On a nonlinear nonlocal ODE arising in magnetic recording (Q2484634)

This paper deals with the limit case of an ordinary differential equation (ODE) arising in magnetic recording \[ -{d^2u\over dx^2}= k\Biggl({u(L_1)- \delta(L_1)\over u(x)- \delta(x)}- 1\Biggr) x[L_1, L_2],\quad 0< x< L, \] where \(0< L_1< L_2< L\), \(x[L_1, L_2]\) is the characteristic function on the interval \([L_1,L_2]\), \(\delta\) is the heat profile, \(k\) is a positive constant and \(u\) satisfies \(u(x)> \delta(x)\) for \(L_1\leq x\leq L_2\). The uniqueness of the solution \(u\) is proved.