Understanding Non-Real Eigenvalues to Solving Homework Problems

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Homework Statement


et0re.jpg




The Attempt at a Solution


I know the general form should be

x1(t)=-C1sin(3t) + C2cos(3t)
x2(t)=C1sin(3t) + C2cos(3t)

but there's something going on with v that I'm not getting. I'm not sure how to incorporate it without knowing A
 
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cowmoo32 said:

Homework Statement


et0re.jpg




The Attempt at a Solution


I know the general form should be

x1(t)=-C1sin(3t) + C2cos(3t)
x2(t)=C1sin(3t) + C2cos(3t)
The constants shouldn't be the same in both functions.
cowmoo32 said:
but there's something going on with v that I'm not getting. I'm not sure how to incorporate it without knowing A
 
Whoops, I wrote that wrong. All of the problems I have worked so far have had the form:x1(t)=-C1sin(3t) + C1cos(3t)
x2(t)=C2sin(3t) + C2cos(3t)
 
After looking through some more examples, the answer will have the form


x1(t)=-C1sin(3t)*a + C1cos(3t)*b
x2(t)=C2sin(3t)*a + C2cos(3t)*b

where v=a+ib

v = [-1-i,1] = [-1,1]+i[-1,0]

a=[-1,1]
b=[-1,0]

I get:
C1sin(3t)
-C2cos(3t)

But it's telling me that's incorrect.
 
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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