Existence and uniqueness of positive solutions for nonlinear fractional mixed problems (Q2059040)

This paper focuses primarily on studying the existence and uniqueness of solutions of a one-parameter family of nonlinear Riemann-Liouville fractional differential equations with mixed boundary value conditions. The first pages introduce all the necessary notation and terminology to understand the paper: formulate the model, give some definitions and properties about fractional calculus, and show existence and uniqueness of positive solution. The main results are stated in Section 3. An exhaustive study of the sign of the related Green's function is carried out. Under suitable assumptions on the asymptotic behavior of the nonlinear part of the equation at zero and at infinity, and by application of the fixed point theory of compact operators defined in suitable cones, it is proved that there exists at least one solution of the considered problem. Moreover, the method of lower and upper solutions is developed and the existence of solutions is deduced by a combination of both techniques. In particular cases, the Banach contraction principle is used to ensure the uniqueness of solutions. Finally, an example illustrates the theoretical results.