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ZixuanZhang
ZixuanZhang
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Fuchs' Theorem

If is an ordinary point of , there are two linearly independent solutions . If is a regular singular point, there is at least one solution with , converging in some neighborhood of .

Theorem 8.4 (Fuch's Theorem)
  1. If is an ordinary point of the ODE

    then there are two linearly independent solutions of the form

    which converge for some neighborhood of . i.e. there is a Taylor series solution about .

  2. If is a regular singular point of the ODE, then there is at least one solution of the form

    where can be real or complex, and [so that is unique]. The series converges for some neighborhood of .

    This is called a Frobenius series.

    Note that there is no guarantee of two linearly independent solutions in this case.

Reading part 2

The requirement makes the exponent unique, and may be real or complex.

Part 2 guarantees only at least one solution. Unlike part 1, there is no guarantee of two linearly independent solutions at a regular singular point: whether a second linearly independent Frobenius-type solution exists depends on the roots and of the indicial equation.

Both parts give series that converge for some neighborhood of . At irregular singular points the guarantee disappears entirely, and the series solution method may fail completely.

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