Solutions of the Van der Pol Equation

Summary Presented in this paper are various solutions to the Van der Pol equation. Numerical solutions are utilized as an independent means of validating the various solutions discussed. A new solution in the form of a power series has been found. Although this solution is exact, its interval of convergence can only be estimated for a special case. Numerical experiments reveal that the power series solution can provide an exact solution over intervals where other approximate solutions are not valid. Thus, the new solution represents an additional solution that can complement other existing solutions. This work also emphasizes the importance and the role of computation. Although the power series solution along with the other approximate solutions mentioned are of theoretical interest, their restrictions limit their usefulness in real applications, and therefore numerical methods should also be considered.