A positivity result applied to difference equations (Q909917)

The authors prove comparison theorems for the least positive eigenvalues of matrix difference equations of the type \[ (-1)^{n-k}Ly(t)=\lambda P(t)y(t+k), \] \[ (-1)^{n-k}Ly(t)=\Lambda Q(t)y(t+k) \] with boundary conditions \[ \Delta^ iy(a)=0,\quad 0\leq i\leq k-1, \] \[ \Delta^ iy(b+k+1)=0,\quad 0\leq i\leq n-k-1, \] where a and b \((>a)\) are integers and t is a discrete variable. Here P(t) and Q(t), \(t\in [a,b]\), are \(m\times m\) matrix functions and \(Ly(t)=\sum^{n}_{i=0}\alpha_ i(t)y(t+i)\) with \(\alpha_ n(t)\equiv 1\) and \((-1)^ n\alpha_ 0(t)>0\).