On a quasilinear problem at strong resonance (Q1922767)

This paper deals with a class of nonlinear problems at strong resonance involving the \(p\)-Laplace operator. Let \(\Omega\) be a bounded domain in \(\mathbb{R}^N\) with smooth boundary \(\partial\Omega\) and let \(f(x,u)\) be a bounded continuous function. The authors study the quasilinear problem at resonance: \[ -\Delta_pu= \lambda_1|u|^{p-2}u+ f(x,u),\quad x\in \Omega;\quad u(x)=0,\quad x\in \partial\Omega,\tag{1} \] where \(p>1\), \(\Delta_pu\equiv\text{Div}(|\nabla|^{p-2}\nabla u)\) denotes the \(p\)-Laplace operator and \(\lambda_1>0\) is the ``first eigenvalue'' of \(-\Delta_p\) with zero Dirichlet boundary conditions: \[ \lambda_1=\inf\Biggl\{\int_\Omega |\nabla u|^pdx: u\in W^{1,p}_0(\Omega),\;\int_\Omega|u|^pdx=1\Biggr\}. \] Problem (1) is said to be at strong resonance when \(f(x,s)\to0\) as \(|s|\to\infty\). The existence of positive solutions of (1) is established under appropriate sign conditions on the limits \[ (2)\quad \lim_{s\to\infty} f(s)s=c,\qquad (3)\quad \lim_{s\to0^+} {f(s)\over s^{p-1}}=\alpha. \] One says that \(f\) satisfies \((f1^+)\), respectively \((f1^-)\), if (2) holds with \(c>0\), resp. \(c<0\). Similarly, we say that \(f\) satisfies \((f2^+)\), respectively \((f2^-)\), if (3) holds where either \(\alpha>0\), (resp. \(\alpha=0\)) and there is \(\delta>0\) such that \(f(s)>0\) (resp. \(f(s)<0\)) for all \(s\in (0,\delta]\). The results are the following: Theorem 1. Problem (1) has a positive solution provided that \(f\) satisfies either \((f1^-)-(f2^+)\), or \((f1^+)-(f2^-)\). Condition \((f1^-)\) can be replaced by: \((f3)\) there exists \(s_0>0\) such that \(f(s_0)+\lambda_1 s^{p-1}_0<0\). Theorem 2. Problem (1) has a positive solution provided that \(f\) satisfies \((f2^+)\) and \((f3)\). The case when \((f4)\) holds can also be handled: \((f4)\) \(\lim_{s\to0^+} f(s)/s^{p-1}=\infty\). Theorem 3. Problem (1) has a positive solution provided \(f\) satisfies \((f4)\) and either \((f1^-)\) or \((f3)\). Theorem 4. Suppose that \(f\) satisfies \((f1^+)\) and \((f3)\). Then (1) has at least two positive solutions provided that either \((f2^+)\) or \((f4)\) holds. Proofs are based on global bifurcation; the authors show that there is a continuum \(S\subset \mathbb{R}\times C(\overline\Omega)\) of positive solutions \((\lambda,u)\) of \(-\Delta_pu=\lambda|u|^{p-2}u+f(x,u)\), \(x\in \Omega\), \(u(x)=0\), \(x\in \partial\Omega\) which branches off from the trivial solution and blows up at infinity as \(\lambda\to\lambda_1\). By suitable estimates they prove that \(S\) meets the set \(\lambda_1\times C(\overline\Omega)\), yielding a positive solution of (1).