A note on multi-point boundary value problems (Q2643461)

This work is concerned with solvability of the multipoint boundary value problem \[ x''(t) = f(t,x(t),x'(t)), \quad t \in (0,1), \] \[ x(0) = \sum_{j=1}^n \alpha_j x(\xi_j), \quad x(1) = \sum_{j=1}^n \beta_j x(\eta_j), \] where \(0 < \eta_j, \xi_j < 1\), \(\eta_j, \xi_j \in \mathbb{R}\), \(j = 1,2,\dots,n\), \(n \geq 2\), \(e \in L^1[0,1]\), and \(f:[0,1] \times \mathbb{R}^2 \to \mathbb{R}\) is a Carathéodory function. The additional assumptions \[ \sum_{j=1}^n \alpha_j = 1 = \sum_{j=1}^n \beta_j, \quad \sum_{j=1}^n \alpha_j \xi_j = 0 = \sum_{j=1}^n \beta_j \eta_j \] are ``critical'', that is, responsible for resonance. This note complements the result by \textit{N. Kosmatov} [Nonlinear Anal., Theory Methods Appl. 65, 622--633 (2006; Zbl 1121.34023)] and extends the result by the first author [Appl. Math. Comput. 143, 275--299 (2003; Zbl 1071.34014)]. The existence result follows from the celebrated coincidence degree theorem due to \textit{J. Mawhin} [Topological degree methods in nonlinear boundary value problems (Regional Conference Series in Mathematics, No. 40, Providence, R.I., The American Mathematical Society) (1979; Zbl 0414.34025)].