Continuum branch of one-signed periodic solutions of first-order functional equations involving the nonlinearity with zeros (Q2332959)

The nonautonomous first-order functional differential equation \[ u'(t)=a(t)u(t)-\lambda f(t, u(t-\tau(t))),\qquad t\in \mathbb{R}, \] is considered, where \(\lambda\) is a positive parameter, functions \(\tau\in C(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})\) and \(a\in C(\mathbb{R},[0,\infty))\) are \(T\)-periodic with \(\int_0^T a(t)\, dt>0\), and the nonlinearity \(f\in C(\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})\) is assumed to have nontrivial zeros and is also \(T\)-periodic in its first variable. Such equations arise in various models from life sciences, where one-signed periodic solutions are of particular importance. Using unilateral bifurcation theory, the authors establish the global structure of one-signed periodic solutions and give their asymptotic behaviour as \(\lambda\to \infty\). The cases when the nonlinearity \(f\) is of linear/sublinear/superlinear growth at infinity are treated separately.