Systems of ODEs: Difference between revisions

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has a unique solution
has a unique solution


If the results are [[linear independence (functions)|linearly independent]], it is a fundamental set of solutions for the ODE, i.e. they span the entire solution space.
If the results are [[linear independence (functions)|linearly independent]], it is a fundamental set of solutions for the ODE, i.e. they span the entire solution space, where all solutions can be described as
 
<math>
\vec{x}(t)=c_1\vec{x}^{(1)}+\ldots+c_k\vec{x}^{(k)}=X\vec{c}
</math>
 
Its [[Wronskian]] would be correspondingly defined as the determinant.

Revision as of 14:36, 10 June 2024


An nxn system of ODEs looks like the following

In vector form, the same equation can be written as

Non-linear ODEs are very complicated (like chaos theory, three body problem, etc.). This page will focus entirely on linear systems, which can be expressed as

where P is the nxn coefficient matrix.

Reduce order

Given a higher order ODE, one can write it as a system of first order ODEs.

For example, take the following second order linear ODE:

You can rewrite it as the following:

First order systems are more general than higher order scalars, in that not all first order systems can be represented as a scalar.

Initial value problem

If P(t) and g(t) are continuous, then the IVP

has a unique solution

If the results are linearly independent, it is a fundamental set of solutions for the ODE, i.e. they span the entire solution space, where all solutions can be described as

Its Wronskian would be correspondingly defined as the determinant.