Global structure of positive solutions for superlinear second-order periodic boundary value problems (Q434614)

The authors are concerned with the second-order periodic boundary value problem \[ \begin{aligned} & u''-\rho^2+\lambda a(t)(u(t))=0,\;0<t<2\pi,\\ & u(0)=u(2\pi),\;u'(0)=u'(2\pi), \end{aligned} \] where \(\rho>0\) is a constant, \(a\in C([0,2\pi],[0,+\infty))\) (\(a(t_0)>0\) for some \(t_0\in[0,2\pi]\)), \(f: [0,\infty)\to[0,\infty)\) is a continuous function and has superlinear growth at the origin. Let \(f_\infty:=\lim_{s\to+\infty}\frac{f(s)}{s}\). For different values of \(f_\infty\), the authors study the existence of solutions in terms of \(f_\infty\) and the eigenvalue \(\lambda\). The proofs of the main results use auxiliary equations and sequential arguments together with Rabinowitz' global bifurcation theorem [\textit{P. H. Rabinowitz}, J. Funct. Anal. 7, 487--513 (1971; Zbl 0212.16504)].