No label defined (Q3978629)

This paper deals with the existence and uniqueness of periodic solutions \((u(t+\omega,x)=u(t,x))\) of the quasilinear telegraph equation, (1) \(u_{tt}-u_{xx}+cu=f(t,x,u)\) subject to the boundary conditions (2) \(u(t,0)=u(t,\ell)=0\). One of the basic approaches to the construction of such solutions is to define the operator \(L_ c^{-1}\) where \(L_ cu\equiv u_{tt}-u_{xx}+cu\). Eq. (1) is then reduced to a nonlinear operator equation (3) \(u=L_ c^{-1}Fu\) with \(Fu\equiv f(t,x,u)\). If it is considered in \(L_ 2\), a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of \(L_ c^{-1}\) follows by separation of variables: (4) \(\inf_{k\in Z,n\in N}|\pi^ 2n^ 2\ell^{-2}+c-4\pi^ 2k^ 2\omega^{-2}| >0\). However, \(L_ 2\) is not always suitable for the analysis of the operator equation (3) as the operator \(F\) can be defined in this space only when \(f(t,x,u)\) grows slower than any linear function of \(u\). Since this restriction excludes many physically interesting cases, it is reasonable to treat (1) in the space \(C\) of continuous functions instead. However, the invertibility of \(L_ c\) in \(C\) was not discussed before. The authors of the present paper have limited themselves to the case \(\omega=2\ell\). Eq. (4) is shown to provide necessary and sufficient conditions for \(L_ c^{-1}\) to exist as continuous operator in \(C\). \(L_ c^{-1}\) turns out to be the sum of a \(\delta\)-like operator and some linear integral operator with smooth kernel. By means of this representation the norm of \(L_ c^{-1}\) in \(C\) can be estimated and the classical Banach-Caccioppoli principle can be utilized in the analysis of eq. (3). In this way the authors were able to derive some conditions for existence and uniqueness of periodic solutions of eq. (1), (2) for arbitrarily large \(C\).