Periodic solutions of the second-order forced Liénard equation via time maps (Q5956094)

The author discusses the existence of \(T\)-periodic solutions for the Liénard equation \[ x''+f(x)x'+g(x)=e(t), \tag{1} \] where \(e, f, g : \mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}\) are continuous. The functions \(E, F, G\) are defined by \[ E(t)=\int_0^t e(s) ds, \quad F(x)=\int_0^xf(s) ds, \quad G(x)=\int_0^x g(s) ds, \] and the author assumes that \(E\) is \(T\)-periodic, there exists a constant \(c>0\) such that \( |F(x)|\leq c\) for \(x\in (-\infty,\infty)\) and \(\lim_{|x|\to\infty}\text{sgn}(x)g(x)=\infty\). Further, the time map \(\tau(c)\) is given by the formula \[ \tau(c)=\sqrt 2 \left|\int_0^c {du \over \sqrt{G(c)-G(u)}} \right|. \] Then, under additional assumptions imposed either on \(\tau\) or on \(g\), two existence theorems are proved. The proofs are based on the phase-plane analysis and the coincidence degree theory.