Multiple solutions of singular boundary value problems for differential systems (Q1417986)

The authors study the solvability of the following singular boundary value problem \[ \begin{cases} (p(t) x'(t))'=\lambda f(t,x(t), y(t)),\quad & t\in(0, 1),\\ (p(t) y'(t))'=\lambda g(t,x(t), y(t)),\end{cases} \] \[ \alpha x(0)-\beta p(0) x'(0)=\gamma x(1)+\delta p(1)x'(1)= 0,\;\alpha y(0)-\beta p(0)y'(0)=\gamma y(1)+\delta p(1)y'(1)= 0, \] where \(\lambda\in \mathbb{R}^+= [0,\infty)\) is a parameter, the constants \(\alpha,\beta,\gamma,\delta\geq 0\) are such that \(\alpha\gamma+ \alpha\delta+ \beta\gamma> 0\), and \(p:[0,1]\to (0,\infty)\), \(f: (0,1)\times (0,\infty)\times \mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}^+\) and \(g: (0,1)\times (0,\infty)\times \mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}\) are continuous, but \(f(t,x,y)\) and \(g(t,x,y)\) may be singular at \(t= 0\), \(t= 1\) and \(x= 0\). The existence of at least two solutions is proved under assumptions that there exist \(N> 0\) and suitable continuous functions \(h: (0,1)\to \mathbb{R}^+\), \(w: (0,\infty)\to \mathbb{R}^+\), \(e: \mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}^+\) such that \[ \begin{gathered} | g(t,x,y)|\leq Nf(t,x,y)\text{ for }(t,x,y)\in (0,1)\times (0,\infty)\times \mathbb{R},\\ f(t,x,y)\leq h(t) w(x) e(y)\text{ for }t\in (0,1)\text{ and }(x,y)\in (0,\infty)\times \mathbb{R},\end{gathered} \] and for every constant \(r > 0\), there exists a function \(\phi_{r}\geq 0\) such that \(0< \int^1_0 \phi_{r}(t)\,dt< \infty\) and \[ f(t,x,y)\geq \phi_{r}(t)\text{ for }t\in (0,1)\text{ and }(x,y)\in (0,r]\times [-Nr,Nr]. \] Moreover, the authors construct a special cone and use the fixed-point index theory in a cone.