Positive periodic solutions to an indefinite Minkowski-curvature equation (Q2187167)

The authors investigate the existence, non-existence and multiplicity of positive periodic solutions to the equation \[ \left(\frac{u'}{\sqrt{1-(u')^2}}\right)' + \lambda a(t)g(u) = 0, \] where \(\lambda>0\) is a parameter, \(a(t)\) is a \(T\)-periodic sign-changing weight function and \(g: [0,+\infty[\,\to[0,+\infty[\) is a continuous function having superlinear growth at zero. In particular, they prove that for both \(g(u) = u^p\), with \(p > 1\), and \(g(u) = u^p/(1 + u^{p-q})\), with \(0\le q \le 1 < p\), the equation has no positive \(T\)-periodic solutions for \(\lambda\) close to zero and two positive \(T\)-periodic solutions (a ``small'' one and a ``large'' one) for \(\lambda\) large enough. Moreover, in both cases the ``small'' \(T\)-periodic solution is surrounded by a family of positive subharmonic solutions with arbitrarily large minimal period. The proof of the existence of \(T\)-periodic solutions relies on a recent extension of Mawhin's coincidence degree theory for locally compact operators in product of Banach spaces, while subharmonic solutions are found by an application of the Poincaré-Birkhoff theorem, after a careful asymptotic analysis of the \(T\)-periodic solutions for \(\lambda\to+\infty\).