Graph explorer

Nonlinear eigenvalue problems

This paper presents a detailed asymptotic study of the nonlinear differential equation y&#39;(x)=\cos[πxy(x)] subject to the initial condition y(0)=a. Although the differential equation is nonlinear, the solutions to this initial-value problem bear a striking resemblance to solutions to the time-independent Schroedinger eigenvalue problem. As x increases from x=0, y(x) oscillates and thus resembles a quantum wave function in a classically allowed region. At a critical value x=x_{crit}, where x_{crit} depends on a, the solution y(x) undergoes a transition; the oscillations abruptly cease and y(x) decays to 0 monotonically as x-->\infty. This transition resembles the transition in a wave function that occurs at a turning point as one enters the classically forbidden region. Furthermore, the initial condition a falls into discrete classes; in the nth class of initial conditions a_{n-1}<a<a_n (n=1,2,3,...), y(x) exhibits exactly n maxima in the oscillatory region. The boundaries a_n of these classes are the analogs of quantum-mechanical eigenvalues. An asymptotic calculation of $a_n$ for large $n$ is analogous to a high-energy semiclassical (WKB) calculation of eigenvalues in quantum m