Disconjugacy of periodic equations (Q1071925)

The authors set the following problem: for which values of a real parameter H, does the solution of the equation: \(y''(t)+H.(\sin n\Pi t).y(t)=0,\) \(y(0)=0\), \(y'(0)=1\), stay positive on the interval (0,1]? More generally, p being a continuous, T-periodic function, determine the largest intervals \((-\lambda^-_ n,\lambda^+_ n)\) such that: for \(\lambda\) in \((-\lambda^-_ n,\lambda^+_ n)\), the solution of the equation: \(y''(t)+\lambda p(t).y(t)=0,\) \(y(0)=0\), \(y'(0)=1\) is positive on (0,nT]. These intervals are the so-called disconjugacy sets. The connection of this notion to the boundary value problems is clear. According to the authors, precise results describing \(\lambda_ n^{\pm}\) were not available in the literature. This is partly done in the present paper, yielding asymptotic results in terms of n, using essentially comparison properties for oscillations of second order equations (Sturm type) and Floquet type properties for periodic equations. This work can illustrate the interest in such questions to exploit the qualitative properties of the solutions in contrast to more general methods previously applied by other authors with far weaker results.