We derive a formula for the trace of a class of differential operators defined by forced two point boundary value problems. The formula involves finite dimensional computations with matrices whose dimension is no larger than the order of the differential operator. We thus achieve an exact reduction of an infinite dimensional problem to a finite dimensional one. We relate this trace calculation to computation of the H/sup 2/ norm for certain infinite dimensional systems. An example from hydrodynamic stability is included to illustrate the method.
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