On the exact solution to the “gliding tone” problem

The gliding tone problem is the response of a resonant circuit when the driving force is a gliding tone, that is a chirp. The problem was first considered by Barber and Ursell (1948), and independently by Hok (1948). Barber and Ursell, and Hok, and subsequent investigators considered approximate solutions and attempted to qualitatively understand the behavior of the response. An exact solution has never been obtained. We have found the exact Wigner distribution of the solution. This allows one to study the nature of the solution without any approximations. We have obtained the exact solution by way of a new method to study dynamical systems