Optimal conditions of solvability of nonlocal problems for second-order ordinary differential equations (Q611183)

The paper studies the problem \[ u''=f(t,u),\quad \int_a^bu^{(i-1)}(s)d\varphi_i(s)=c_i,\tag{1} \] where \(f:[a,b]\times\mathbb R\to\mathbb R\) is a function satisfying local Carathéodory conditions, \((i=1,2)\), \(c_i\in\mathbb R\) and \(\varphi_i:[a,b]\to\mathbb R\) are functions of bounded variation such that \[ \varphi_i(a)=0,\quad \varphi_i(b)=1. \tag{2} \] Primarily the authors are interested in the case where, along with (2), one of the following four conditions holds: \[ \varphi_1(s)>1, \quad \varphi_2(s)>1,\quad a<s<b; \] \[ \varphi_1(s)<0, \quad \varphi_2(s)<0,\quad a<s<b; \] \[ \varphi_1(s)>1, \quad \varphi_2(s)<0,\quad a<s<b; \] \[ \varphi_1(s)<0, \quad \varphi_2(s)>1,\quad a<s<b. \] They establish unimprovable, in a certain sense, sufficient conditions which guarantee: the solvability of problem (1), the unique solvability of problem (1), the existence of at least three distinct solutions to problem (1). In addition to that the singular case, when the function \(f\) is defined only on the set \([a,b]\times (0,\infty)\) and, generally speaking, has no finite limit \(\lim_{x\to 0} f(t,x)\) is considered separately. In that case optimal sufficient conditions for the existence of a positive solution to problem (1) are presented.