Classroom note: Polynomial solutions of the Laguerre equation and other differential equations near a singular point

Abstract

It can be shown that if a differential equation is analytic near a point, then it is always possible to select a forcing term along with initial conditions that will ensure the solution to the new non-homogeneous equation is a polynomial that is the finite, truncated portion of the (infinite) series solution of the original equation. It turns out that this result can be extended to expansions about a singular point. The conditions under which such a polynomial truncation can be accomplished about a singular point are presented in the Appendix. A brief algorithm is described that enables one to choose the appropriate forcing term and initial conditions. Following this, an example involving Laguerre's equation is presented.