[Math] Prove uniqueness of differential equation by finding the ‘Lipschitz condition’

ordinary differential equations

Refer to Fitzpatrick's Advanced calculus Ex12.3 no. 9. The book tells that

If there exist a positive number $M$ such that $|g(x,y_1)-g(x,y_2)|\le M|y_1-y_2|$ for all $(x,y_1)$ and $(x,y_2)$ in the rectangle $[x_0-a,x_0+a]\times[y_0-b,y_0+b]$ where $g$ is continuous on the rectangle, given that $K$ is the bound of the function $g$ in the rectangle such that $aM<1$ and $aK\le b$, then there is a unique solution of differential equation $f'(x)=g(x,f(x))$ with boundary condition $f(x_0)=y_0$

Use the above theorem to find out $r$ such that the differential equation

$$f'(x)=\sin(xf(x)) \forall x\in(-r,r)$$
$$f(0)=1$$

has a unique solution.

I do not know how to check whether $g=\sin(xf)$ satisfies the above Lipschitz condition. I have heard that partial derivatives continuous implies $g$ satisfies the condition, but I don't want to use it to proof since I have not learnt it. So How to find the $r$ directly.

Best Answer

why ... tells that one can check the boundedness of the derivatives instead of continuity to find out whether the function satisfies the Lipschitz condition?

Because boundedness is enough. But if you have continuity of $y$-derivative on a closed rectangle, that implies boundedness of $y$-derivative, and therefore the Lipschitz property of the function with respect to $y$.

Be careful with the Picard theorem, because it comes in different versions. The solution (ex 1.6) (provided by Tony Piccolo) uses a different version from what you stated in the question. As you stated the theorem, it does not apply to very long intervals.

The crux of the matter is to choose $a$ and $b$ that satisfy the conditions of the theorem. We don't get these numbers from any formula: we have to choose them so that the inequalities $aM<1$ and $aK\le b$ work. Since $M$ and $K$ may themselves depend on $a,b$, we may end up chasing our own tail.

But here, the derivative of $\sin (xy)$ with respect to $y$ is bounded by $|x|$, which is independent of $y$. We can take $M$ to be the supremum of $|x|$ on the interval $[x_0-a,x_0+a]$, which is $|x_0|+a$. Also, the function $\sin (xy)$ itself is bounded by $1$ everywhere, so $K=1$.

So, choose $a$ so that $a(|x_0|+a)<1$. Instead of solving the quadratic equation, you can take $a=\frac12 \min(|x_0|^{-1},1)$. Then you apply the theorem repeatedly to expand the interval of existence... it's possible to cover the real line in this way.

But I'll have to say that this is a really laborious way to deal with this ODE. The proper way is to use the better form of the theorem, which does not require $aM<1$. See "optimization of the solution's interval" here.

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