Two Different Analytical Approaches for Solving the Pantograph Delay Equation with Variable Coefficient of Exponential Order

The pantograph equation is a basic model in the field of delay differential equations. This paper deals with an extended version of the pantograph delay equation by incorporating a variable coefficient of exponential order. At specific values of the involved parameters, the exact solution is obtained by applying the regular Maclaurin series expansion (MSE). A second approach is also applied on the current model based on a hybrid method combining the Laplace transform (LT) and the Adomian decomposition method (ADM) denoted as (LTADM). Although the MSE derives the exact solution in a straightforward manner, the LTADM determines the solution in a closed series form which is theoretically proved for convergence. Further, the accuracy of such a closed-form solution is examined through various comparisons with the exact solution. For validation, the residual errors are calculated and displayed in graphs. The results show that the solution obtained utilizing the LTADM is in full agreement with the exact solution using only a few terms of the closed-form series solution. Moreover, it is found that the residual errors tend to zero, which reflects the effectiveness of the LTADM. The present approach may merit further extension by including other types of linear delay differential equations with variable coefficients.