Oscillation of damped second-order linear mixed neutral differential equations (Q2220385)

In this paper, the authors are concerned with oscillatory behaviour of solutions of the damped second order linear neutral differential equation of mixed type of the form \[ (r(t)z'(t))'+p(t)z'(t)+q(t)x(\sigma (t))=0,t\geq t_{0}> 0,\tag{\(\ast\)} \] where \( z(t)=x(t)+p_{1}(t)x(\tau _{1}(t))+p_{2}(t)x(\tau _{2}(t)),\) \(p,q,r:[t_{0},\infty)\rightarrow \mathbb{R},\) are real valued continuous functions with \(p(t)\geq 0, r(t)> 0, q(t)\geq 0 \) with \( q(t) \) not identically zero for large \(t\) and \( \tau_{1},\tau_{2},\sigma : [t_{0},\infty )\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\) are real valued continuous functions such that \( \tau_{1} \) and \( \tau_{2} \) are strictly increasing, \( \tau_{1}(t)< t, \tau_{2}(t)> t, \) and \( \lim_{t\rightarrow\infty}\tau_{1}(t)=\lim_{t\rightarrow\infty}\tau_{2}(t)=\lim_{t\rightarrow\infty}\sigma(t)=\infty \). Further, either \( (a) p_{1},p_{2}:[t_{0},\infty)\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\) are real valued continuous functions such that \( p_{1}(t) > 0 \) and \( p_{2}(t) \geq 1 \) with \( p_{2}(t)\neq 1 \) for large \( t \), or \( (b) p_{1},p_{2}:[t_{0},\infty)\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\) are real valued continuous functions such that \( p_{2}(t)> 0 \) and \( p_{1}(t) \geq 1 \) with \( p_{1}(t) \neq 1 \) for large \( t \). Sufficient conditions are obtained such that all solutions of (*) are oscillatory. They have considered the cases (a) and (b) separately. No example is provided to illustrate the results obtained in the case(a). However, two examples are given to illustrate the results obtained in the case(b). In these two examples, they verify that the conditions are satisfied, but no explicit solution of the equation is given which is oscillatory. It is quite possible that these conditions are vacuously satisfied in the sense that the considered equation has no oscillatory solution at all.