Existence and bifurcation for some elliptic problems on exterior strip domains (Q2469039)

The problem under consideration depends on a parameter \(\lambda \geq 0\) and reads \[ -\Delta u + u = \lambda K(x) u^p + f(x)\,, \quad 0 < u \in H_0^1(\Omega)\,, \] where \(p > 1\) is subcritical. Here \(\Omega \subseteq \mathbb R^N\) is assumed to be an exterior strip domain. This means that for some decomposition \(N = m+n, m \geq 2, n \geq 1\) we have a bounded smooth domain \(\omega \subseteq \mathbb R^m\), put \(S := \omega \times \mathbb R^n\) and finally \(\Omega := S \setminus \bar{D}\), where \(D\) is a bounded smooth domain such that \(D \subseteq \bar{D} \subseteq S\). Moreover, \(f, K\) are non-negative, \(f \in L^2 \cap L^q\) for suitable \(q\), and \(K\) is bounded, and exhibits a particular asymptotic behaviour at infinity. It is then proved that, for some \(\lambda^* > 0\), there are two positive solutions \(u_\lambda, U_\lambda\) if \(0 < \lambda < \lambda^*\) and one positive solution for \(\lambda = \lambda^*\), while there is no positive solution for \(\lambda > \lambda^*\). The family \((u_\lambda)\) increases pointwise with \(\lambda\), remains bounded in \(H^1 \cap L^\infty\), and tends to \(u_0\) as \(\lambda \to 0\). The solutions \(U_\lambda \) satisfy \(U_\lambda > u_\lambda\) pointwise, and they go to infinity in \(L^\infty\) and in \(H^1\) norms as \(\lambda \to 0\). Regularity and asymptotic behaviour of the \(u_\lambda\) is also investigated, and this is used in the construction of the \(U_\lambda\), where a mountain pass argument in a situation involving lack of compactness is employed which necessitates a careful analysis of Palais-Smale sequences. The paper concludes with a bifurcation analysis at the point \(\lambda^*\).