Prediction of multiplicity of solutions of nonlinear boundary value problems: Novel application of homotopy analysis method

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to introduce a method, probably for the first time, to predict the multiplicity of the solutions of nonlinear boundary value problems. This procedure can be easily applied on nonlinear ordinary differential equations with boundary conditions. This method, as will be seen, besides anticipating of multiplicity of the solutions of the nonlinear differential equations, calculates effectively the all branches of the solutions (on the condition that, there exist such solutions for the problem) analytically at the same time. In this manner, for practical use in science and engineering, this method might give new unfamiliar class of solutions which is of fundamental interest and furthermore, the proposed approach convinces to apply it on nonlinear equations by today’s powerful software programs so that it does not need tedious stages of evaluation and can be used without studying the whole theory. In fact, this technique has new point of view to well-known powerful analytical method for nonlinear differential equations namely homotopy analysis method (HAM). Everyone familiar to HAM knows that the convergence-controller parameter plays important role to guarantee the convergence of the solutions of nonlinear differential equations. It is shown that the convergence-controller parameter plays a fundamental role in the prediction of multiplicity of solutions and all branches of solutions are obtained simultaneously by one initial approximation guess, one auxiliary linear operator and one auxiliary function. The validity and reliability of the method is tested by its application to some nonlinear exactly solvable differential equations which is practical in science and engineering.