A general method for quasilinear elliptic problems in \(R^ N\) (Q1197409)

(From the author's introduction.) ``A procedure (based on a general barrier theorem) is developed for proving existence theorems and asymptotic properties for semilinear elliptic systems \(-\Delta u=f(x,u)\), \(x\in\mathbb{R}^ N\) and associated even order quasilinear elliptic equations \((-\Delta)^ Mu=f(x,u)\), \(x\in\mathbb{R}^ N\), where \(x=(x_ 1,\dots,x_ N)\), \(u=(u_ 1,\dots,u_ M)\) and \(u_ i=(-\Delta)^{i-1}u\), \(i=1,\dots,M\). It is assumed that \(f\in C^ \alpha_{\text{loc}}(\mathbb{R}^ N\times\mathbb{R}^ M,\mathbb{R})\), \(f\in C^ \alpha_{\text{loc}}(\mathbb{R}^ N\times\mathbb{R}^ M,\mathbb{R}^ M)\) for some fixed \(\alpha\in(0,1)\) and \(f,f\) continuously differentiable with respect to each component of \(u\)''. As a remarkable example of scientific applications, the authors consider systems of the form \(-\Delta u_ i=p_ i(x)u^{r_ i}\), \(x\in\mathbb{R}^ N\), \(i=1,\dots,M\), where \(0\neq p_ i\in C^ \alpha_{\text{loc}}(\mathbb{R}^ N,\mathbb{R}_ +)\) with one of the two conditions \(\int^ \infty_ 0tp^*_ i(t)dt<\infty\), \(i=1,\dots,M\) or \(\int^ \infty_ 0t^{\sigma_ i}p^*_ i(t)dt<\infty\), \(i=1,\dots,M\), where \(\sigma_ i=N-1-|\gamma_ i|(N-2)\) and \(p^*_ i(t)=\max_{| x|=t}p_ i(x)\).