Multiple positive solutions for a superlinear problem: a topological approach (Q2343524)

The paper is concerned with the nonlinear second-order differential equation \[ u''+f(x,u)=0, \] where \(f\) is allowed to change sign and has some behavior with respect to its second argument. More precisely, the growth of the ratio \(\frac{f(x,s)}{s}\) at infinity is considered, extending the superlinear case. Of particular concern is the special case of separated variable nonlinearity \(f(x,s)=a(x)g(s)\), where the coefficient \(a\) satisfies some assumptions. The existence of \( 2^n-1\) positive solutions is then proved. Positivity is obtained by means of a maximum principle. The method of proofs mainly relies on extension of the Leray-Schauder topological degree. The degree is computed for suitable balls of the Banach space of continuous functions and by performing several a priori estimates. The results obtained in this paper generalize some others from the recent literature.