Smooth bifurcation branches of solutions for a Signorini problem (Q629304)

The authors study a bifurcation problem for the equation \(\Delta u+\lambda u+g(\lambda,u)u=0\) on a rectangle with Signorini boundary conditions on a part of one edge and mixed (Dirichlet and Neumann) boundary conditions on the rest of the boundary. The authors prove the existence of a local smooth branch of nontrivial solutions bifurcating from the trivial solutions at \(\lambda_0\) in the direction of \(u_0\) (\(\lambda_0\) being an eigenvalue and \(u_0\), a corresponding eigenfunction of the linearized equation with the same nonlinear boundary conditions). The proof of the result is based on a local equivalence of the unilateral boundary value problem to a system consisting of a corresponding classical boundary value problem and of two scalar equations. The latter is solved by the use of some scaling and the classical Crandall-Rabinovitz local bifurcation techniques.