On multivalued differentials of piecewise-smooth functions (Q1390440)

In the paper the notion of a generalized differentiation is introduced for the functions from the space \(W^{(n)}(\xi,\Gamma)\) of the piecewise smooth functions \(x(t)\) which have continuous derivatives up to the \(n\)-th order at all points from \([a,b]\), except a finite number of jumps at the points \(\{\xi_i\}_1^m =\xi\) with the defects \(\gamma(x,\xi_i)\leq \gamma_i\). Here \(\Gamma=\{\gamma_i\}_1^m\) and \(\gamma(x,\xi_i)=\max \{k: x^{(n-k)}(\xi_i -0)\not = x^{(n-k)}(\xi_i+0)\}\). This generalized differentiation is used to get the exact estimates of the numbers of alternations of signs of the solutions from the space \(W^{(n)}(\xi,\Gamma)\) of the inequality \[ u_0(t)\cdot Lx \geq 0\;\;(t\not =\xi_i,\;i=1,\dots,m) \] and of the equation \[ Lx =0\;\;(t\not =\xi_i,\;i=1,\dots,m), \] where the operator \[ Lx :=x^{(n)}+p_1(t)x^{(n-1)}+\cdots+p_n(t)x\;\;(p_i\in C[a,b],\;i=1,\dots,n) \] does not oscillate on \([a,b]\) and \[ u_0(t)=(t-\xi_1)^{\gamma_1}\cdot\dots\cdot(t-\xi_m)^{\gamma_m}. \] For the functions from the space \(W^{(n)}(\xi,\Gamma)\) a definition of a zero place and its multiplicity is introduced, which essentially widens the conventional notions. The estimate of the summarized multiplicity of all different zero places of the solutions of the above given inequality is also given.