Solvability of the Cauchy problem for higher-order linear functional differential equations (Q444005)

Consider the \(n\)th-order functional differential equation \[ \begin{aligned} x^{(n)}(t) &= (T^+x)(t) - (T^-x)(t) + f(t),~t\in [a, b],\\x^{(i)}(a)&= \alpha_i,\;i = 0, \dots , n-1,\end{aligned} \] where \(T^+\) and \(T^-\) are positive linear operators from the space of continuous functions \(x: [a, b]\to \mathbb{R}\) with absolutely continuous \((n-1)\)th derivative to the space of integrable functions \(z: [a, b]\to \mathbb{R}\). The Cauchy problem is said to be uniquely solvable if it has a unique solution for any given \(f\) and initial values \(\alpha_i\). The solvability of first-order equations is known from the literature, but it is claimed to be unknown for higher-order equations. In this paper, necessary and sufficient conditions are found for the solvability of second-order equations and particular cases of higher-order equations. Also, similar conditions are obtained for singular equations, where \(x^{(n)}(t)\) is replaced by \((b-t)^{n-1}x^{(n)}(t)\).