Eigenvalue criteria for existence of positive solutions of second-order, multi-point, \(p\)-Laplacian boundary value problems (Q647564)

The paper deals with the multi-point boundary value problem with \(p\)-Laplacian \[ -\phi_p(u')'+(a+g(x,u,u'))\phi_p(u)=0, \tag{1} \] \[ u(\pm1)=\sum_{i=1}^{m^{\pm}}\alpha_i^{\pm}u(\eta_i^{\pm}). \tag{2} \] The author proves that for any function \(a\in L^1(-1,1)\) the problem consisting of the equation \[ -\phi_p(u')'+a\phi_p(u)=\lambda\phi_p(u), \] and the boundary conditions (2) has a unique principal eigenvalue \(\lambda_0(a)\). Applying some properties of \(\lambda_0(a)\) and the global bifurcation method the author establishes criteria for the existence and uniqueness of positive solutions of (1)-(2).