Airy function
Special function in the physical sciences / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In the physical sciences, the Airy function (or Airy function of the first kind) Ai(x) is a special function named after the British astronomer George Biddell Airy (1801–1892). The function Ai(x) and the related function Bi(x), are linearly independent solutions to the differential equation
known as the Airy equation or the Stokes equation.
Because the solution of the linear differential equation
is oscillatory for k<0 and exponential for k>0, the Airy functions are oscillatory for x<0 and exponential for x>0. In fact, the Airy equation is the simplest second-order linear differential equation with a turning point (a point where the character of the solutions changes from oscillatory to exponential).