Stability of the zero solution of delay differential equations (Q869747)

For the linear delay differential equation \[ {dx\over dt}=-\sum_{k=1}^n a_k x(t-\tau_k) \] with \(a_k,\,\tau_k\in (0,\,\infty)\) it is proved that the condition \(\sum_{k=1}^n a_k\tau_k<\pi/2\) is sufficient, but not necessary, for all the roots of the characterictic equation to have negative real part (and hence the zero solution to be asymptotically stable). Similar assertion is formulated for the integro-differential equation \[ {dx\over dt}=-\int_{0}^{\infty} a(t) x(t-\tau)\,d\tau \] where \(a(\tau)>0\) for \(\tau>0\). The proof is based on frequency methods.