A class of concave operators with applications (Q2482465)

Let \(E\) be a real Banach space, \(\theta\) its zero element, and \(P\) be a cone in \(E\). If \(\leq\) denotes the partial order on \(E\) induced by \(P\), for \(h> \theta\) let \(P_h=\{x\in E: \text{there exist\;} \lambda(x), \mu(x)> 0 \text{\;such that\;} \lambda(x)h\leq x \leq \mu(x)h\}\). An operator \(A:P\rightarrow P\) is called locally \(u_0\)-concave if there exists \(v_0> \theta\) such that: (i) \(Ax\in P_{u_0}\) for any \(x\in (\theta, v_0]\); (ii) for any \(x\in (\theta, v_0]\cap P_{u_0}\) and \(t\in (0,1)\), there exists \(\eta=\eta(x,t)> 0\) such that \(A(tx)\geq (1+\eta)tAx\). The authors prove that the sum of two operators, satisfying certain conditions, is locally \(u_0\)-concave and obtain some results about the existence and uniqueness of its fixed points. Then, they apply these results in discussing three-point boundary value problems for differential equations and nonlinear Volterra integral equations.