Periodic solutions for abstract Hamiltonian equations (Q1191640)

The author studies periodic solutions for an abstract form of the infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian system: \({\partial\over \partial t}{p\choose q}= {H_ q\choose -H_ p}+ {0\choose f}\), where the Hamiltonian \(H\) is defined on the space \(H^ 1_ 0(0,\pi)\times L^ 2(0,\pi)\) by \(H(p,q)={1\over 2}\int^ \pi_ 0 G(p) du+{1\over 2} \int^ \pi_ 0 (p_ u)^ 2 du+{1\over 2}\int^ \pi_ 0 q^ 2 du\). This system appears if we set \(p=x\), \(q=x_ t\) in nonlinear vibrating string equation \[ x_{tt}- x_{uu}+ g(x)= f(t,u),\;0<u<\pi,\;t\in R,\;x(t,u)= 0,\;u=0,\;u=\pi,\;t\in\mathbb{R}, \] \[ x(t+ T,u)= x(t,u),\;0<u<\pi,\;t\in\mathbb{R} \] and \(G\) is a primitive of \(g\). The author derives another duality theory and a variational principle for abstract Hamiltonian systems. As an application of the main result -- Theorem 2.2, in Section 7 the existence of a solution is proved for the following problem \[ x_{tt}+ Bx+ g(x,u,t)= 0,\;x(t,u)=0,\;u\in \partial\Omega,\;t\in\mathbb{R}, \] \[ x(0,u)= x(T,u),\;x_ t(0,u)= x_ t(T,u),\;u\in\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^ N, \] where \(B\) is a strongly elliptic operator in \(L^ 2(\Omega)\). The abstract approach described in Theorem 2.2 differs from those of I. E. Ekeland, I. M. Lasry and H. Brezis -- mentioned in the bibliography -- and offers another way of investigation for the periodic solutions of partial differential equations.