Non-uniform asymptotic stability for the damped linear oscillator (Q2653951)

Sufficient conditions are established for non-uniform asymptotic stability of the linear oscillator with damping term \[ x''+a(t)x'+b(t)x=0, \] where the coefficients \(a\) and \(b\) are continuously differentiable. The obtained results clarify a difference between the uniform asymptotic stability and the asymptotic stability of this linear equation. Some simple examples are included to illustrate the results. Especially, Bessel's differential equation (\(a(t)=1/(1+t)\), \(b(t)=1-r^2/(1+t)^2\), \(r\in\mathbb{R}\)) is taken up and it is proved that the equilibrium is asymptotically stable, but it is not uniformly asymptotically stable.