The classification of self-adjoint boundary conditions: separated, coupled, and mixed (Q952482)

The classification of self-adjoint boundary conditions for regular and singular linear second order ordinary differential equations is well-known. Compared to the work on second order equations, very little has been done for \(n\)-th order equations with \(n>2\) even, with work focussing on general conditions for self-adjoint boundary conditions, see [\textit{M.\ Möller, A.\ Zettl}, J.\ Differ. Equations, 115, 50--69 (1995; Zbl 0817.34048)] for regular boundary conditions and [\textit{W.\ N.\ Everitt, L.\ Markus}, Boundary value problems and symplectic algebra for ordinary differential and quasi-differential operators. Mathematical Surveys and Monographs. 61. (Providence), RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS). (1999; Zbl 0909.34001)] and [\textit{A.\ P.\ Wang, A.\ Zettl}, J.\ Differential Operators] for regular and singular boundary conditions. One complication occurring for singular problems \(n=2k>2\) with one singular endpoint is that the deficiency indices can be any integer \(d\) with \(k\leq d\leq n\), that is, for \(k< d< n\), there are self-adjoint boundary conditions which are neither limit circle nor limit point. The authors consider symmetric quasi-differential expressions subject to boundary conditions represented by an \(n\times n\) matrix \(A\) at the regular endpoint and an \(n\times m\) matrix \(B\) at the possibly singular endpoint, with \(m=2d-n\). Using the result from [\textit{A.\ P.\ Wang, A.\ Zettl}, ibid.] that the operator is self-adjoint if and only if \(AE_nA^*=BE_mB^*\), where \(E_j=\bigl((-1)^r\delta_{r,j+1-s}\bigr)_{r,s=1}^j\), it is shown that separated boundary conditions are self-adjoint if and only if \(AE_nA^*=0\) and \(BE_mB^*=0\). It is further shown that for general self-adjoint boundary conditions there is \(0\leq r\leq d-k\) such that rank\,\(A=k+r\) and rank\,\(B=d-k+r\) and that those boundary conditions are strictly separated if rank\,\(A=k\). Various examples of self-adjoint boundary condition are discussed, including cases where the boundary conditions are not equivalent to real boundary conditions.