Suppose that u(x) satisfies the equation
dx2d2u−f(x)u=0
where f(x) is a given non-zero function. Show that under the change of coordinates x=x(t),
dt2d2u−x˙x¨dtdu−x˙2f(x)u=0
where a dot denotes differentiation with respect to t. Furthermore, show that the function
U(t)=x˙−21u(x)
satisfies
dt2d2U−[x˙2f(x)+x˙−21(x˙x¨dtd(x˙21)−dt2d2(x˙21))]U=0
Choosing x˙=(f(x))−21, deduce that
dt2d2U−(1+F(t))U=0
for some appropriate function F(t). Assuming that F may be neglected, deduce that u(x) can be approximated by
u(x)≈A(x)(c+eG(x)+c−e−G(x)),
where c+,c−are constants and A,G are functions that you should determine in terms of f(x).