Three-point boundary value problems for second-order ordinary differential equations (Q5943358)

The authors establish existence results on solutions to the nonlinear three-point boundary value problem \[ y''=f(x,y,y'),\;0<x<1,\;G\bigl( y(0),y(1), y(c),y'(0), y'(1)\bigr)=(0,0), \] where \(0<c<1\) is a given constant, \(f: [0,1] \times\mathbb{R} \times\mathbb{R} \to\mathbb{R}\) is continuous, \(G\) is continuous and possibly nonlinear. Their theory incorporates a degree-based relationship between the boundary conditions and the lower and upper solutions. For earlier results on the nonlinear equation \(y''=f(x,y,y')\) with some linear multipoint boundary conditions, see \textit{R. Ma} [J. Math. Anal. Appl. 211, No. 2, 545-555 (1997; Zbl 0884.34024)].