Positive solutions for singular \(m\)-point boundary value problems with positive parameter. (Q1426088)

The paper deals with the following multipoint boundary value problem \[ y''(t)+\lambda f(t,y)=0, \quad 0<t<1, \leqno (1) \] \[ y(0)=0, \quad y(1)=\sum_{i=1}^{m-2} \alpha_iy(\eta_i), \leqno(2) \] where \(\lambda >0\) is a real parameter, \(0<\eta_1 <\eta_2< \dots <\eta_{m-2} <1\), \(0<\alpha_i\), \(\sum_{i=1}^{m-2} \alpha_i \eta_i <1\). The function \(f\) is continuous on \((0,1)\times (0,+\infty)\) and it may have singularities at \(t=0, t=1, y=0\). Moreover, the function \(f\) must not be nonnegative and is supposed to fulfil \[ -p(t)\leq f(t,y) \leq \phi(t)(g(y)+h(y)), \] \[ \lim_{y\to +\infty} {f(t,y)\over y} = +\infty \quad \text{uniformly on} \quad [\eta_1/2, \eta_1], \] where \(\phi\) and \(p\) are continuous and nonnegative on \((0,1)\), \(g\) is continuous, positive and decreasing on \((0,+\infty)\), \(h\) is nonnegative, continuous and increasing on \([0,+\infty)\). Furthermore, certain technical conditions for \(\phi, p, g\) are assumed. The author proves the existence of a positive solution of (1),(2), which is defined as a function \(y\in C[0,1]\cap C^2(0,1)\) satisfying (1), (2) and \(y(t)>0\) for \(t\in (0,1)\). The proof is based on the evaluation of the topological degree of operators corresponding to auxiliary problems and on the method of a priori estimates.