Existence of quasi-periodic solutions and Littlewood's boundedness problem of sub-linear impact oscillators (Q555088)

The paper considers the dynamics of a periodically forced impact oscillator with sub-quadratic potential. The model equation is \[ \ddot x+x|x|^{\alpha-1}=p(t)\text{ with }0<\alpha<1 \] and \(p\) a \(C^\infty\) periodic forcing. An elastic bouncing condition \(\dot x(t_0^+)=-\dot x(t_0^-)\) is imposed at the origin \(x=0\). The main result provides the boundedness of all solutions and the existence of infinitely many periodic and quasi-periodic solutions. The lack of regularity of the associated Hamiltonian makes a direct application of Morse's twist theorem impossible. This technical problem is overcome by means of suitable canonical transformations and an approximation argument. It is worth to mention that the part on the multiplicity of periodic solutions is a consequence of the main result in \textit{W. Ding} [J. Math. Anal. Appl. 379, No. 2, 538--548 (2011; Zbl 1221.34109)]. The method here is of variational nature, hence totally different, and can not lead to boundedness information.