Minimal principal solution at infinity for nonoscillatory linear Hamiltonian systems (Q2250036)

The authors consider the linear Hamiltonian system \[ x'=A(t)x+B(t)u, \quad u'=C(t)x-A^T(t)u,\quad t\in[a,\infty), \] where \(A,B,C:[a,\infty)\to\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}\) are piecewise continuous matrix-valued functions such that \(B,C\) are symmetric on \([a,\infty)\). The main purpose of this paper is to develop a general concept of the principal solution for this system without assuming its controllability. The only assumptions are the Legendre condition, namely \(B(t)\geq 0\) on \([a,\infty)\), and the nonoscillation of the system. The authors call this new principal solution as the minimal principal solution (at infinity) since it corresponds to the minimal rank of the solution; in this respect, Reid's principal solution corresponds to the maximal rank (hence, this solution is invertible, whereas invertibility is not required for the minimal principal solution). It is shown that the minimal principal solution is unique (up to a right nonsingular multiple) and some other basic properties are stated. Several examples are discussed which illustrate the theory. One of the important features of this interesting paper is that it opens a new direction in the study of principal solutions to linear Hamiltonian systems.