Nontrivial solutions of singular superlinear Sturm--Liouville problems (Q819627)

The authors study the singular superlinear problem \[ -(p(x)y')'-q(x)y=h(x)f(y),\quad 0<x<1, \] \[ \alpha_1 y(0)+\beta_1 y'(0)=0,\quad \alpha_2 y(1)+\beta_2 y'(1)=0. \] The function \(h\) is allowed to be singular at both \(x=0\) and \(x=1\). In addition, \(f\) is not assumed to be nonnegative. The assumption of nonnegativity of \(f\) has been very often required in the existing literature. Omitting this condition requires a different approach. Using topological degree theory, the authors establish conditions guaranteeing the existence of nontrivial solutions and positive solutions to the above boundary value problem. A nonsingular case is discussed as well.