Sign-changing solutions for an asymptotically linear Schrödinger equation with deepening potential well (Q536517)

The existence of sign-changing solutions for the asymptotically linear Schrödinger equation (P): \(- \Delta u+\lambda g(x)u=f(u), x\in\mathbb R^N\), \(N \geq3\), deepening potential well \(g\) and \( \lambda>0\) is investigated. The following assumptions are made on \(g\) and \(f\): the potential \(g\), an essentially bounded function, \(0 \leq g(x) \leq 1\), \(\forall x \in\mathbb R^N\), is identically 0 on a bounded nonempty domain and \(\lim_{|x|\rightarrow \infty} g(x) = 1\) and the function \(f\) is continuous, \(tf(t)>0\), \(\forall t \in\mathbb R\), \(t \neq0\), \( \lim_{t \rightarrow 0} {f(t) \over t} = 0\), it is asymptotically linear (i.e., there exists \(\alpha \in (0,\infty)\) such that \(\lim_{|t|\rightarrow \infty} {f(t) \over t} = \alpha\)) and \({f(t) \over t\operatorname{sgn}t}\) is nondecreasing. The authors prove, by using variational methods, such as the method of invariant sets and the concentration-compactness principle, that if \(\lambda\geq \alpha> \alpha_2(\lambda)\) and \( \alpha \not\in \sigma_p(L_\lambda)\) or if \( \alpha > \lambda\), \( \alpha \not\in \sigma_{p}(L_{\lambda})\) and there exist \(c, m, R_{0} > 0\) such that \(1-g(x) > c|x|^{-m}\), \(\forall|x|\geq r_{0}\) then the equation (P) has a sign-changing solution. Here \(L_{\lambda}u= -\Delta u + \lambda g(x)u, \forall u \in H^{1}(\mathbb R^N)\) and \(\alpha_2(\lambda)\) is the second eigenvalue of \(L_{\lambda}\).