Global existence of a restoring force realizing a prescribed half-period (Q964993)

Let \(T\) be a Lipschitz continuous, positive function on an interval \([0, r]\) and consider the integral equation \[ \sqrt{2} \int_0^x (G(x) - G(y))^{-1/2}\,dy = T(x),\quad G(x) = \int_0^x g(u)\,du,\;0 \leq x \leq r. \] This integral equation arises from the problem of finding a function \(g\) so that for each \(x \in (0, r]\) the ordinary differential equation \[ \ddot u + g(u) = 0 \] has a solution \(u(t)\) with maximal value \(x\) and a half-period \(T(x)\) that is a prescribed function of \(x\). In this article it is proved that there exists a unique solution \(g\) of the integral equation that is continuous on \([0, r]\) and positive on \((0, r]\). It is also shown that for functions \(g\) such that \(x^{-1} g(x)\) is Lipschitz continuous and positive on \([0, r]\), the mapping \(x^{-1} g(x) \mapsto T(x)\) maps into the set of Lipschitz continuous, positive functions on \([0, r]\).