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In mathematics, in the field of differential equations, an initial value problem is an ordinary differential equation together with specified value, called the initial condition, of the unknown function at a given point in the domain of the solution. In physics or other sciences, modeling a system frequently amounts to solving an initial value problem; in this context, the differential equation is an evolution equation specifying how, given initial conditions, the system will evolve with time.
[edit] DefinitionAn initial value problem is a differential equation together with a point in the domain of f called the initial condition. A solution to an initial value problem is a function y that is a solution to the differential equation and satisfies
This statement subsumes problems of higher order, by interpreting y as a vector. For derivatives of second or higher order, new variables (elements of the vector y) are introduced. More generally, the unknown function y can take values on infinite dimensional spaces, such as Banach spaces or spaces of distributions. [edit] Existence and uniqueness of solutionsFor a large class of initial value problems, the existence and uniqueness of a solution can be demonstrated. The Picard-Lindelöf theorem guarantees a unique solution on some interval containing t0 if f and its partial derivative An older proof of the Picard-Lindelöf theorem constructs a sequence of functions which converge to the solution of the integral equation, and thus, the solution of the initial value problem. Such a construction is sometimes called "Picard's method" or "the method of successive approximations". This version is essentially a special case of the Banach fixed point theorem. Hiroshi Okamura obtained a necessary and sufficient condition for the solution of an initial value problem to be unique. This condition has to do with the existence of a Lyapunov function for the system. In some situations, the function f is not of class C1, or even Lipschitz, so the usual result guaranteeing the local existence of a unique solution does not apply. The Peano existence theorem however proves that even for f merely continuous, solutions are guaranteed to exist locally in time; the problem is that there is no guarantee of uniqueness. The result may be found in Coddington & Levinson (1955, Theorem 1.3) or Robinson (2001, Theorem 2.6). [edit] ExampleThe general solution of
can be found to be y(t) = 2e − 3t + 2t + 1. Indeed,
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