Asymptotic analysis of Emden-Fowler type equation with an application to power flow models (Q6135893)

The authors study a specific Emden-Fowler type equation in the form of the discrete recursion: \[ V_{j+1}-2V_j+V_{j-1}=\frac{k}{V_j},\qquad j=1,2,\ldots;\quad V_0=1, V_1=1+k. \] This governs the voltages on a line network along with the continuous approximation of these voltages modeled by the differential equation \[ \frac{\operatorname d^2 f}{\operatorname d t^2} = \frac{k}{f},\qquad t\geq 0;\quad f(0)=1, f'(0)\geq 0, \] where \(k\) is a positive constant. They show that the solution of the discrete Emden-Fowler equation and that of its continuous approximation have the same asymptotic behavior, namely: \[ V_j \sim j(2k\ln j)^{1/2},\qquad j\to \infty, \] \[ f(t) \sim t(2k\ln t)^{1/2},\qquad t\to \infty. \]