Nonorientability of the index bundle and several-parameter bifurcation (Q1175020)

Let \(X\), \(\bar X\) and \(Y\) be Banach spaces with \(X\) completely embedded in \(\bar X\), let \(\phi(X,Y)\) be the set of all linear Fredholm operators from \(X\) to \(Y\). A map \(f: X\to Y\) is called quasilinear Fredholm if it has a representation of the form \(f(x)=L(x)x+C(x), x\in X\), where \(L\) is the restriction to \(X\) of a continuous family \(\bar L:\bar X\to\phi(x,y)\) and \(C: X\to Y\) is compact. Let \(f_ p: X\to Y (p\in P)\) be a family of maps continuously parametrized by a path-connected metric space \(P\). A point \(p*\in P\) is called a bifurcation point from infinity if for any neighbourhood \(V\) of \(p*\) the set of solutions of the equation \(f_ p(x)=0\), \(p\in V\), is unbounded. The set of all bifurcation points from infinity is denoted by \(B_ \infty(f)\). The main theorem of this theses is the following: Let \(f: P\times X\to Y\) be a family of quasilinear Fredholm maps (of index 0), parametrized by a compact, connected \(n\)-dimensional manifold \(P\). Assume that (i) \(\hbox{Ind }f\) is nonorientable; (ii) there exists some \(p_ 0\in P\backslash B (f)\) with \(\deg(f_{p_ 0},X,0)\neq 0\). Then the Lebesgue covering dimension of \(B_ \infty(f)\) is at least \(n- 1\). Moreover either \(B_ \infty(f)\) disconnects \(P\) or it is not contractible in \(P\) to a point. The author applied this theorem to provide a description of the set of bifurcation points from infinity for a family of Sturm-Liouville boundary value problems with constant, separated boundary conditions as parameters. Then the author obtained under some reasonable conditions, that \(B_ \infty(f)\) has dimension at least 1, and either \(B_ \infty(f)\) disconnects \(P\) or \(B_ \infty(f)\) is not contractible in \(P\) to a point. The technical methods used in these results are reasonable and elegant.