A new perspective on the Ermakov-Pinney and scalar wave equations

Abstract

The first part of the paper proves that a subset of the general set of Ermakov-Pinney equations can be obtained by differentiation of a first-order non-linear differential equation. The second part of the paper proves that, similarly, the equation for the amplitude function for the parametrix of the scalar wave equation can be obtained by covariant differentiation of a first-order non-linear equation. The construction of such a first-order non-linear equation relies upon a pair of auxiliary 1-forms (psi,rho). The 1-form psi satisfies the divergenceless condition div(psi)=0, whereas the 1-form rho fulfills the non-linear equation div(rho)+rho**2=0. The auxiliary 1-forms (psi,rho) are evaluated explicitly in Kasner space-time, and hence also amplitude and phase function in the parametrix are obtained. Thus, the novel method developed in this paper can be used with profit in physical applications.