Remarks on some coupled fixed point theorems in \(G\)-metric spaces (Q395235)

Let \(X\) be a nonempty set. A pair \( \left(x,y\right) \in X \times X \) is called a \textit{coupled fixed point} of the mapping \(F:X \times X \rightarrow X\) if it is a solution of the system \[ F\left(x,y\right) = x, \quad F\left(y,x\right) = y. \] The study of coupled fixed points of monotone-type mappings \(F:X\times X \rightarrow X\) in partially ordered sets in the presence of contractive conditions expressed by means of a metric \(d\) defined on \(X \times X \), has been re-launched in 2006 by \textit{T. G. Bhaskar} and \textit{V. Lakshmikantham} [Nonlinear Anal., Theory Methods Appl., Ser. A, Theory Methods 65, No. 7, 1379--1393 (2006; Zbl 1106.47047)]. In fact, the first approach to this topic is due to Opoitsev, in a series of papers: [\textit{V. I. Opoicev}, Autom. Remote Control 36, 111--124 (1975); translation from Avtom. Telemekh. 1975, No. 1, 124--138 (1975; Zbl 0321.93004)]; [\textit{V. I. Opojtsev} and \textit{T. A. Khurodze}, Nonlinear operators in spaces with a cone. (Nelinejnye operatory v prostranstvakh s konusom). Tbilisi: Izdatel'stvo Tbilisskogo Universiteta (1984; Zbl 0592.47045)]; [\textit{V. I. Opojtsev}, Nonlinear systems statics. (Nelinejnaya sistemostatika). Ehkonomiko-Matematicheskaya Biblioteka. Moskva: ``Nauka''. Glavnaya Redaktsiya Fiziko-Matematicheskoj Literatury (1986; Zbl 0626.93001)]. In his papers, Opoitzev was interested mainly in the study of coupled fixed points for nonexpansive mappings. To obtain their coupled fixed point results, Bhaskar and Lakshmikantham practically have used fixed point theorems in partially ordered metric spaces, previously established by \textit{A. C. M. Ran} and \textit{M. C. B. Reurings} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 132, No. 5, 1435--1443 (2004; Zbl 1060.47056)] and \textit{J. J. Nieto} and \textit{R. Rodríguez-López} [Order 22, No. 3, 223--239 (2005; Zbl 1095.47013); Acta Math. Sin., Engl. Ser. 23, No. 12, 2205--2212 (2007; Zbl 1140.47045)]. Reviewer's remark: The paper by Bhaskar and Lakshmikantham [loc. cit.] has had an impressive impact in the field, as about 500 papers on coupled fixed points are citing it (by Google Scholar). Yet, most of these papers simply ignore the fact that, in essence, any coupled fixed point of \(F\) is a fixed point of the associate mapping \(T: X \times X\rightarrow X \times X\), defined by \(T(x,y)=(F(x,y), F(y,x))\) and vice versa. Actually, even the title of the paper by Bhaskar and Lakshmikantham, ``Fixed point theorems in partially ordered metric spaces and applications'', clearly suggests that, when dealing with coupled fixed points, we are actually working with simple fixed points. The first paper originating in the work by Bhaskar and Lakshmikantham, that explicitly pointed out this fact, is the reviewer's paper [\textit{V. Berinde}, Nonlinear Anal., Theory Methods Appl., Ser. A, Theory Methods 74, No. 18, 7347--7355 (2011; Zbl 1235.54024)], where the technique of proof is in fact a fixed point theorem of Ran and Reurings type. In the paper under review, the authors show, with many concrete examples, that most of the coupled fixed point theorems in the context of (ordered) \(G\)-metric spaces are, in fact, immediate consequences of well-known fixed point theorems in the literature.