Fixed point theorems in generalized convex metric space and an application to the solution of Volterra integral equations (Q2168960)

The authors establish some fixed-point theorems in a complete metric space with a generalized convex structure, i.e., a function \(W\) such that \[ d(u,W(x,y,z; \alpha,\beta,\gamma))\leq \alpha d(u,x)+ \beta d(u,y) + \gamma d(u,z), \] where \(\alpha\), \(\beta\) and \(\gamma\) are non-negative with \(\alpha+\beta + \gamma=1\). As an example, one of these results says that if \(K\) is a nonempty, closed and convex (i.e. \(W(x,y,z; \alpha,\beta,\gamma)\in K\) when \(x,y,z\in K\)) set and \(T\) is a self-mapping of \(K\), then \(T\) has a fixed-point in \(K\) provided there are numbers \(a,b,c,\alpha,\beta,\gamma\) such that \(\alpha\), \(\beta\) and \(\gamma\) are non-negative with \(\alpha <1\) and \(\alpha+\beta+\gamma=1\), \[ \frac {b-\alpha |c|}{1-\alpha}\leq k < \frac {a+c+b-\alpha |c|}{1-\alpha}, \] and \[ ad(x,T(x))+ bd(y,T(y))+ cd(t(x),T(y)) \leq k d(x,y), \] for all \(x,y\in K\). In addition the authors apply these results to prove the existence of a solution to the equation \[ y(x)= \lambda \int_a^x K(x,s,y(s))\, ds + f(x), \quad x\in [a,b]. \] (However, the assumptions made on \(K\) in this theorem do not imply that the function \(T(\varphi)(x)= \lambda \int_a^x K(x,s,\varphi(s))\, ds + f(x)\) maps continuous functions to continuous functions as claimed in the proof.)