Minimax theorems with staircases (Q1193253)

The paper is devoted to the study of a sufficient condition for a minimax relation, i.e. the interchange possibility of sup and min in minsup of a functional being lower semicontinuous with respect to the first argument on a compact topological space. A complete review of the available results in this field is presented. A condition is given which generalized all of them. The condition is formulated in terms of ascending and descending stair-cases. Furthermore, the author shows how to obtain other results from his own one, in terms of upward and downward cushioning functions generalizing averaging functions, and in terms of classical averaging functions. Essential properties of cushioning functions are proved. An example of cushioning functions is suggested.