On a Neumann boundary value problem for the Painlevé II equation in two-ion electro-diffusion (Q531685)

The two-point Neumann boundary value problem \[ y''(x)=f(x,y(x);\;y(0),y(1)),\quad x\in(0,1),\quad y'(0)=y'(1)=0 \] is studied, when the response function \(f\) is defined by \[ f(x,y;a,b):=y[\lambda-(a^2-y^2)/2+x[l\lambda+(a^2-b^2)/2]-D[l\lambda+(a^2-b^2)/2]. \] The equation arises when two ions with the same valency diffuse and migrate across a liquid junction under the influence of an electric field E. The quantity \(y\) is proportional to the electric field E and, after scaling, it is defined on the region \(0\leq x\leq 1\). The parameters \(l, \lambda, D\) are functions of the physical parameters of the problem and the range of physical interest is \(l, \lambda>0\), \(-1<D<1\). In a work by \textit{H. B. Thompson} [J. Math. Anal. Appl. 184, No.~1, 82--94 (1994; Zbl 0802.34025)], the existence of a solution has been established, when the parameters satisfy some restrictions. Here, the authors apply the shooting method and, by using some facts from the degree theory, they show that such restrictions may be removed. The central result of the work is the following: Given any \(\lambda, l>0\) and \(D\in (0,+\infty),\) the problem has a solution. In the final section, an algorithm is suggested for the solution of the problem.