9.

2 Planar Systems

Planar systems: linear systems of dimension 2

e.g. y~0 = A~y
!
a11 a12
where A =
and ~y (t) =
a21 a22

y1 (t)

y2 (t)

Characteristic equation of planar system: 2 T + D = 0

Eigenvalues of A: = (T

T 2 4D)/2 where T = tr(A) and D = det(A)

1. T2 4D > 0: 2 distinct real roots

2. T2 4D < 0: 2 complex conjugate roots
3. T2 4D = 0: 1 real root of multiplicity 2
Proposition 2.4: Let 1 and 2 be eigenvalues of A, and v~1 and v~2 be their respective
nonzero eigenvectors. If 1 6= 2 , then v~1 and v~2 are linearly independent.
Corollary 2.8: If 1 6= 2 , then the solutions y~1 (t) = e1 t v~1 and y~2 (t) = e2 t v~2 are
linearly independent on R.
Note: Both are true for cases 1 and 2.

(1) 2 distinct real roots

~ = C1 y~1 (t) + C2 y~2 (t)
y(t)
= C2 e1 t v~1 + C2 e2 t v~2

(1)

(2) 2 complex conjugate roots

~ = C1 et w
y(t)
~ + C2 et w
~

= C1 et (costv~1 sintv~2 ) + C2 et (sintv~1 + costv~2 )

(3) 1 real root of multiplicity 2
1. Find eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
1

(2)

2. If eigenspace = 1, treat as normal. If eigenspace = 2, continue.

3. Form y~1 (t) = et v~1
4. Find a v~2 such that (A I)v~2 = v~1
(a) Use w
~ to test (any vector independent of v~1 would do)
(b) Compute (A I)w
~
(c) Adjust w
~ accordingly
5. Form y~2 (t) = et (v~2 + tv~1 )
6. General solution:
~y (t) = C1 y~1 + C2 y~2
= et [(C1 + C2 t)v~1 + C2 v~2 ]

(3)