Positive solutions for second-order four-point boundary value problems at resonance (Q652924)

The paper is devoted to the the following four-point boundary value problem \[ \begin{cases} x''(t)+f(t,x(t))=0,&t\in(0,1),\\ x(0)=\alpha x(\eta),\quad x(1)=\beta x(\xi),& \end{cases} \] where \(\eta, \xi\in(0,1)\). The authors consider the so-called resonant case, that is when either \[ \alpha=\beta=1 \] or \[ 0<\alpha<\frac{1}{1-\eta},\;0<\beta<\frac{1}{\xi},\;\alpha\eta(1-\beta)+(1-\alpha)(1-\beta\xi)=0. \] Under some local growth condition on the nonlinearity \(f\), the authors prove existence of at least one positive solution. For this, they use a Leggett-Williams type theorem due to \textit{D. O'Regan} and \textit{M. Zima} [Arch. Math. 87, No. 3, 233--244 (2006; Zbl 1109.47051)].