Limit-point type solutions of nonlinear differential equations (Q596785)

The paper deals with the nonexistence of square integrable solutions for the second-order nonlinear differential equation \[ x^{\prime\prime}=a(t)x+f(t,x),\qquad t\geq t_{0}\geq1.\tag{1} \] The assumptions imposed on the nonlinearity \(f\) and the coefficient \(a\) are rather mild. For instance, it is shown that \(a(t)\) can be even square integrable, which is an improvement compared to similar results reported in the literature. If equation (1) has no nontrivial square integrable solution, it can be classified as of limit-point type at infinity in accordance with the definition given by \textit{J. R. Graef} and \textit{P. W. Spikes} [Nonlinear Anal., Theory Methods Appl. 7, 851--871 (1983; Zbl 0535.34023)] which categorizes a perturbed second-order nonlinear equation \[ (r(t)x')'+q(t)f(x)=r(t,x) \] to be of the limit-circle type if, for any solution \(\varphi(t),\) one has \[ \int_{t_{0}}^{\infty}\varphi(t)f(\varphi(t))\,dt<+\infty. \] Illustrative examples are provided, and possible extensions to higher-order equations are discussed.