A degree theory for compact perturbations of proper \(C^{1}\) Fredholm mappings of index \(0\) (Q2495035)

A degree theory for maps of the form \(F+K\) in Banach spaces is provided, where \(K\) is compact and \(F\) is a \(C^1\) Fredholm operator of index \(0\). The difficulty of the orientation is overcome by assuming that \(F\) is defined on a connected and simply connected open subset and letting the degree depend on the choice of a (regular) base point of \(F\). The theory is applied to the proof of a domain invariance and a Rabinowitz type bifurcation result for the above class of maps. The definition of the degree is based on an approximation result for Fredholm maps, which is interesting on its own. The reader should note that another approach to the degree (based upon a notion of orientability and based on the Brouwer degree between finite-dimensional oriented manifolds) was developed, apparently independently, by \textit{P.\,Benevieri} and \textit{M.\,Furi} [Abstr.\ Appl.\ Anal.\ 2006, Article 64764 (2006; Zbl 1090.47049)].