Multiplicity results for sign changing bound state solutions of a semilinear equation (Q499529)

The article deals with nontrivial solutions of the scalar boundary value problem \[ u''(r) + \frac{N-1}{r}u'(r) +f(u(r)) =0\qquad \forall r\in (0,\infty),\tag{1} \] \[ u'(0) =0,\quad \lim_{r\to\infty} u(r)=0.\tag{2} \] Solutions of (1)--(2) are radial solutions of \(\Delta u +f(u)=0\) in \(\mathbb R^N\). The authors provide conditions on the nonlinearity \(f\) ensuring that (1)--(2) has two distinct nontrivial solutions with initial values lying in a given interval, and vanishing a prescribed number of times. The prescribed number of zeroes has to be large enough. The authors deduce further multiplicity results for sign-changing solutions of (1)--(2) with a large prescribed number of zeroes. They also provide an additional condition on \(f\) allowing the number of prescribed zeroes to be any non-negative integer. More specifically, the results rely on the shooting method, which consists in studying for any \(\alpha\in \mathbb R\) the properties of the unique solution of (1) satisfying \(u'(0)=0\) and \(u(0)=\alpha\). The authors consider initial conditions \(\alpha\) lying in intervals \((z_1,z_2)\), where \(0<z_1<z_2\) are zeroes of \(f\) at which \(f\) decreases, and such that \(\int_{z_1}^{z_2} f >0\). In such intervals, they show that two distinct values of \(\alpha\) provide solutions of (1)-(2) with a prescribed number of zeroes -- provided that prescribed number is large enough. They also obtain a similar result for negative initial values.