Variant idea: Reduce the second‑order ODE to a Riccati equation for the logarithmic derivative and then back to a linear ODE.
informal
matches a reference family
The differential equation
\[
y''(x)+f(x)\,y'(x)+a\bigl(f(x)-a\bigr)\,y(x)=0
\]
is a linear homogeneous second‑order ODE. A standard way to analyse such an equation is to introduce the logarithmic derivative
\[
u(x)=\frac{y'(x)}{y(x)}\quad(\text{assuming }y(x)
eq0).
\]
Differentiating gives
\[
y''=u'y+u^2y,
\]
and substituting into the ODE yields the Riccati equation for \(u\)
\[
u'(x)+u(x)^2+f(x)\,u(x)+a\bigl(f(x)-a\bigr)=0.
\]
This is a first‑order nonlinear ODE. A particular solution is \(u_p(x)=-a\), because substituting it into the Riccati equation gives an identity. Using the standard substitution \(u=u_p+1/v\) transforms the Riccati equation into the linear first‑order ODE
\[
v'(x)-\bigl(f(x)-2a\bigr)v(x)=1.
\]
Its integrating factor is \(\mu(x)=\exp\!\bigl(-\int^x(f(t)-2a)\,dt\bigr)\), so the general solution is
\[
v(x)=\exp\!\bigl(\int^x(f(t)-2a)\,dt\bigr)\Bigl(C+\int^x\exp\!\bigl(-\int^s(f(t)-2a)\,dt\bigr)\,ds\Bigr),
\]
with an arbitrary constant \(C\). Returning to \(u\) and then to \(y\) gives the general solution of the original equation:
\[
y(x)=e^{-ax}\Bigl(C+\int^x\exp\!\bigl(-\int^s(f(t)-2a)\,dt\bigr)\,ds\Bigr).
\]
Every solution of the ODE can be written in this form, and conversely every function of this form satisfies the ODE. Thus the family of solutions described above is complete.
(Proofs of the intermediate steps – the reduction to Riccati, the particular solution \(u_p=-a\), the linearisation, and the back‑substitution – are standard calculations that can be carried out in a formal proof assistant such as Lean by applying the chain rule, the quotient rule, and the linear‑ODE solving routine.)