A First Course

in Differential Equations
with Modeling
Applications, 12E
Chapter 4: Higher-Order
Differential Equations

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 Section 4.5
Undetermined Coefficients—Annihilator Approach

Zill,
Zill, AAFirst
FirstCourse
Course in in Differential
Differential Equations
Equations with Modeling
with Modeling Applications,
Applications, 12th©Edition.
12th Edition. © 2024 All
2024 Cengage. Cengage. All RightsMay
Rights Reserved. Reserved.
not be May
not be scanned,
scanned, copied orcopied or duplicated,
duplicated, or posted toor posted accessible
a publicly to a publicly accessible
website, in wholewebsite, in whole or in part.
or in part. 2
 Introduction
An nth-order differential equation can be written

an D y + an -1D
n n -1
y + × × × + a1Dy + a0 y = g ( x ) ,

where D k y = d k y dx k , k = 0, 1, . . . , n.

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 Factoring Operators

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 Annihilator Operator (1 of 4)
If L is a linear differential operator with constant coefficients and f is a sufficiently
differentiable function such that

L(f (x)) = 0,

then L is said to be an annihilator of the function.

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 Annihilator Operator (2 of 4)
The differential operator D n annihilates each of the functions
2 n -1
1, x, x , ..., x .
As an immediate consequence a polynomial
n -1
c0 + c1x + c2 x + × × × + cn -1x 2

can be annihilated by finding an operator that annihilates the highest power of x.

Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
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 Annihilator Operator (3 of 4)
The differential operator ( D - a ) annihilates each of the functions
n

ea x , xea x , x 2ea x , ..., x n -1ea x .

Note that the auxiliary equation of the

(D - a ) y = 0 is ( m - a ) = 0.
n n

Since α is a root of multiplicity n, the general solution is

y = c1ea x + c2 xea x + × × × + cn x n -1ea x .

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 Annihilator Operator (4 of 4)
When α and β, β > 0 are real numbers, the quadratic formula reveals that
ém - 2a m + (a + b ) ù = 0 has complex roots α + iβ, α − iβ, both of multiplicity n.
n
2 2 2
ë û

The differential operator éëD - 2a D + (a + b ) ùû annihilates each of the functions

n
2 2 2

ea x cos b x, xea x cos b x, x 2ea x cos b x, ..., x n -1ea x cos b x,

ea x sin b x, xea x sin b x, x 2ea x sin b x, ..., x n -1ea x sin b x.

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 Example: Annihilator Operators (1 of 2)
Find a differential operator that annihilates the given function.

𝐚) 𝟒𝐱 𝟐 − 𝟓𝐱 + 𝐱 𝟑 − 𝟔 𝐛) 𝐞𝟒𝐱 + 𝟓𝐱𝐞𝟒𝐱

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Example: Annihilator Operators (2 of 2)

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 Undetermined Coefficients (1 of 3)

k ( constant ) , x m , x m ea x , x m ea x cos b x, and x m ea x sin b x,

where m is a nonnegative integer and α and β are real numbers.

A function g(x) can be annihilated by a differential operator L1 of lowest order, consisting of a

(
product of the operators D n , ( D - a )n , and D 2 - 2a D + a 2 + b 2 . )
n

Applying L1 to both sides of the equation L(y) = g(x) yields L1L(y) = L1(g(x)) = 0. By solving the
homogeneous higher-order equation L1L(y) = 0, discover the form of a particular solution yp for
the original nonhomogeneous equation L(y) = g(x).

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 Undetermined Coefficients (2 of 3)
Then substitute this assumed form into L(y) = g(x) to find an explicit particular solution.

This procedure for determining yp, called the method of undetermined coefficients.

Example: General Solution Using Undetermined Coefficients

Solve y %% + 5y % + 6y = −5x &

Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
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Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 13
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 14
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 15
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 16
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 17
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 18
 Example: Form of a Particular Solution
Determine the form of a particular solution for
y ¢¢¢ - 4 y ¢¢ + 4 y ¢ = 5 x 2 - 6 x + 4 x 2e 2 x + 3e 5 x .

Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
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Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 20
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 21
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 22
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 23
Zill, A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, 12th Edition. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 24