Euler Equations

An Euler equation is of the form

x
2
y

+ xy

+ y = 0
Just as in the case of homogeneous equations, we will assume a solution with a general form of x
r
. The
corresponding characteristic equation is then
r(r 1) + r + = 0
There are 3 possibilities for the roots r
1
and r
2
.
Case 1: r
1
= r
2
, both real Case 2: r
1
= r
2
, real Case 3: r = i
y = c
1
|x|
r
1
+ c
2
|x|
r
2
y = c
1
|x|
r
1
+ c
2
ln |x||x|
r
1
y = |x|

[c
1
cos(ln |x|) + c
2
sin(ln |x|)]
Similarities to What Weve Already Seen
Notice the similarities between these solutions and the solution for a homogeneous dierential equation
with constant coecients.
ay

+ by

+ cy = 0 (Dierential Equation)
ar
2
+ br + c = 0 (Characteristic Equation)
Case 1: r
1
= r
2
, both real Case 2: r
1
= r
2
, real Case 3: r = i
y = c
1
e
r
1
t
+ c
2
e
r
2
t
y = c
1
e
r
1
t
+ c
2
te
r
1
t
y = e
t
[c
1
cos(t) + c
2
sin(t)]
An easy way to remember the solutions to Euler Equations is to remember that you merely take the so-
lution to a homogeneous equation with constant coecients and make the substitution
t = ln |x|
c 2014 Matthew Beesley - math.byututor.com