Power Series to solve Second order Differential Equations

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on solving second-order differential equations using power series, specifically addressing the equation (2 - r)²g'' = -2. The participant struggles with incorporating the variable r into the power series and managing the recursive relationship for coefficients an+1 in terms of an. The conversation highlights the need for a systematic approach to align indices of summation and to extract coefficients effectively. Participants suggest that while traditional methods may seem simpler, the power series approach remains valid and requires careful manipulation of series terms.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of second-order differential equations
  • Familiarity with power series expansions
  • Knowledge of recursive sequences and their definitions
  • Ability to manipulate summation indices in series
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the method of solving differential equations using power series in detail
  • Learn about recursive relationships in sequences and their applications
  • Practice shifting indices in summations to align terms
  • Explore traditional methods for solving second-order differential equations for comparison
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Students and educators in mathematics, particularly those focusing on differential equations, as well as anyone interested in advanced techniques for solving such equations using power series.

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Homework Statement



When solving a D.E. with power series, I've encountered something along the lines of:

(2 - r)^{2}g'' = -2

Homework Equations



Power Series

The Attempt at a Solution



I know I am just supposed to assume such a series exists, and work from there. But I'm really getting fudged up when it comes to factoring the r's back into the series, which makes the r's in the summation 2 powers higher than just 'n'.

I've reached the end where I have a recursive definition of an+1 in terms of an, but there are ridiculous fractions on the coefficients that I don't think I can generalise for values of n. They don't seem to have a pattern, and that's..a problem.

Is there an easier way to solve this, leaving the r-polynomial as it is? I expanded it and applied g'' to each term, then subbed in the second derivative of the series that represents g(x) [the standard assumed series, anrn]
 
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This is just g = g(r), right?
Do you have to use power series? Looks more straightforward to get it into the form g'' = ... and integrate twice.
If you wish to persevere with power series, please post your working.
 
It's an assignment, I'm much more than capable of solving this with more traditional means, but I can't submit that work.

I don't have my notebook at the moment but from memory, when using power series, you assume

y = \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} a_{n}x^{n}

Which means

y' = \sum_{n=1}^{\infty} na_{n}x^{n-1}
y'' = \sum_{n=2}^{\infty} n(n-1)a_{n}x^{n-2}

And particularly for the second derivative, re-write the sum so the power of x is the same as for y

y'' = \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} (n+2)(n+1)a_{n+2}x^{n}

Now, after putting the sum forms of y and its derivatives back into the equation, I think I fiddled around with it by expanding whatever quantity was multiplied with y'', and replaced all occurrences of y and its derivatives with the appropriate sums.

I guess you could re-write the r's as x's since I wrote x's in the sums instead of r's, so you'd need to factor that variable into the sums when appropriate, which messes with the powers of x again, even though I just fixed them before.

This also leads to problematic situations where different sums are -beginning- at different indices of n. I know I'm supposed to pop out the first few terms til the sum starts at the same index as the others, but I'm unsure about how to do this procedure.

I know the end goal is to get all sums starting at the same index, and all x's in the sums to have the same power, so I can factor out the x's and have one large sum of coefficients.

My problem is, I don't exactly know how to shift indices correctly (because of the a's within the sums) and I don't really know how to take out the first term or two to get the starting index to match with the other sums. I also don't know what I'm supposed to actually do with those coefficients once I get them out of their mother sums.
 

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