Positive solutions for boundary value problems of second order difference equations and their computation (Q968829)

The authors consider two classes of boundary value problems (BVPs) for the difference equation \[ \Delta(r_{i-1}\Delta y_{i-1})-b_iy_i+\lambda a_iy_i=0,\;\;1\leq i\leq n, \;\;y_0-\tau y_1=y_{n+1}-\delta y_n=0, \] and \[ \Delta(r_{i-1}\Delta y_{i-1})-b_iy_i+\lambda a_iy_i=0,\;\;1\leq i\leq n, \;\;y_0=\alpha y_n,\;\;y_{n+1}=\beta y_1=0, \] where \(\alpha,\beta,\delta,\tau\in[0,1]\), \(n\geq3\), \(r_i>0\), \(b_i\geq0\) for \(0\leq i\leq n\). A number \(\lambda\) is said to be an eigenvalue of the problem if the BVP has a nontrivial solution \(\{y_0,\dots,y_{n+1}\}\) (it is called an eigenvector). The problem of existence and computation of positive solutions is discussed. The existence of positive solutions is established for a wider range of parameters. Iterative algorithms for computation of positive solutions of both problems are proposed. The Crout factorization algorithm for tridiagonal systems is utilized for the first problem. The results of computations with \(n=4000\) are presented.