Type II regions between curves of the Fučik spectrum and critical groups (Q1305296)

Let \(\Omega\) be a smooth bounded domain in \({\mathbb R}^n\) and let \(I:H^1_0(\Omega) \to {\mathbb R}\) be a functional of the form \[ I(u) = \int_{\Omega} |\nabla u|^2 - a(u^-)^2 - b(u^+)^2 , \] with \(a,b \in {\mathbb R}\). The so-called Fučik spectrum consists of pairs \((a,b)\) such that \(I\) admits a nontrivial critical point \(u\) and is strictly related with the study of semilinear problems of the form \[ -\Delta u = f(x,u) \quad \text{in } \Omega , \qquad u=0 \quad \text{on }\partial\Omega ,\tag{1} \] when \(\lim_{t\to-\infty} {f(x,t)\over t} = a\) and \(\lim_{t\to+\infty} {f(x,t)\over t} = b\). The authors first describe some of the critical groups of \(I\) at the origin, according to the position of \((a,b)\) with respect to the Fučik spectrum. The same result was obtained, with a different proof, by \textit{E. N. Dancer}, [Ann. Mat. Pura Appl., IV. Ser. 152, 63-77 (1988; Zbl 0850.35043)]. Then they combine this result with a notion of local linking introduced by the first author in ``Homological local linking'' [Abstr. Appl. Anal. 3, 181-189 (1998)], to obtain the existence of nontrivial solutions to problem \((1)\). In this way they improve previous results of the second author, [NoDEA, Nonlinear Differ. Equ. Appl. 4, No. 4, 459-476 (1997; Zbl 0893.35039)].