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Sect ion 3.3 : Complex Root s

In t his sect ion we will be looking at solut ions t o t he different ial equat ion
′′ ′
ay + by + cy = 0

in which root s of t he charact erist ic equat ion,

2
ar + br + c = 0

are complex root s in t he form r1,2 = λ ± μi .

Now, recall t hat we arrived at t he charact erist ic equat ion by assuming t hat all solut ions t o t he
different ial equat ion will be of t he form

rt
y (t) = e

Plugging our t wo root s int o t he general form of t he solut ion gives t he following solut ions t o
t he different ial equat ion.

(λ+μ i) t (λ−μ i) t
y1 (t) = e and y2 (t) = e

Now, t hese t wo funct ions are “nice enough” (t here’s t hose words again… we’ll get around t o
defining t hem eventually) t o form t he general solut ion. We do have a problem however. Since
we st art ed wit h only real numbers in our different ial equat ion we would like our solut ion t o only
involve real numbers. The t wo solut ions above are complex and so we would like t o get our
hands on a couple of solut ions (“nice enough” of course…) t hat are real.
To do t his we’ll need Euler’s Formula.

iθ
e = cos θ + i sin θ

A nice variant of Euler’s Formula t hat we’ll need is.

−iθ
e = cos(−θ) + i sin(−θ) = cos θ − i sin θ

Now, split up our t wo solut ions int o exponent ials t hat only have real exponent s and
exponent ials t hat only have imaginary exponent s. Then use Euler’s formula, or it s variant , t o
rewrit e t he second exponent ial.

λ t iμ t λ t
y1 (t) = e e = e (cos(μt) + i sin(μ t))

λ t −iμ t λ t
y2 (t) = e e = e (cos(μt) − i sin(μ t))

This doesn’t eliminat e t he complex nat ure of t he solut ions, but it does put t he t wo solut ions
int o a form t hat we can eliminat e t he complex part s.

Recall from t he basics section t hat if t wo solut ions are “nice enough” t hen any solut ion can
be writ t en as a combinat ion of t he t wo solut ions. In ot her words,

y (t) = c1 y1 (t) + c2 y2 (t)

will also be a solut ion.

Using t his let ’s not ice t hat if we add t he t wo solut ions t oget her we will arrive at .

λ t
y1 (t) + y2 (t) = 2e cos(μ t)

This is a real solut ion and just t o eliminat e t he ext raneous 2 let ’s divide everyt hing by a 2. This
gives t he first real solut ion t hat we’re aft er.

1 1
λ t
u (t) = y1 (t) + y2 (t) = e cos(μ t)
2 2

Not e t hat t his is just equivalent t o t aking

1
c1 = c2 =
2

Now, we can arrive at a second solut ion in a similar manner. This t ime let ’s subt ract t he t wo
original solut ions t o arrive at .

λ t
y1 (t) − y2 (t) = 2i e sin(μ t)
On t he surface t his doesn’t appear t o fix t he problem as t he solut ion is st ill complex. However,
upon learning t hat t he t wo const ant s, c1 and c2 can be complex numbers we can arrive at a
real solut ion by dividing t his by 2i. This is equivalent t o t aking

1 1
c1 = and c2 = −
2i 2i

Our second solut ion will t hen be

1 1
λt
v (t) = y1 (t) − y2 (t) = e sin(μ t)
2i 2i

We now have t wo solut ions (we’ll leave it t o you t o check t hat t hey are in fact solut ions) t o
t he different ial equat ion.

λt λt
u (t) = e cos(μ t) and v (t) = e sin(μ t)

It also t urns out t hat t hese t wo solut ions are “nice enough” t o form a general solut ion.

So, if t he root s of t he charact erist ic equat ion happen t o be r1,2 = λ ± μi t he general

solut ion t o t he different ial equat ion is.

λt λt
y (t) = c1 e cos(μ t) + c2 e sin(μ t)

Let ’s t ake a look at a couple of examples now.

Example 1 Solve t he following IVP.

′′ ′ ′
y − 4y + 9y = 0 y (0) = 0 y (0) = −8

Hide Solution 

The charact erist ic equat ion for t his different ial equat ion is.

2
r − 4r + 9 = 0

The root s of t his equat ion are r1,2 = 2 ± √5 i . The general solut ion t o t he different ial
equat ion is t hen.

2t 2t
y (t) = c1 e cos(√5t) + c2 e sin(√5t)

Now, you’ll not e t hat we didn’t different iat e t his right away as we did in t he last sect ion. The
reason for t his is simple. While t he different iat ion is not t erribly difficult , it can get a lit t le
messy. So, first looking at t he init ial condit ions we can see from t he first one t hat if we just
applied it we would get t he following.
 0 = y (0) = c1

In ot her words, t he first t erm will drop out in order t o meet t he first condit ion. This makes
t he solut ion, along wit h it s derivat ive

2t
y (t) = c2 e sin(√5t)

′ 2t 2t
y (t) = 2c2 e sin(√5t) + √5c2 e cos(√5t)

A much nicer derivat ive t han if we’d done t he original solut ion. Now, apply t he second init ial
condit ion t o t he derivat ive t o get .

8
′
−8 = y (0) = √5c2 ⇒ c2 = −
√5

The act ual solut ion is t hen.

8
2t
y (t) = − e sin(√5t)
√5

Example 2 Solve t he following IVP.

′′ ′ ′
y − 8y + 17y = 0 y (0) = −4 y (0) = −1

Hide Solution 

The charact erist ic equat ion t his t ime is.

2
r − 8r + 17 = 0

The root s of t his are r1,2 = 4 ± i . The general solut ion as well as it s derivat ive is

4t 4t
y (t) = c1 e cos(t) + c2 e sin(t)
′ 4t 4t 4t 4t
y (t) = 4c1 e cos(t) − c1 e sin(t) + 4c2 e sin(t) + c2 e cos(t)

Not ice t hat t his t ime we will need t he derivat ive from t he st art as we won’t be having one of
t he t erms drop out . Applying t he init ial condit ions gives t he following syst em.

−4 = y (0) = c1
′
−1 = y (0) = 4c1 + c2

Solving t his syst em gives c1 = −4 and c2 = 15 . The act ual solut ion t o t he IVP is t hen.

4t 4t
y (t) = −4e cos(t) + 15e sin(t)
 Example 3 Solve t he following IVP.
′′ ′ ′
4y + 24y + 37y = 0 y (π) = 1 y (π) = 0

Hide Solution 

The charact erist ic equat ion t his t ime is.

2
4r + 24r + 37 = 0

The root s of t his are r1,2 = −3 ±

1

2
i . The general solut ion as well as it s derivat ive is

t t
−3t −3t
y (t) = c1 e cos( ) + c2 e sin( )
2 2

t c1 t t c2 t
′ −3t −3t −3t −3t
y (t) = −3c1 e cos( ) − e sin( ) − 3c2 e sin( ) + e cos(
2 2 2 2 2 2

Applying t he init ial condit ions gives t he following syst em.

π π
−3π −3π −3π
1 = y (π) = c1 e cos( ) + c2 e sin( ) = c2 e
2 2
c1
′ −3π −3π
0 = y (π) = − e − 3c2 e
2

Do not forget t o plug t he t = π int o t he exponent ial! This is one of t he more common
mist akes t hat st udent s make on t hese problems. Also, make sure t hat you evaluat e t he t rig
funct ions as much as possible in t hese cases. It will only make your life simpler. Solving t his
syst em gives

3π 3π
c1 = −6e c2 = e

The act ual solut ion t o t he IVP is t hen.

3π −3t
t 3π −3t
t
y (t) = −6e e cos( ) + e e sin( )
2 2

−3(t−π)
t −3(t−π)
t
y (t) = −6e cos( ) + e sin( )
2 2

Let ’s do one final example before moving on t o t he next t opic.

Example 4 Solve t he following IVP.

′′
π ′
π
y + 16y = 0 y( ) = −10 y ( ) = 3
 y + 16y = 0 y( ) = 10 y ( ) = 3
2 2

Hide Solution 

The charact erist ic equat ion for t his different ial equat ion and it s root s are.

2
r + 16 = 0 ⇒ r = ±4 i

Be careful wit h t his charact erist ic polynomial. One of t he biggest mist akes st udent s make
here is t o writ e it as,

2
r + 16r = 0

The problem is t hat t he second t erm will only have an r if t he second t erm in t he different ial
equat ion has a y ′ in it and t his one clearly does not . St udent s however, t end t o just st art at
r
2
and writ e t imes down unt il t hey run out of t erms in t he different ial equat ion. That can, and
oft en does mean, t hey writ e down t he wrong charact erist ic polynomial so be careful.

Okay, back t o t he problem.

The general solut ion t o t his different ial equat ion and it s derivat ive is.

y (t) = c1 cos(4t) + c2 sin(4t)

′
y (t) = −4c1 sin(4t) + 4c2 cos(4t)

Plugging in t he init ial condit ions gives t he following syst em.

π
−10 = y ( ) = c1 c1 = −10
2
π 3
′
3 = y ( ) = 4c2 c2 =
2 4

So, t he const ant s drop right out wit h t his syst em and t he act ual solut ion is.

3
y (t) = −10 cos(4t) + sin(4t)
4

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