Global asymptotic stability for oscillators with superlinear damping (Q1935036)

The authors study the global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium for the damped superlinear oscillator \[ x''+a(t) \varphi_q(x') +\omega^2 x=0. \eqno(1) \] If \(\liminf_{t\to \infty} \int^{t+\gamma_0}_t a(s)\, ds = \gamma_0 >0\), where \(0<\gamma_0 < \frac{\pi}{\omega}\), the authors prove that the equilibrium of (1) is globally asymptotically stable if and only if \(\int^\infty_0 u(t)\, dt =-\infty\), where \(u(t)\) is the solution of \(u'+\omega^{q-2} a(t) \varphi_q(u) +1=0\) satisfying \(u(0)=0\). Explicit sufficient conditions and explicit necessary conditions are also given for the equilibrium of the damped superlinear oscillator to be globally attractive. The present paper is related to a work of \textit{L. Hatvani} and \textit{V. Totik} [Differ. Integral Equ. 6, No. 4, 835--848 (1993; Zbl 0777.34036)].