On \(p\)-superlinear equations with a nonhomogeneous differential operator (Q2393608)

The authors consider the following nonlinear Dirichlet problem in a bounded domain \(\Omega\subset\mathbb R^N\) with a \(C^2\)-boundary \(\partial\Omega:-\mathrm{div} a(z,Du(z))=f(z,u(z))\) in \(\Omega\), \(u|_{\partial\Omega}=0\), where \(-\mathrm{div}a(z,Du(z))\) is the nonhomogeneous differential operator including the \(p\)-Laplacian \((1<p<+\infty)\) etc., the reaction \(f(z,x)\) satisfies a \((p-1)\)-superlinear condition at infinity. Using the variational methods such as mountain pass theorem, the least action principle coupled with truncation techniques and comparison principles, the authors prove that the problem has at least five nontrivial solutions: two positive, two negative and one with sign unknown.