Trace and inverse problem of a discontinuous Sturm-Liouville operator with retarded argument (Q441944)

The paper presents a study of the boundary value problem for a Sturm-Liouville-type equation with retarded argument of the potential \[ y''(x)+q(x)y(x-\Delta(x))+\lambda^2y(x)=0, \quad x\in(0,\pi/2)\cup(\pi/2,\pi) \] with the jump conditions at internal points \[ y(\pi/2-0)=\delta y(\pi/2+0),\;y'(\pi/2-0)=\delta y'(\pi/2+0). \] The main results of the paper are formulas for the trace, the asymptotics of the nodal points of the eigenfunctions (the direct problem), and the reconstruction from nodes (the inverse problem). Evidently, the presence of a retarded function makes the study of all these problems more involved. Comparing with the results of other papers on this subject, the present paper shows improvements in certain important directions, particularly, the formulas for the asymptotics of the eigenfunctions are improved.