Lee–Gruber Equivalence Theorem
The Lee–Gruber equivalence theorem is a mathematical theorem which states that the solutions of the differential equation:
y+py+qy=0
where p and q are constants, is equivalent to the equation:
y+py+qy=g(t)
where g(t) is any specific function of time. In other words, solutions to the second equation are solutions to the first equation in the absence of any time-varying external force acting on the system.
The theorem is named after two of its principal authors, Norman Lee and Gail Gruber, who first published it in 1977. It has since been widely applied in physics, engineering, and control theory, as well as other mathematical fields.
The theorem is important in many physical situations because it allows one to convert a differential equation describing a system with varying external inputs into an equation which is more amenable to solution. The main idea behind the theorem is that, even though the presence of an external input causes the system’s state to deviate from its normal steady-state behavior, this deviation from the steady-state caused by the input can often be represented by a time-varying state parameter. By expressing the relationship between an input and this parameter in terms of a differential equation, the resulting equation can then be solved using the Lee–Gruber equivalence theorem.
For example, consider a simple mechanical system in which an external force is applied to a spring-mass system. Without the external input, the equation of motion for the system is a simple second-order linear differential equation:
m x+k x=0
where m is the mass, k is the spring constant, and x is the position of the mass. To find the motion of the system, one could solve this differential equation directly. However, this equation does not account for the possibility that the external force may vary with time. To include the possibility of a time-varying input, one can modify the equation to account for the presence of an additional time-varying force, yielding the following equation:
m x+k x=f(t)
where f(t) is the external force applied to the system at any given time. By the Lee–Gruber equivalence theorem, this equation is equivalent to the original equation with an added state parameter, yielding the following equation:
m x+k x=g(x(t))
where g(x(t)) is the rate of change of the force applied to the system, which is a function of the systems state. This equation can now be solved directly, without the need for further modification.
In addition to being applied to mechanical systems, the Lee–Gruber equivalence theorem has also been applied to the fields of electrical circuits, biochemical networks, and control theory, among other areas.
In summary, the Lee–Gruber equivalence theorem is a powerful mathematical tool which enables one to convert a differential equation describing a system with varying external inputs into an equation which is more amenable to solution. By expressing the relationship between an input and a state parameter in terms of a differential equation, the resulting equation can then be solved using this theorem. As such, the Lee–Gruber equivalence theorem has been applied to many areas of mathematics, physics, engineering, and control theory, and is a valuable tool for anyone needing to solve equations involving varying external inputs.