On the solvability of singular boundary value problems on the real line in the critical growth case (Q2281609)

The paper is devoted to the study of the existence of at least one weak solution of the boundary value problem \[(\Phi(a(t,x(t))\,x'(t)))' = f(t,x(t), x'(t)), \; t \in {\mathbb R},\; x(-\infty) = \nu_1; \;x(+\infty) =\nu_2\] where \(\nu_1\), \(\nu_2 \in {\mathbb R}\), \(\Phi: {\mathbb R} \to {\mathbb R}\) is a strictly increasing homeomorphism extending the classical \(p\)-Laplacian, \(a\) is a nonnegative continuous function on \({\mathbb R}\times {\mathbb R}\) that can be zero on a set of Lebesgue measure equals to zero, and \(f\) is a Carathéodory function on \({\mathbb R}\times {\mathbb R}^2\). The results follow by applying the technique of lower and upper solutions to related non homogeneous Dirichlet problems, defined on the intervals \([-n,n]\), with \(n \in {\mathbb N}\), and passing to the limit in \(n\). Some examples are given to point out the applicability of the obtained results.