Try finding functions f(t) and g(x) such that w(x,t) \equiv f(t)u(x,t)+g(x) satisfies the homogeneous heat equation w_t=w_{xx}...then use your boundary conditions for u(x,t) to find corresponding BCs for w(x,t) and solve for w(x,t) and use that to find u(x,t).
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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