Uniqueness, existence and nonexistence of normal solutions to a problem in boundary layer theory (Q1976498)

It is shown that the following problem for the Falkner-Skan equation arising in boundary layer theory in fluid mechanics: \[ f''' +ff''+ \lambda(1-f^{\prime 2})=0 \quad\text{on} \quad(0,\infty),\;f(0)= f'(0)=0, \;f'(\infty)=1, \] is equivalent to the singular twopoint boundary value problem \[ w''(t)= -\lambda\bigl((1 -t^2)w(t)\bigr)'-t/w(t)\quad \text{on} \quad (0,1),\;w'(0)w(0)= -\lambda,\;w(1)=0. \] It is proved that there is a \(\lambda_* \in(-1/2,0)\) such that the last problem has a unique positive solution for each \(\lambda\geq\lambda_*\) and has no positive solution for \(\lambda< \lambda_*\). The proof uses a priori estimates, comparison principles and a modified shooting method. The result are then turned over to the original problem.