An extended variational characterization of the Fučík spectrum for the \(p\)-Laplace operator (Q1984772)

The authors investigate the Fučík spectrum \(\Sigma\) of the \(p\)-Laplacian, i.e., pairs of parameters \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) for which the zero Dirichlet problem for the equation \(-\Delta_p u = \alpha |u|^{p-2} u^+ - \beta |u|^{p-2} u^-\) in a bounded domain \(\Omega\) has a nontrivial solution. In the 1D case, the structure of \(\Sigma\) is well-known, while in the higher-dimensional case \(N \geq 2\) even the linear case \(p=2\) is far from being completely understood. Assuming \(\lambda_k < \lambda_{k+1}\), where \(\{\lambda_n\}\) is a sequence of variational eigenvalues of the \(p\)-Laplacian, the authors obtain a variational characterization of a curve \((\alpha,\beta_{k+1}(\alpha)) \in \Sigma\) emanating from a point lying on the diagonal near \((\lambda_{k+1},\lambda_{k+1})\) and show that either this curve contains a point \((\alpha,\beta)\) with \(\alpha<\lambda_k\) or the curve reaches a vertical asymptote from the right. This characterization is equivalent to that found in [\textit{K. Perera}, NoDEA, Nonlinear Differ. Equ. Appl. 11, No. 2, 259--270 (2004; Zbl 1068.35086)] but defined on a larger interval. The relation of the obtained results with [\textit{M. Schechter}, Indiana Univ. Math. J. 43, No. 4, 1139--1157 (1994; Zbl 0833.35050); \textit{P. Drábek} and \textit{S. B. Robinson}, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 418, No. 2, 884--905 (2014; Zbl 1312.35058)], and [\textit{P. Drábek} and \textit{S. B. Robinson}, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 57, No. 1, Paper No. 1, 27 p. (2018; Zbl 1398.35141)] is discussed. Moreover, it is shown that in 1D case, this characterization fully describes the curves \(C_{k+1,1}\) for all \(k\), while a variational characterization of the curve \(C_{k+1,2}\) with even \(k\)'s remains an open problem. Finally, the authors provide applications of the obtained results to the existence of solutions of the zero Dirichlet problem for the equation \(-\Delta_p u = \alpha |u|^{p-2} u^+ - \beta |u|^{p-2} u^- +g(u)+h\), under certain assumptions on \(g\) and \(h\), in either a resonant or nonresonant (with respect to the Fučík spectrum) choice of parameters \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\).