Jordan curves and funnel sections (Q423601)

Let us consider the initial value problem \[ y'(t)=f(t,y(t)),\quad y(t_0)=y_0, \] where \(f:[t_0,t_0+a]\times \mathbb R^m\to\mathbb R^m\) is a continuous function and \(y_0\in\mathbb R^m\). At the end of the nineteenth century, Peano proved that, if \(K\) is a funnel of solutions to the above problem for \(m=1\), then the set \(K(t)=\{y(t):y\in S\}\) is a nonempty, compact and connected subset of the real line, that is it is a continuum for \(t\) in some neighborhood of \(t_0\). In 1923, Kneser extended this result to arbitrary \(m>1\). Moreover, in 1928, Hukuhara proved that \(K\) is a continuum in the Banach space of all continuous functions with the maximum norm. Since then, many authors have proved various extensions and generalizations of Kneser and Hukuhara theorems. Although many continua are known to be funnel sections, it is still not known whether every Jordan curve \(J\) is a planar funnel section. In this interesting paper, the authors deal with that problem. In particular, they provide sufficient conditions which imply that \(J\) is a planar funnel section and call them ``pierceability''. Theorem 1 -- proved by the authors -- states that, if a planar funnel is smoothly pierceable at some point, then it is a funnel section of a two-dimensional ODE. On the other hand, there exist some planar Jordan curves, smoothly pierceable at no points that are funnel sections. The paper under review also contains the proofs of several statements from the first author's paper published in 1975.