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Lec 16 Difference Equations

Difference equations relate consecutive terms of a sequence and can be classified as homogeneous or non-homogeneous based on the presence of constant terms. Homogeneous equations have zero on the right side, while non-homogeneous equations include a function of the independent variable. The general solution of a difference equation can be expressed as the sum of a complementary function and a particular solution, with the behavior of the solution often converging to an equilibrium value over time.

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7 views

Lec 16 Difference Equations

Difference equations relate consecutive terms of a sequence and can be classified as homogeneous or non-homogeneous based on the presence of constant terms. Homogeneous equations have zero on the right side, while non-homogeneous equations include a function of the independent variable. The general solution of a difference equation can be expressed as the sum of a complementary function and a particular solution, with the behavior of the solution often converging to an equilibrium value over time.

Uploaded by

Md Arman Hussain
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Difference Equations

Homogeneous / Non-homogeneous
Difference Equations
• A difference equation is any equation that contains a difference of a
variable. The classification within the difference equations depends on:
• Order of the equation. The order of the equation is the highest order of difference
contained in the equation.
• Differential equations deal with continuous system, while the difference
equations are meant for discrete process.
• A homogeneous difference equations is one in which all of the constant
terms are zero.
• A homogeneous equation does have zero on the right hand side of the
equality sign, while a non-homogeneous equation has a function of
independent variable on the right hand side of the equal sign.
Examples

• Standard form:
Difference Equations
• A difference equation (sometimes called a recurrence relation) is an
equation that relates consecutive terms of a sequence of numbers.
For example, the equation

• describes sequences in which one number is twice its predecessor.


There are obviously many sequences that satisfy this requirement,
including
Difference Equations
In order to determine the sequence uniquely, we need to be given some additional
information, such as the first term. It is conventional to write the first term as Y0,
and once this is given a specific value, all remaining terms are known. If , then

If we write these terms as

We can see that the general term may be expressed as


This is the solution of the difference equation with initial condition .
Practice Problem
• 1. (1)
• (a) (b)
• (c)

• (2)
• (a)
• (b)
• (c)

• (3)
• The result of the last part of Practice Problem 1 shows that the solution of the general equation
with initial condition is given by

Before we can consider the use of difference equations in economic models, we must examine the
solution of more general equations of the form

where the right-hand side now includes a non-zero constant, c.


The general solution of equation (2) can be written as the sum of two separate expressions known
as the complementary function (CF) and the particular solution (PS).
The complementary function is the name that we give to the solution of equation (2) when
the constant, c, is zero. In this case, equation (2) reduces to equation (1), and so

The particular solution turns out to be easier to do than might at fist appear, and we will see how
this can be done in a moment. Finally, once CF and PS have been found, we can write down the
general solution of equation (2) as
Solve the following difference equations with the
specified initial conditions. Comment on the qualitative
behavior of the solution in each case.
Solution
Contd…
Contd…
Contd…
Graphical interpretation of this solution: is plotted against t
• Shows that the values of Yt increase but eventually settle down at 12. We describe
this by saying that the time path converges uniformly to the value of 12, which is
referred to as the equilibrium value. This behavior is also apparent from the
formula for Yt because the number (1/3)t gets ever smaller as t increases.
• In effect, the complementary function disappears, leaving just the particular
solution. The particular solution is the equilibrium value of Yt, whereas the
complementary function measures the deviation from the equilibrium which, in
this case, converges to zero as t increases. This sort of behavior can be expected to
occur for any solution
(i) Find the general solution.
(ii) Find the particular solution.
• (i) convert the given equation into homogeneous equation.

• Let,

•
• Now substitute the value of eqn. (2) and (3) into eqn. (1)

• |
• Now substitute the value of into eqn. (2)

• Now

• substitute the value of into eqn. (4)


Non homogeneous difference
equations

• (i) Find the particular solution


• (ii) given

• Given the eqn.


• General solution –
• To find , convert the eqn. 1 into • Since
homogeneous difference
equation

• Putting the value of b into eqn. (4)

• Let

• Now substitute the value of eqn.


(4) and (5) into eqn. (3)
To find
• |same value as
|fixed
• substitute the value into eqn. (1) • Given ,

• substitute the value of into eqn.


(2)
• Now putting the value of A into • LHS,
eqn. (8)

.
If
• putting the value of

If

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