No label defined (Q4528009)

The present paper is devoted to the non-existence of positive solutions of the following nonlinear difference equation \[ (ax_{n+1}+bx_n)^k-(cx_n)^k+\sum^u_{i=1}p_i(n)x^k_{n-\sigma_i}=0,\quad n\in \mathbb{N}_0,\tag{1} \] where \(a,b,c\in (0,\infty)\), \(k>0\) is an odd number, \(u\) is a positive integer, \(\sigma_i\in \mathbb{N}_0\) and \(p_i:\mathbb{N}_0\to(0,\infty)\), here \(\mathbb{N}_0:=\{0,1,2,\dots\}\), \(i=1,2,\dots,u\). The authors prove by contradiction that, if \(0 <\theta:= \frac{c-b}{a}\leq 1\) is valid and the condition \[ \sup_{\lambda\in E(\lambda),N\geq 1}\left[\lambda \prod^{n-1}_{j=n-\sigma}\left(1-\frac{\lambda\theta^{(1-k)\sigma}}{akc^{k-1}}\sum^u_{i=1}p_i(j)\right)\right]<1\;\text{holds for some integer} N\geq 1, \] where \(\sigma:= \min [\sigma_1,\sigma_2,\dots,\sigma_u]\), \(E(\lambda):= \left\{\lambda\mid \lambda>0;\quad 1\geq \frac{\lambda\theta^{(1-k)\sigma}}{akc^{k-1}}\sum^u_{i=1}p_i(j)\right\}\), then the difference equation (1) has not any eventually positive solution. The special case of the last sufficient condition when \(b= 0\), \(a = c=k=1\) contains a known result given by \textit{S. T. Liu} and \textit{S. S. Cheng} [Far East J. Math. Sci. 5, No.~3, 387-392 (1997; Zbl 0930.39009)]. A parallel result on the non-existence of eventually negative solutions to the dual equation of (1) is also stated. An example given herein shows that the result obtained improves the above-mentioned known result.