Singular solution

Article summary

A singular solution y s (x) of an ordinary differential equation is a solution that is singular or one for which the initial value problem (also called the Cauchy problem by some authors) fails to have a unique solution at some point on the solution. The set on which a solution is singular may be as small as a single point or as large as the full real line. Solutions which are singular in the sense that the initial value problem fails to have a unique solution need not be singular functions. In some cases, the term singular solution is used to mean a solution at which there is a failure of uniqueness to the initial value problem at every point on the curve. A singular solution in this stronger sense is often given as tangent to every solution from a family of solutions. By tangent we mean that there is a point x where y s (x) = y c (x) and y' s (x) = y' c (x) where y c is a solution in a family of solutions parameterized by c. This means that the singular solution is the envelope of the family of solutions. Usually, singular solutions appear in differential equations when there is a need to divide in a term that might be equal to zero. Therefore, when one is solving a differential equation and using division one must check what happens if the term is equal to zero, and whether it leads to a singular solution.…

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