Research of a certain differential equation with regard to the asymptotic behaviour of the maxima of the solution. I: Theory (Q5929493)

The authors consider the equation (1) \(u''+ qu= 0\) with \(q(t)= a_1t^a+ b_1 t^b\sin t^2\), \(a_1> 0\), \(b_1\neq 0\), \(0\leq b< a\), with the aim of finding conditions on \(q\) such that \(q^{1/4}u\in M\) for all solutions \(u\neq 0\); here, \(f\in M\) means that \(f(t)\) oscillates as \(t\to\infty\) and is such that the local maxima \(m_k=|f(t_k)|\) of \(|f|\) satisfy \(t_k\to \infty\) and \(\lim m_k= c(f)> 0\). This property is closely related to a theorem of Wintner and is called Wintner's property (WP). It follows from this theorem that WP holds for (1) if \(b<{3\over 2}(a- 2)\), and other conditions like \(b< k(a-2)\) have been obtained recently. In the case \(a\leq 2\), which is not covered by these results, the authors develop a new method based on Steen's equation, which gives explicit solutions to \(u''+ qu=0\) in case \(q= c^2/r^4- r''/r\), \(r(t)> 0\). One of several results states that WP holds if \(b< a/4+ 1/2\) and \(a< 2\). The authors state that the theory fails in the case \(a= 2\), \(a_1= 1\); they raise other questions and point to strange behaviour of solutions obtained from numerical results.