Consider the regular Sturm-Liouville (S-L) system
(Ly)(x)−λω(x)y(x)=0,a⩽x⩽b
where
(Ly)(x):=−[p(x)y′(x)]′+q(x)y(x)
with ω(x)>0 and p(x)>0 for all x in [a,b], and the boundary conditions on y are
{A1y(a)+A2y′(a)=0B1y(b)+B2y′(b)=0
Show that with these boundary conditions, L is self-adjoint. By considering yLy, or otherwise, show that the eigenvalue λ can be written as
λ=∫abωy2dx∫ab(py′2+qy2)dx−[pyy′]ab
Now suppose that a=0 and b=ℓ, that p(x)=1,q(x)⩾0 and ω(x)=1 for all x∈[0,ℓ], and that A1=1,A2=0,B1=k∈R+and B2=1. Show that the eigenvalues of this regular S-L system are strictly positive. Assuming further that q(x)=0, solve the system explicitly, and with the aid of a graph, show that there exist infinitely many eigenvalues λ1<λ2<⋯<λn<⋯. Describe the behaviour of λn as n→∞.