ISSN:2456-7108

Volume 14, Issue 1, pp. 21-26, January 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21467/ajgr.14.1.21-26
GRADUATE RESEARCH ARTICLE

Remarks on the Solution of Fractional Ordinary Differential

Equations Using Laplace Transform Method
Ojima John Mamman1*, Gloria Ojima-Ojo Oguche2, Usman Akwu1
1
Department of Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Science, Faculty of Science Federal University of
Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
2
Department of Mathematics Education, Kogi State University Ayangba, Kogi State, Nigeria

* Corresponding Author email:

mammanojima@gmail.com

Article History ABSTRACT

Received: 09 July 2022 In this work we used the Laplace transform method to solve linear
Revised: 07 September 2023 fractional-order differential equation, fractional ordinary
Accepted: 30 September 2023 differential equations with constant and variable coefficients. The
Published: 14 October 2023 solutions were expressed in terms of Mittag-Leffler functions, and
then written in a compact simplified form. As a special case for
Student(s) simplicity, the order of the derivative determined the order of the
• Gloria Ojima-Ojo Oguche solution that was obtained. This paper presented several case
studies involving the implementation of Fractional Order calculus-
Academic Year: 2021-22 based models, whose results demonstrate the importance of
Course Level: Bachelor Fractional Order Calculus.
Course Name: B.Sc. (Mathematics)
Course year: 4th Year Keywords: Fractional calculus; Laplace transform; Mittag-Leffler function

Mentor(s)
• Ojima John Mamman
• Usman Akwu

1 Introduction
Generalized integro-differentiation appears to be a better name, but fractional calculus (FC) persisted for
historical reasons [1]. The FC extends the standard differential calculus to non-integer orders, whether real
or complex. Until the past few decades, when the research community began to notice its excellent
performance for describing a wide range of natural and artificial processes, this scientific tool was mostly
used in pure mathematics. Recent trends in FC and a thorough presentation of current knowledge can be
found in [16]. Physical phenomena can be articulated with the aid of the theory of fractional order

Copyright © 2023. The Author(s). Published by AIJR Publisher.

This is an open access article under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license,
which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original work is
properly cited.
 22
Remarks on the Solution of Fractional Ordinary Differential Equations Using Laplace Transform Method

derivatives and integrals, and fractional techniques can also successfully simulate real-life phenomena that
depend not only on the present but also on the past time history [1]. Therefore, several methods [2, 3, 4, 5,
and 10] are still being developed to solve fractional differential equations in order to achieve an exact and
numerical solution. Fractional notions have been employed as a tool in domains including engineering,
economics, physics, and chemistry. Today, research and development on fractional calculus are being
applied to the study of differential equations, enabling the ordering of both ordinary and partial differential
equations by any number [1]. The applications of fractional differential equations in fields including biology,
economics, the oil industry, finance, engineering, and a wide range of other fields have been the primary
drivers of research in this field [6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15]. In this study, we solve linear fractional ordinary
differential equations with constant and variable coefficients using the Laplace transform. The outcomes
are then simplified and stated in terms of Mittag-Leffler functions.
2 Materials and Methods
For the assessment of the fractional calculus [1,2,3, and 7] that will be employed in this study, a few
definitions and mathematical foundations are presented in this section. Mathematically, the Riemann-
Liouville fractional integral of order 𝑎 is defined as:
2.1 The Riemann-Liouville integral is defined as
1 𝑥
𝐼 𝑎 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = ∫ 𝑓(𝑡)(𝑥 − 𝑡)𝑎−1 𝑑𝑡 (1)
Г(𝑎) 𝑎

2.2 Laplace Transform of the Fractional Integral

2.2.1 Laplace Transform

The Laplace transform of a function f(t), denoted by F(s), is defined by the equation
∞
𝐹(𝑠) = (𝐿 𝑓 )(𝑠) = 𝐿{ 𝑓 (𝑡); 𝑠} = ∫0 𝑓(𝑡)𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑡 (2)
−𝛼 1 𝑥
0𝐼𝑥 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = ∫𝑎
𝑓 (𝑡)(𝑥 − 𝑡)𝑎−1 𝑑𝑡 (3)
Г(𝑎)

Application of convolution theorem of the Laplace transform gives

𝑡 𝛼−1
𝐿{ 0𝐼𝑥−𝛼 𝑓(𝑥 ); 𝑠} = 𝐿{ } 𝐿{𝑓(𝑡); 𝑠} = 𝑠 −𝛼 𝐹(𝑠) (4)
Г(𝑎)

2.3 Caputo derivative

If m is the smallest integer greater than α, then Caputo fractional derivative of order α >0 is defined as
𝐷∗𝛼 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐽𝑚−𝛼 𝑓 𝑚 (𝑥) with 𝑚 − 1 < 𝛼 < 𝑚,
given
1 𝑥 𝑓 (𝑚) (𝜏)
[∫0 𝑑𝜏] , 𝑚 − 1 < 𝛼 < 𝑚,
(𝑥−𝜏)𝛼+1−𝑚
𝐷∗𝛼 𝑓(𝑡) = { Г(𝑚−𝛼) (5)
𝑑𝑚
( )
𝑚𝑓 𝑥 , 𝛼 = 𝑚.
𝑑𝑥

2.4 Laplace transform of Caputo fractional derivative

𝑛
𝛼 𝑛−𝛼 𝑑 −(𝑛−𝛼) 𝑛
𝑎 𝐷𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)= 𝑎𝐼𝑥 𝑓(𝑥 )= 𝑎𝐷𝑡 𝑓 (𝑡) (6)
𝑑𝑥 𝑛

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Mamman et al., Adv. J. Grad. Res.; Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp: 21-26, January 2024

2.5 Mittag-Leffler Function

The special function of Mittag-Leffler for 𝑎, 𝛽 ∈ 𝕔, 𝑅𝑒(𝑎), 𝑅𝑒(𝛽 ) > 0 is defined as
𝑍𝑘
𝐸𝑎,𝛽 (𝑧) = ∑∞
𝑘=0 (7)
𝛤(𝑎𝑘+𝛽)

The function 𝐸(𝑡, 𝛼, 𝑎) is used to solve differentials equations of fractional order which is defined by:
(𝑎𝑡) 𝑘
𝐸 (𝑡, 𝛼, 𝑎) = 𝑡 𝛼 ∑∞
𝑘=0 = 𝑡 𝛼 𝐸1,𝛼+1 (𝑎𝑡) (8)
𝛤(𝑘+𝛼+1)
1 𝑡
Property 1: 𝐸 (𝑡, 𝛼, 𝑎) = ∫ 𝜉 𝛼−1 𝑒 𝑎(𝑡−𝜉) 𝑑𝜉
𝛤(𝛼) 0

𝑆 −(𝛼−𝛽)
Property 2: ℒ −1 [ ] = 𝑡 𝛼−1 𝛽𝛼 (𝑎𝑡𝛽 ), |𝑆𝛽 − 𝑎| < 1
𝑆 𝛽 −𝑎

Corollary 1:
𝑒 𝑎𝑡
i. 𝐸1,3 (𝑎𝑡) = erf (√𝑎𝑡)
2 √𝑎𝑡
1
ii. 𝐸1,1 (𝑎𝑡) = + √𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑓(√𝑎𝑡)
2 √𝜋
1 𝑒 𝑎𝑡 2
iii. 𝐸1,5 (𝑎𝑡) = [ erf(√𝑎𝑡) − ]
2 𝑎𝑡 √𝑎𝑡 √𝜋
−1 1
iv. 𝐸1,−1 (𝑎𝑡) = + (𝑎𝑡)( + √𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑡 erf (√𝑎𝑡))
2 2√𝜋 √𝜋

Corollary 2:
1
i. ℒ −1 [ ] = 𝑡𝐸 (𝑡, 𝛼, 𝑎) − 𝛼𝐸(𝑡, 𝛼 + 1, 𝑎)
𝑆 𝛼 (𝑆−𝑎)2
1 1 𝛼(𝛼+1)
ii. ℒ −1 [ 𝛼 ] = 𝑡 2 𝐸 (𝑡, 𝛼, 𝑎) − 𝛼𝑡𝐸 (𝑡, 𝛼 + 1, 𝑎) + 𝐸 (𝑡, 𝛼 + 2, 𝑎)
𝑆 (𝑆−𝑎)3 2 2

3 Result and Discussion

Example 1: Consider the following initial value problem in the case of the inhomogeneous Bagley-Tonick
equation
3
𝐷2 𝑦(𝑥 ) + 𝐷 2 (𝑥 ) + 𝑦(𝑥) = 1 + 𝑥

𝑦(0) = 𝑦 ′ (0) = 1
Using Laplace transform
𝑠 2 𝐹 (𝑠) − 𝑠𝑦(0) − 𝑦 ′ (0) 1 1
𝑠 2 𝐹 (𝑠) − 𝑠𝑦(0) − 𝑦 ′ (0) + 1 + 𝐹 (𝑠 ) = +
𝑠 𝑠2
𝑠2
Considering the condition
𝑦(0) = 𝑦 ′ (0) = 1
We have
1 1
𝐹 (𝑠 ) = ( + 2 )
𝑠 𝑠

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 24
Remarks on the Solution of Fractional Ordinary Differential Equations Using Laplace Transform Method

Example 2: This problem covers the inhomogeneous linear equation

2𝑥 2−𝛼 𝑥 1−𝛼
𝐷 𝛼 𝑦 (𝑥 ) + 𝑦 (𝑥 ) = − + 𝑥2 − 𝑥
𝛤(3 − 𝛼) 𝛤(2 − 𝛼)
𝑦(0) = 0, 0 < 𝛼 ≤ 1
Using the Laplace transform, 𝐹 (𝑠) is obtained as follows
𝑠𝐹 (𝑠) − 𝑦(0) 2 1 2 1
1−𝛼
= 3−𝛼 − 2−𝛼 − 𝐹 (𝑠) + 3 − 2
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠
2 1
𝐹 (𝑠 ) = 3 − 2
𝑠 𝑠
Example 3: Consider the following fractional ordinary differential equation with variable coefficients
𝑡𝐷𝛼 𝑥 (𝑡) + 𝐷𝛼−1 𝑥 (𝑡) + 𝑡𝑥 (𝑡) = 0 𝑥 (0) = 1, 1 < 𝛼 ≤ 2
Application of Laplace transform gives
d
− ℒ {𝑡𝐷𝛼 𝑥 (𝑡)} + ℒ {𝐷𝛼−1 𝑥 (𝑡)} + ℒ {𝑡𝑥 (𝑡)} = 0
ds
1 0
𝑑 𝛼
⇒− [𝑠 𝑥̅ (𝑠) − ∑ 𝑠 𝑘 𝐷𝛼−𝑘−1 𝑥(0)] + [𝑠 𝛼−1 𝑥̅ (𝑠) − ∑ 𝑠 𝑘 𝐷𝛼−𝑘−2 𝑥(0)]
𝑑𝑠
𝑘=0 𝑘=0
𝑑𝑥̅ (𝑠)
− =0
𝑑𝑠
(1 − 𝛼 )
∴ 𝑥 (𝑡) = ℒ −1 [𝑐(1 + 𝑠 𝛼 ) ]
𝛼
As special case we take 𝛼 = 2 then we have
𝑐
𝑥 (𝑡) = ℒ −1 [ ] = 𝑐𝐽0 (𝑡)
√1 + 𝑠 2
Example 4: Consider the homogenous equation.
1
(𝐷1 − 3𝐷2 + 2𝐷0 ) 𝑥 (𝑡) = 0

Solution
By applying Laplace transform we have
1
ℒ{𝐷𝑥 (𝑡)} − 3ℒ {𝐷 2 𝑥(𝑡)} + 2ℒ {𝐷0 𝑥(𝑡)} = 0
1
𝑠𝑥̅ (𝑠) − 𝑥 (0) − 3ℒ {𝐷 (𝐷−2 𝑥(𝑡))} + 2𝑥̅ (𝑠) = 0

2 1 1 1
𝑐( + 1 − − 1 )
𝑠−4 𝑠−1
𝑠 −2 (𝑠 − 4) 𝑠 −2 (𝑠 − 1)
Where
1
𝑐 = [𝑥(0) − 3𝐷 −2 𝑥(0)]

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Mamman et al., Adv. J. Grad. Res.; Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp: 21-26, January 2024

From corollary (1) we obtain the solution as follows

1 1
∴ 𝑥 (𝑡) = 𝑐 [2𝑒 4𝑡 − 𝑒 𝑡 + 𝐸 (𝑡, − , 4) − 𝐸 (𝑡, − , 1)]
2 2
𝑐[2𝑒 4𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑐(−2√𝑡) − 𝑒 𝑡 (𝑒𝑟𝑓 𝑐(−√𝑡))]
Example 5: Consider the inhomogeneous initial value problem.
1
(𝐷1 − 2𝐷2 + 𝐷0 ) 𝑥 (𝑡) = 𝑒 𝑡 𝑥 (0) = 1

Solution
We applied the Laplace transform to obtain:
1 1
𝑠𝑥̅ (𝑠) − 𝑥(0) − 2𝑠 2 𝑥̅ (𝑠) + 2𝑥 (0) + 𝑥̅ (𝑠) =
𝑠−1
From property 2, and corollary 2 we have

1 𝑡 3 1 3 1
x(t) = 𝑒 + (𝑐 + ) ℒ −1 { −1 2
} + ( + 2𝑐) ℒ −1 { 1 }
4 4 𝑠 (𝑠 − 1) 2
𝑠 − 2 (𝑠 − 1)2

3 1 1 3 1
( + 𝑐) t𝑒 𝑡 + ℒ −1 { 3 } + ℒ −1 { −1 }
4 2 2 𝑠 (𝑠 − 1)2
𝑠 − 2 (𝑠 − 1) 3

3 −1 1 1
ℒ { 1 } + 𝑡2𝑒𝑡
2 2
𝑠 − 2 (𝑠 − 1) 3

Applying the initial condition 𝑥 (0) = 1 gives c = 0 and by substituting the value of 𝑐 we have:

𝑒𝑡 √𝑡 √𝑡 √𝑡
𝑥 (𝑡 ) = (3𝑡 2 + 12𝑡 + 4) + (9 + 3𝑡)𝐸 1 (𝑡) + (15 + 12𝑡)𝐸 3 (𝑡) + 𝐸 1 (𝑡)
4 4 1,
2 16 1,
2 4 1,−2
3 3
− 𝑡 2 𝐸 5 (𝑡 )
16 1,
2

from corollary 2 we get the final solution as follows

1 𝑡 3
𝑥 (𝑡 ) = {4(3𝑡 2 + 12𝑡 + 4)𝑒 𝑡 + (15 + 48𝑡 + 16𝑡 2 − 3𝑡 3 )𝑒 𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑓(√𝑡) + 2√ (3𝑡 2 + 8𝑡 + 17)}
16 𝜋

4 Conclusion
The Laplace transformation method has been successfully applied to find the exact solution of linear
fractional ordinary differential equations also fractional ordinary differential equations, with variable
coefficients. Without assumptions, we applied our method directly. In this paper, fractional order calculus
is treated more suggestively rather than rigorously. The examples presented show the effectiveness of
Laplace transform approach of solving Fractional Order calculus-based models, whose results demonstrate
the importance of Fractional Order Calculus.
5 Declarations
5.1 Competing Interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

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 26
Remarks on the Solution of Fractional Ordinary Differential Equations Using Laplace Transform Method

5.2 Publisher’s Note

AIJR remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in institutional affiliations.
How to Cite this Article:
J. O. Mamman, G. O.-O. Oguche, and U. Akwu, “Remarks on the Solution of Fractional Ordinary Differential Equations Using
Laplace Transform Method”, Adv. J. Grad. Res., vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 21–26, Oct. 2023. https://doi.org/10.21467/ajgr.14.1.21-26

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