Electronic Journal of Differential Equations, Vol. 2010(2010), No. 22, pp. 1–20. ISSN: 1072-6691. URL: http://ejde.math.txstate.edu or http://ejde.math.unt.edu ftp ejde.math.txstate.edu MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS FOR p-LAPLACIAN EQUATIONS WITH SIGN CHANGING COEFFICIENTS AND MULTI-POINT BOUNDARY CONDITIONS JIANYE XIA, YUJI LIU Abstract. We prove the existence of three monotone positive solutions for the second-order multi-point boundary value problem, with sign changing coefficients, [p(t)φ(x0 (t))]0 + f (t, x(t), x0 (t)) = 0, x0 (0) = − l X ai x0 (ξi ) + i=1 x(1) + βx0 (1) = k X m X t ∈ (0, 1), ai x0 (ξi ), i=l+1 bi x(ξi ) − i=1 m X bi x(ξi ) − i=k+1 m X ci x0 (ξi ). i=1 To obtain these results, we use a fixed point theorem for cones in Banach spaces. Also we present an example that illustrates the main results. 1. Introduction As is well known, a differential equation defined on the interval a ≤ t ≤ b having the form [p(t)x0 (t)]0 + (q(t) + λr(t))x(t) = 0, a1 x(a) + a2 x0 (a) = a3 x(b) + a4 x0 (b) = 0, is called a Sturm-Liouville boundary-value problem or Sturm-Liouville system. Here p(t) > 0, q(t), the weighting function r(t), the constants a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 are given, and the eigenvalue λ is an unspecified parameter. Sturm-Liouville boundary-value problems for nonlinear second-order p-Laplacian differential equations have been studied extensively; see for example [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16]. The study of existence of positive solutions for such problems is complicated since there is no Green’s function for the p-Laplacian (p 6= 2). 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. 34B10, 34B15, 35B10. Key words and phrases. Second order differential equation; positive solution multi-point boundary value problem. c 2010 Texas State University - San Marcos. Submitted October 26, 2009. Published February 4, 2010. Supported by grants 06JJ5008 and 7004569 from the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan and Guangdong provinces, China. 1 2 J. XIA, Y. LIU EJDE-2010/22 Some authors have extend Sturm-Liouville boundary conditions to nonlinear cases. For example, He, Ge and Peng [7], by means of the Leggett-Williams fixedpoint theorem, established criteria for the existence of at least three positive solutions to the one-dimensional p-Laplacian boundary-value problem (φ(y 0 ))0 + g(t)f (t, y) = 0, t ∈ (0, 1), 0 y(0) − B0 (y (0)) = 0, (1.1) 0 y(1) + B1 (y (1)) = 0, where φ(v) = |v|p−2 v with v > 1, under the assumptions xB0 (x) ≥ 0, xB1 (x) ≥ 0 and that there exist constants Mi > 0 such that |Bi (x)| ≤ Mi |x|, x ∈ R. (1.2) In [9, 10, 11, 7], the authors extended (1.1) to a more general case. They established some existence results of at least one positive solution of Sturm-Liouville boundary value problems of higher order differential equations. Liu [12] studied the boundaryvalue problem [φ(x(n−1) (t))]0 = f (t, x(t), x0 (t), . . . , x(n−2) (t)), (i) x (0) = 0 (n−2) x 0 < t < 1, for i = 0, 1, . . . , n − 3, (0) − B0 (x(n−1) (0)) = 0, (1.3) B1 (x(n−2) (1)) + x(n−1) (1) = 0. which is a general case of (1.1). Liu [12] established existence of at least one positive solution of (1.3) without assumption (1.2). The Sturm-Liouville boundary conditions have been extended to multi-point cases. For example, Ma [15, 16] studied the problem [p(t)x0 (t)]0 − q(t)x(t) + f (t, x(t)) = 0, αx(0) − βp(0)x0 (0) = γx(1) + δp(1)x0 (1) = m X i=1 m X t ∈ (0, 1), ai x(ξi ), (1.4) bi x(ξi ), i=1 where 0 < ξ1 < · · · < ξm < 1, α, β, γ, δ ≥ 0, ai , bi ≥ 0 with ρ = γβ + αγ + αδ > 0. By using Green’s functions (which is complicate for studying (1.1)) and GuoKrasnoselskii fixed point theorem [4, 6], the existence and multiplicity of positive solutions for (1.4) were given. There is no paper discussing the existence of multiple positive solutions of (1.4) by using Leggett-Williams fixed point theorem. Liu in [10, 11] also studied some Sturm-Liouville type multi-point boundary value problems. In recent papers [8, 17], the authors studied the four-point boundary-value problem (φ(x0 ))0 + f (t, x(t), x0 (t)) = 0, t ∈ (0, 1), αx(0) − βx0 (ξ) = 0, (1.5) 0 γx(1) + δx (η) = 0, p−2 −1 where φ(x) = |x| x, p > 1, φ (x) = |x|q−2 x with 1/p + 1/q = 1, α > 0, β ≥ 0, γ > 0, δ ≥ 0, 0 < ξ < η < 1, f is continuous and nonnegative. When ξ → 0 and EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS 3 η → 1, (1.5) converges to a Sturm-Liouville boundary-value problem. So (1.5) can be seen as a generalized Sturm-Liouville boundary-value problem. Xu [18] proved the existence of at least one or two positive solutions of the differential equation [φ(x0 (t))]0 + a(t)f (x(t)) = 0, x0 (0) = m X t ∈ (0, 1), ai x0 (ξi ), (1.6) i=1 x(1) = k X bi x(ξi ) − i=1 s X bi x(ξi ) − m X ci x0 (ξi ), i=s+1 i=k+1 where 0 < ξ1 < · · · < ξm < 1, ai , bi , ci ≥ 0, a and f are continuous functions, φ(x) = |x|p−2 x with p > 1. Motivated by above mentioned papers, we investigate the boundary-value problem [p(t)φ(x0 (t))]0 + f (t, x(t), x0 (t)) = 0, t ∈ (0, 1), x0 (0) = − l X i=1 x(1) + βx0 (1) = k X i=1 m X ai x0 (ξi ) + bi x(ξi ) − ai x0 (ξi ), (1.7) i=l+1 m X bi x(ξi ) − i=k+1 m X ci x0 (ξi ), i=1 where • 0 < ξ1 < · · · < ξm < 1, β ≥ 0, 1 ≤ k, l ≤ m and ai ≥ 0, bi ≥ 0, ci ≥ 0 for all i = 1, . . . , m; • f is defined on [0, 1] × R × R, continuous, nonnegative with f (t, 0, 0) 6≡ 0 on each subinterval of [0, 1]; • p is defined on [0, 1], continuous and positive; • φ is called p-Laplacian, φ(x) = |x|p−2 x with p > 1, its inverse function is denoted by φ−1 (x) with φ−1 (x) = |x|q−2 x with 1/p + 1/q = 1. Sufficient conditions for the existence of at least three monotone positive solutions of (1.7) are established by using a fixed point theorem for cones in Banach spaces. We remark that the fixed point theorem used here is different form the one in [18]. Our results improve the the results in [18] since: Three positive solutions are obtained, while one or two positive solutions were obtained in [18]; the nonlinearity in (1.7) depends on t, x, x0 , while the nonlinearity in [18] depends only on t, x. The main result for this article is presented in Section 2, and an example is given in Section 3. 2. Main Results In this section, we first present some background definitions and state an important fixed point theorem. Then the main results are given and proved. Definition 2.1. Let X be a semi-ordered real Banach space. The nonempty convex closed subset P of X is called a cone in X if x + y ∈ P and ax ∈ P for all x, y ∈ P and a ≥ 0, and x ∈ X and −x ∈ X imply x = 0. 4 J. XIA, Y. LIU EJDE-2010/22 Definition 2.2. Let X be a semi-ordered real Banach space and P a cone in X. A map ψ : P → [0, +∞) is a nonnegative continuous concave (or convex) functional map provided ψ is nonnegative, continuous and satisfies ψ(tx + (1 − t)y) ≥ (or ≤) tψ(x) + (1 − t)ψ(y) for all x, y ∈ P, t ∈ [0, 1]. Definition 2.3. Let X be a semi-ordered real Banach space. An operator T ; X → X is completely continuous if it is continuous and maps bounded sets into precompact sets. Let a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 > 0 be positive constants, ψ be a nonnegative continuous functional on the cone P . Define the sets as follows: P (β1 ; a4 ) = {x ∈ P : β1 (x) < a4 }, P (β1 , α1 ; a2 , a4 ) = {x ∈ P : α1 (x) ≥ a2 , β1 (x) ≤ a4 }, P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ) = {x ∈ P : α1 (x) ≥ a2 , β2 (x) ≤ a3 , β1 (x) ≤ a4 } and a closed set R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ) = {x ∈ P : ψ(x) ≥ a1 , β1 (x) ≤ a4 }. Theorem 2.4 ([3]). Let P be a cone in a real Banach space X with the norm k · k. Suppose that (1) T : P → P is completely continuous; (2) β1 and β2 be nonnegative continuous convex functionals on P , α1 be a nonnegative continuous concave functional on P , and ψ be a nonnegative continuous functional on P satisfying ψ(λx) ≤ λψ(x) for all x ∈ P and λ ∈ [0, 1], and α1 (x) ≤ ψ(x) and there exists a constant M > 0 such that kxk ≤ M β1 (x) for all x ∈ P ; (3) there exist positive numbers a1 < a2 , a3 and a4 such that (E1) T (P (β1 ; a4 )) ⊆ P (β1 ; a4 ); (E2) α1 (T x) > a2 for all x ∈ P (β1 , α1 ; a2 , a4 ) with β2 (T x) > a3 ; (E3) {x ∈ P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ) : α1 (x) > a2 } = 6 ∅ and α1 (T x) > b for all x ∈ P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ); (E4) 0 6∈ R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ) and ψ(T x) < a1 for all x ∈ R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ) with ψ(x) = a1 ; Then T has at least three fixed points x1 , x2 , x3 ∈ P (β1 ; a4 ) such that β1 (xi ) ≤ a4 , α1 (x1 ) > a2 , ψ(x2 ) > a1 , i = 1, 2, 3; α1 (x2 ) < a2 , ψ(x3 ) < a1 . Choose X = C 1 [0, 1]. We call x ≤ y for x, y ∈ X if x(t) ≤ y(t) for all t ∈ [0, 1], for x ∈ X, define its norm by kxk = max max |x(t)|, max |x0 (t)| . t∈[0,1] t∈[0,1] It is easy to see that X is a semi-ordered real Banach space. Let n P = y ∈ X : y(t) ≥ 0 for all t ∈ [0, 1], y 0 (t) ≤ 0 is decreasing on [0, 1], y(t) ≥ (1 − t)y(0) for all t ∈ [0, 1], 0 x(1) + βp(1)x (1) = k X i=1 bi x(ξi ) − m X i=k+1 bi x(ξi ) − m X i=1 bi x0 (ξi ), EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS x0 (0) = − l X m X ai x0 (ξi ) + i=1 5 o ai x0 (ξi ) . i=l+1 Then P is a nonempty cone in X. For σ ∈ (0, 1/2). Define functionals from P to R by β1 (y) = max |y 0 (t)|, ψ(x) = max |y(t)|, t∈[0,1] β2 (y) = max |y(t)|, t∈[0,1] α1 (y) = t∈[σ,1−σ] |y(t)|, min y ∈ P. t∈[σ,1−σ] Let us list some conditions to be used in this article. (A1) p : [0, 1] → (0, +∞) is continuous; (A2) ai ≥ 0, bi ≥ 0, ci ≥ 0 for all i = 1, . . . , m satisfying m X i=l+1 m X ai p(0) p(ξi ) ai φ−1 i=l+1 − l X i=1 ai p(0) < 1, p(ξi ) k X i=1 l 1 X 1 ai φ−1 ≥ , p(ξi ) p(ξi ) i=1 s X bi − bi < 1, i=k+1 k X bi ≥ i=1 m X bi ; i=k+1 (A2’) ai ≥ 0, bi ≥ 0 for all i = 1, . . . , m satisfying m X i=l+1 m X i=l+1 ai φ−1 ai p(0) p(ξi ) < 1, k X bi < 1, i=1 l 1 X 1 ≥ ai φ−1 , p(ξi ) p(ξi ) i=1 k X bi ≥ i=1 m X bi ; i=k+1 (A3) β ≥ 0; (A4) f : [0, 1] × [0, +∞) × R → [0, +∞) is continuous with f (t, 0, 0) 6≡ 0 on each sub-interval of [0, 1]; (A5) θ : [0, 1] → [0, +∞) is a continuous function and θ(t) 6≡ 0 on each subinterval of [0, 1]. It is easy to see that (A2) holds if (A2’) holds. Lemma 2.5. Suppose that p : [0, 1] → (0, +∞) with p ∈ C 1 [0, 1], x ∈ X, x(t) ≥ 0 for all t ∈ [0, 1] and [p(t)φ(x0 (t))]0 ≤ 0 on [0, 1]. Then x is concave and x(t) ≥ min{t, 1 − t} max x(t), t ∈ [0, 1]. (2.1) t∈[0,1] Proof. Suppose x(t0 ) = maxt∈[0,1] x(t). If t0 < 1, for t ∈ (t0 , 1), since x0 (t0 ) ≤ 0, we have p(t0 )φ(x0 (t0 )) ≤ 0. Then p(t)φ(x0 (t)) ≤ 0 for all t ∈ (t0 , 1]. It follows that x0 (t) ≤ 0 for all t ∈ [0, 1]. Thus x(t0 ) ≥ x(t) ≥ x(1) ≥ 0. Let R t −1 1 φ p(s) ds t τ (t) = R 10 . 1 φ−1 p(s) ds t0 Then τ ∈ C([t0 , 1], [0, 1]) and is increasing on [t0 , 1] since 1 φ−1 p(t) dτ = R1 > 0, dt φ−1 1 ds t0 p(s) 6 J. XIA, Y. LIU EJDE-2010/22 τ (t0 ) = 0 and τ (1) = 1. Thus −1 dx dx dτ dx φ = = R dt dτ dt dτ 1 φ−1 1 p(t) 1 p(s) t0 ds which implies dx 1 R p(t)φ(x0 (t)) = φ 1 dτ φ φ−1 t0 1 p(s) . ds Hence 0 φ dx dτ R1 t0 φ−1 1 p(t) φ−1 1 p(s) Z 1 0 d2 x 1 = φ φ−1 ds p(t)φ(x0 (t)) ≤ 0 2 p(s) ds dτ t0 2 for all t ∈ [t0 , 1]. Note that φ0 (x) ≥ 0. It follows that ddτx2 ≤ 0. Together with x00 (τ ) ≤ 0(τ ∈ [0, 1]). Then x0 is decreasing on [0, 1]. We get that there exist t0 ≤ η ≤ t ≤ ξ ≤ 1 such that x(t0 ) − x(1) x(t) − x(1) (t − 1)[x(t0 ) − x(t)] + (t0 − t)[x(1) − x(t)] − =− t0 − 1 t−1 (t − 1)(t0 − 1) (t − 1)(t0 − t)x0 (η) + (t0 − t)(1 − t)tx0 (ξ) =− (t − 1)(t0 − 1) (t − 1)(t0 − t)x0 (ξ) + (t0 − t)(1 − t)tx0 (ξ) ≤− = 0. (t − 1)(t0 − 1) It follows that for t ∈ (t0 , 1), x(t) ≥ x(1) + (t − 1) x(t0 ) − x(1) 1−t 1−t = x(1) 1 − + x(t0 ) ≥ (1 − t)x(t0 ). t0 − 1 1 − t0 1 − t0 If t0 > 0, for t ∈ (0, t0 ), similarly to above discussion, we have x(t) ≥ tx(t0 ), t ∈ (0, t0 ). Then one gets that x(t) ≥ min{t, 1 − t} maxt∈[0,1] x(t) for all t ∈ [0, 1]. The proof is complete. Consider the boundary-value problem [p(t)φ(x0 (t))]0 + θ(t) = 0, x0 (0) = − l X x(1) + βx0 (1) = k X i=1 m X ai x0 (ξi ) + i=1 bi x(ξi ) − t ∈ (0, 1), ai x0 (ξi ), (2.2) i=l+1 s X i=k+1 bi x(ξi ) − m X ci x0 (ξi ). i=s+1 Lemma 2.6. Suppose that (A1)–(A5) hold. If x is a solution of (2.2), then x is concave, decreasing and positive on (0, 1). Proof. Suppose x satisfies (2.2). It follows from the assumptions that px0 is decreasing on [0, 1]. Lemma 2.5 implies that x0 is decreasing on [0, 1]. Then x is concave on [0, 1]. EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS 7 First, we prove that x0 (0) ≤ 0. One sees from (A2) and the deceasing property of p(t)φ(x0 (t)) that x0 (1) = − l X m X 1 −1 1 −1 φ (p(ξi )φ(x0 (ξi ))) + φ (p(ξi )φ(x0 (ξi ))) ai p(ξi ) p(ξi ) ai φ−1 i=1 ≤− + l X i=l+1 1 −1 φ (p(ξl )φ(x0 (ξl ))) p(ξi ) ai φ−1 i=1 m X ai φ−1 1 −1 φ (p(ξl+1 )φ(x0 (ξl+1 ))) p(ξi ) ai φ−1 l 1 X 1 −1 φ (p(ξl+1 )φ(x0 (ξl+1 ))) − ai φ−1 p(ξi ) p(ξ ) i i=1 i=l+1 = m X i=l+1 + l X 1 −1 [φ (p(ξl+1 )φ(x0 (ξl+1 ))) − φ−1 (p(ξl )φ(x0 (ξl )))] p(ξi ) ai φ−1 i=1 ≤ m X ai φ−1 l 1 X 1 −1 ai φ−1 − φ (p(ξl+1 φ(x0 (ξl+1 ))) p(ξi ) p(ξ ) i i=1 ai φ−1 l 1 −1 1 X ai φ−1 − φ (p(0)φ(x0 (0))). p(ξi ) p(ξ ) i i=1 i=l+1 ≤ m X i=l+1 It follows that 1− m X i=l+1 0 ai p(0) p(ξi ) + l X ai i=1 p(0) 0 x (0) ≤ 0. p(ξi ) 0 It follows that x (0) ≤ 0. Then x (t) ≤ 0 for all t ∈ [0, 1]. Second, we prove that x(1) ≥ 0. It follows from the boundary conditions in (2.2) that m s k X X X ci x0 (ξi ) bi x(ξi ) − bi x(ξi ) − x(1) + βx0 (1) = ≥ i=1 i=k+1 k X s X bi x(ξi ) − i=1 ≥ k X k X k X k X i=1 bi x(ξk+1 ) i=k+1 bi − s X s X bi x(ξk ) + bi [x(ξk ) − x(ξk+1 )] i=k+1 bi − i=1 ≥ s X bi x(ξk ) − i=1 ≥ bi x(ξi ) i=k+1 i=1 = i=s+1 s X i=k+1 bi x(ξk ) i=k+1 bi − s X i=k+1 bi x(1). 8 J. XIA, Y. LIU EJDE-2010/22 Then 1− k X i=1 s X bi + bi x(1) + βx0 (1) ≥ 0. i=k+1 We get x(1) ≥ 0 since x0 (1) ≤ 0 and β ≥ 0. Then x(t) > x(1) ≥ 0 for all t ∈ [0, 1). The proof is complete. Lemma 2.7. Suppose that (A1),(A2’), (A3)–(A5) hold. Let 1 − 1. µ = φ Pm −1 p(0) i=l+1 ai φ p(ξi ) If y is a solution of (2.2), then Z 1 Z s 1 1 y(t) = Bθ − φ−1 θ(u)du ds, t ∈ [0, 1], p(0)φ(Aθ ) − p(s) p(s) 0 t where h R 1 θ(u)du i −1 0 ,0 , Aθ ∈ − φ µp(0) Z ξi l 1 X 1 −1 Aθ = − ai φ p(0)φ(Aθ ) − θ(u)du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z ξi m X 1 1 + ai φ−1 p(0)φ(Aθ ) − θ(u)du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=l+1 and Z 1 1 1 Bθ = − βφ p(0)φ(Aθ ) − θ(u)du Pk Pm p(1) p(1) 0 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z Z k s 1 1 X 1 p(0)φ(Aθ ) − θ(u)du ds − bi φ−1 p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z Z s m 1 1 X 1 −1 + bi φ p(0)φ(Aθ ) − θ(u)du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 Z m ξi 1 i X 1 − ci φ−1 p(0)φ(Aθ ) − θ(u)du ds . p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 1 h −1 Proof. Since y is solution of (2.2), Z t 1 1 y 0 (t) = φ−1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du , p(t) p(t) 0 Z 1 Z s 1 1 y(t) = y(1) − φ−1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du ds. p(s) p(s) 0 t The boundary conditions in (2.2) imply Z ξi l 1 X 1 y 0 (0) = − ai φ−1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z ξi m 1 X 1 −1 0 + ai φ p(0)φ(y (0)) − θ(u)du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=l+1 EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS 9 and Z 1 1 1 θ(u)du p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − p(1) p(1) 0 Z s Z k 1 X 1 1 θ(u)du ds = p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − bi y(1) − φ−1 p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z Z s m 1 1 X 1 − bi y(1) − φ−1 θ(u)du ds p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 Z ξi m 1 X 1 θ(u)du . − p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − ci φ−1 p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 y(1) + βφ−1 It follows that y(1) = Z 1 1 1 0 p(0)φ(y (0)) − θ(u)du Pk Pm p(1) p(1) 0 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z s Z 1 k 1 X 1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du ds − bi φ−1 p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z Z s m 1 1 X 1 + bi φ−1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 Z ξi m i 1 X 1 − p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du ds . ci φ−1 p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 1 h − βφ−1 Lemma 2.6 implies that y 0 (0) ≤ 0. One finds that l X Z ξi 1 1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z ξi m 1 X 1 + ai φ−1 p(0)φ(y 0 (0)) − θ(u)du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=l+1 Z ξi m 1 X 1 0 −1 ≥ ai φ p(0)φ(y (0)) − θ(u)du . p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 y 0 (0) = − ai φ−1 i=l+1 If y 0 (0) 6= 0, one gets Z ξi m 1 X 1 1 −1 1− ai φ p(0) − θ(u)du ≤ 0. p(ξi ) φ(y 0 (0)) p(ξi ) 0 i=l+1 Let G(c) = c − m X i=l+1 Then ai φ−1 Z ξi 1 1 p(0)φ(c) − θ(u)du . p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 Z ξi m 1 X G(c) 1 1 −1 =1− ai φ p(0) − θ(u)du . c p(ξi ) φ(c) p(ξi ) 0 i=l+1 Note that µ = φ Pm 1 −1 p(0) i=l+1 ai φ p(ξi ) − 1. (2.3) 10 J. XIA, Y. LIU EJDE-2010/22 It is easy to see that G(c) is decreasing on (−∞, 0) and on (0, +∞). First, since c limt→0+ G(c)/c = +∞ and m 1 X G(c) =1− p(0) > 0, lim ai φ−1 c→+∞ c p(ξi ) i=l+1 we get that G(c) c > 0 for all c > 0. Second, we have R1 θ(u)du m 1 G − φ−1 0 µp(0) X R1 =1− ai φ−1 p(0) θ(u)du p(ξi ) −φ−1 0 µp(0) i=l+1 =1− m X ai φ−1 i=t+1 0 Z ξi θ(u)du m X 0 ai φ−1 p(0) p(ξi ) = 0. ≤ 0. We get R 1 0 ≥ y 0 (0) ≥ −φ−1 0 θ(u)du . µp(0) The proof is complete. Define the nonlinear operator T : X → X by Z s Z 1 1 1 −1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds, (T x)(t) = Bx − φ p(s) p(s) 0 t for t ∈ [0, 1], where h −1 Aσ ∈ − φ R1 0 φ Pm i f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ,0 , 1 − 1 p(0) p(0) −1 i=t+1 l X ai φ p(ξi ) Z ξi 1 1 Ax = − ai φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z ξi m 1 X 1 −1 + ai φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du , p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 −1 i=l+1 Bx = 1 Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 h 1 1 × − βφ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du p(1) p(1) 0 Z s Z k 1 X 1 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds − bi φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z Z s m 1 1 X 1 −1 + bi φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 R ξi 1 θ(u)du 1 p(0) + µ R01 p(0) p(ξi ) θ(u)du p(ξi ) i=l+1 G(y 0 (0)) y 0 (0) 1 + R1 p(ξ i) θ(u)du p(0)µ 0 ≥ 1 − φ−1 (1 + µ) It follows from (2.3) that limc→0− G(c)/c = −∞ and EJDE-2010/22 − MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS m X −1 ci φ i=1 11 Z ξi i 1 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds . p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 Lemma 2.8. Suppose that (A1),(A2’), (A3), (A4) hold. Then (i) the following equalities hold: [p(t)φ((T y)0 (t))]0 + f (t, y(t), y 0 (t)) = 0, (T y)0 (0) = − l X i=1 (T y)(1) + β(T y)0 (1) = k X m X ai (T y)0 (ξi ) + t ∈ (0, 1), ai (T y)0 (ξi ), i=l+1 bi (T y)(ξi ) − i=1 m X bi (T y)(ξi ) − m X ci (T y)0 (ξi ); i=1 i=k+1 (ii) T y ∈ P for each y ∈ P ; (iii) x is a positive solution of (1.7) if and only if x is a solution of the operator equation y = T y in P ; (iv) T : P → P is completely continuous. Proof. The proofs of (i), (ii) and (iii) are simple. To prove (iv), it suffices to prove that T is continuous on P and T is relative compact. We divide the proof into two steps: Step 1. For each bounded subset D ⊂ P , and each x0 ∈ D, since f (t, u, v) is continuous, we can prove that T is continuous at y(t). Step 2. For each bounded subset D ⊂ P , prove that T is relative compact on D. It is similar to that of the proof of Lemmas in [13] and are omitted. Lemma 2.9. Suppose that (A1), (A2’), (A3), (A4) hold. Then there exists a constant M > 0 such that max (T x)(t) ≤ M max |(T x)0 (t)| t∈[0,1] for each x ∈ P. t∈[0,1] Proof. For x ∈ P , Lemma 2.6 implies that (T x)(t) ≥ 0 and (T x)0 (t) ≤ 0 for all t ∈ [0, 1]. Lemma 2.8 implies (T x)(1) + β(T x)0 (1) = k X i=1 bi (T x)(ξi ) − m X i=k+1 bi (T x)(ξi ) − m X ci (T x)0 (ξi ). i=1 Then there exist numbers ηi ∈ [ξi , 1] such that Pk Pm (T x)(1) − i=1 bi (T x)(1) + i=k+1 bi (T x)(1) (T x)(1) = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Pm −β(T x)0 (1) − i=1 ci (T x)0 (ξi ) = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Pk Pm i=k+1 bi [(T x)(ξi ) − (T x)(1)] i=1 bi [(T x)(ξi ) − (T x)(1)] − + Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Pm 0 −β(T x) (1) − i=1 ci (T x)0 (ξi ) = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi 12 J. XIA, Y. LIU Pk i=1 bi (ξi + EJDE-2010/22 Pm − 1)(T x)0 (ηi ) − i=k+1 bi (ξi − 1)(T x)0 (ηi ) . Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi It follows that |(T x)(t)| = |(T x)(t) − (T x)(1) + (T x)(1)| ≤ |(T x)(1)| + (1 − t)|(T x)0 (ξ)| where ξ ∈ [t, 1] Pk Pm Pm βp(1) + i=1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=k+1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=1 ci max |(T x)0 (t)|. ≤ 1+ Pk Pm t∈[0,1] 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Then max |(T x)(t)| t∈[0,1] ≤ 1+ βp(1) + Pk Pm Pm − ξi ) + i=k+1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=1 ci max |(T x)0 (t)|. Pk Pm t∈[0,1] 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi i=1 bi (1 It follows that there exists a constant M > 0 such that for all x ∈ P , max (T x)(t) ≤ M β1 ((T x)) . t∈[0,1] Denote 1 µ = φ Pm − 1, p(0) ai φ−1 p(ξi ) Pm Pm βp(1) + i=1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=k+1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=1 ci M =1+ , Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 Z ξi k m X 1 + µs X −1 1 + µs −1 1 + µ bi bi + φ ds + φ−1 ds L1 = βφ µp(1) µp(s) µp(s) ξi 0 i=1 i=t+1 Pk i=k+1 + m X ci φ−1 i=1 L2 = βφ −1 1 + µξi µp(ξi ) ds + 1 − Z 1 k 1 X + bi φ−1 p(1) ξ i i=1 k X 1 φ−1 1 + µs ds, µp(s) Z ξi m X s s ds + bi φ−1 ds p(s) p(s) 0 i=1 bi Z 0 i=k+1 m X k ξ Z 1 X s i −1 + ci φ ds + 1 − bi φ−1 ds. p(ξ ) p(s) i 0 i=1 i=1 Theorem 2.10. Choose k ∈ (0, 1). Suppose that (A1), (A2’), (A3), (A4) hold. Let e1 , e2 , c be positive numbers and n c 1 − Pk bi + Pm µp(1)φ(c) o i=k+1 bi i=1 Q = min φ , ; L1 1+µ e2 1 − Pk bi + Pm i=1 i=k+1 bi W =φ ; L2 EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS 13 e1 1 − Pk bi + Pm i=1 i=k+1 bi E=φ . L1 If M c > e2 > e1 k > e1 > 0 and (A6) f (t, u, v) ≤ Q for all t ∈ [0, 1], u ∈ [0, M c], v ∈ [−c, c]; (A7) f (t, u, v) ≥ W for all t ∈ [0, k], u ∈ [e2 , e2 /k], v ∈ [−c, c]; (A8) f (t, u, v) ≤ E for all t ∈ [0, 1], u ∈ [0, e1 ], v ∈ [−c, c]; then (1.7) has at least three solutions x1 , x2 , x3 such that x1 (0) < e1 , x2 (k) > e2 , x3 (0) > e1 , x3 (k) < e2 . Proof. To apply Theorem 2.4, we check that all its conditions are satisfied. By the definitions, it is easy to see that α1 is a nonnegative continuous concave functional on the cone P , β1 , β2 are three nonnegative continuous convex functionals on the cone P , ψ a nonnegative continuous functional on the cone P . Lemma 2.8 implies that x = x(t) is a positive solution of (1.7) if and only if x is a solution of the operator equation y = T y and T is completely continuous. For x ∈ P , one sees that ψ(λx) ≤ λψ(x) for all x ∈ P and λ ∈ [0, 1], and α1 (x) ≤ ψ(x) for all x ∈ P . There exists a constant M > 0 such that kxk ≤ M β1 (x) for all x ∈ P . Then (1) and (2) of Theorem 2.4 hold. Corresponding to Theorem 2.4, we have a4 = c, a3 = ek2 , a2 = e2 , a1 = e1 . Now, we check that (1.3) of Theorem 2.4 holds. One sees that 0 < a1 < a2 , a3 > 0, a4 > 0. The rest is divided into four steps. Step 1. Prove that T (P1 (β1 ; a4 )) ⊆ P1 (β1 ; a4 ); For x ∈ P1 (β1 ; a4 ), we have β1 (x) ≤ a4 = c. Then 0 ≤ x(t) ≤ max x(t) ≤ M c for t ∈ [0, 1], t∈[0,1] −c ≤ x0 (t) ≤ c for all t ∈ [0, 1]. So (A6) implies that f (t, x(t), x0 (t)) < Q for t ∈ [0, 1]. Then Lemma 2.7 implies R 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du Q 0 ≥ Ax ≥ −φ−1 0 ≥ −φ−1 . µp(0) µp(0) Since c ≥ max e2 2 1 , La, φ−1 a, φ−1 a , σ0 p(0) p(1) we obtain c φ(c)p(0) φ(a) ≤ min φ , , φ(c)p(1) = Q. L 2 Then maxt∈[0,1] (T y)(t) = (T y)(0) implies (T x)(0) Z = Bx − 1 φ−1 0 = Z s 1 1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 1 Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 h 1 1 −1 × − βφ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du p(1) p(1) 0 14 J. XIA, Y. LIU k X EJDE-2010/22 Z s 1 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z s Z m 1 1 X 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds + p(0)φ(Ax ) − bi φ−1 p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 Z ξi m 1 i X 1 − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds ci φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z 1 Z s 1 1 φ−1 − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(s) p(s) 0 0 1 = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 h 1 1 −1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − × − βφ f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du p(1) p(1) 0 Z s Z k 1 1 X 1 −1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − − bi φ f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z s Z m ξi 1 X 1 −1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds bi φ − p(s) p(s) 0 0 i=k+1 Z m ξi 1 X 1 − ci φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z s k Z 1 i 1 X 1 bi p(0)φ(Ax ) − − 1− φ−1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 0 i=1 h 1 Q Q ≤ + βφ−1 Pk Pm µp(1) p(1) 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 Z ξi k m X X Qs Qs Q Q + bi + ds + bi + ds φ−1 φ−1 µp(s) p(s) µp(s) p(s) ξi 0 i=1 − Z 1 bi φ−1 i=k+1 + m X −1 ci φ i=1 = 1− k Z 1 X Qξi Qs i Q Q + ds + 1 − bi + ds φ−1 µp(ξi ) p(ξi ) µp(s) p(s) 0 i=1 φ−1 (Q) Pm i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Pk Z 1 k h 1 + µ X 1 + µs × βφ−1 + bi φ−1 ds µp(1) µp(s) ξi i=1 Z ξi m m 1 + µs 1 + µξ X X i ds + ci φ−1 ds + bi φ−1 µp(s) µp(ξ ) i 0 i=1 i=k+1 k Z X + 1− bi i=1 0 1 φ−1 1 + µs i ds ≤ c. µp(s) EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS 15 On the other hand, similarly to above discussion, since (T y)0 (t) is decreasing and (T y)0 (0) ≤ 0, from Lemma 2.7 we have Z 1 1 1 0 −1 (T x) (1) = φ f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du , p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(1) p(1) 0 Z 1 1 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du max |(T x)0 (t)| = −φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(1) p(1) 0 t∈[0,1] Q Q ≤ φ−1 ≤ c. + µp(1) p(1) It follows that kT xk = max maxt∈[0,1] |(T x)(t)|, maxt∈[0,1] |(T x)0 (t)| ≤ c. Then T (P (β1 ; a4 )) ⊆ P (β1 ; a4 ). This completes the proof of (E1) in Theorem 2.4. Step 2. Prove that α1 (T x) > a2 for all x ∈ P (β1 , α1 ; a2 , a4 ) with β2 (T x) > a3 ; For y ∈ P (β1 , α1 ; a2 , a4 ) = P (β1 , α1 ; e2 , c) with β2 (T y) > a3 = ek2 , we have e2 α1 (y) = min y(t) ≥ e2 , β1 (y) = max |y 0 (t)| ≤ c, max (T y)(t) > . k t∈[0,k] t∈[0,1] t∈[0,k] Then α1 (T y) = min (T y)(t) ≥ kβ2 (T y) > k t∈[0,k] e2 = e2 = a2 . k This completes the proof of (E2) in Theorem 2.4. Step 3. Prove that {x ∈ P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ) : α1 (x) > a2 } 6= ∅ and α1 (T x) > b for all x ∈ P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ); It is easy to check that {x ∈ P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ) : α1 (x) > a2 } = 6 ∅. For y ∈ P (β1 , β2 , α1 ; a2 , a3 , a4 ), one has that e2 α1 (y) = min y(t) ≥ e2 , β2 (y) = max y(t) ≤ , β1 (y) = max |y 0 (t)| ≤ c. k t∈[0,k] t∈[0,k] t∈[0,1] Then e2 ≤ y(t) ≤ e2 , k t ∈ [0, k], |y 0 (t)| ≤ c. Thus (A7) implies f (t, y(t), y 0 (t)) ≥ W, t ∈ [0, k]. Since α1 (T y) = min (T y)(t) ≥ k max (T y)(t), t∈[0,k] t∈[0,1] we obtain α1 (T y) ≥ k maxt∈[0,1] (T y)(t). Then α1 (T y) ≥ k max (T y)(t) ≥ k(T y)(0). t∈[0,1] From Ax ≤ 0, we obtain h 1 α1 (T1 y) ≥ k Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 1 1 × − βφ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du p(1) p(1) 0 Z s Z k 1 X 1 1 − bi φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z Z s m 1 1 X 1 −1 + bi φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 16 J. XIA, Y. LIU m X EJDE-2010/22 Z ξi 1 1 − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds ci φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z 1 Z s 1 i 1 −1 φ − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(s) p(s) 0 0 k = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 1 h 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du × − βφ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − p(1) p(1) 0 Z s Z k 1 1 X 1 f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(0)φ(Ax ) − − bi φ−1 p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z Z s m 1 1 X 1 −1 + bi φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=k+1 Z ξi m 1 X 1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds − ci φ−1 p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 m k Z 1 1 X X bi bi + φ−1 − 1− p(0)φ(Ax ) p(s) 0 i=1 i=k+1 Z s i 1 − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) 0 k = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 h 1 1 −1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du × − βφ p(1) p(1) 0 Z Z s k 1 1 X 1 −1 − bi φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z s Z ξi m 1 X 1 − bi φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 0 i=k+1 Z m ξi 1 X 1 − ci φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 k Z 1 1 X − 1− bi φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) p(s) 0 i=1 Z s i 1 − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) 0 1 ≥ Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 Z ξi k m h X W X Ws Ws × βφ−1 + bi φ−1 ds + bi φ−1 ds p(1) p(s) p(s) ξi 0 i=1 −1 i=k+1 EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS + m X ci φ−1 i=1 = 17 k Z 1 X W ξi Ws i ds + 1 − ds bi φ−1 p(ξi ) p(s) 0 i=1 φ−1 (W ) Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 Z ξi k m h X 1 X s s −1 −1 + ds + ds × βφ bi φ bi φ−1 p(1) p(s) p(s) ξi 0 i=1 Pk i=k+1 + m X ci φ−1 i=1 ξi p(ξi ) k Z X ds + 1 − bi i=1 1 φ−1 0 s i ds = e2 . p(s) This completes the proof of (E3) in Theorem 2.4. Step 4. Prove that 0 6∈ R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ) and that ψ(T x) < a1 for all x in R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ) with ψ(x) = a1 ; It is easy to see that 0 6∈ R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ). For y ∈ R(β1 , ψ; a1 , a4 ) with ψ(x) = a1 , one has that ψ(y) = max y(t) = a1 , t∈[0,1] β1 (y) = max |y 0 (t)| ≤ a4 . t∈[0,1] Hence 0 ≤ y(t) ≤ a1 , t ∈ [0, 1]; −c ≤ y 0 (t) ≤ c, t ∈ [0, 1]. Then (A8) implies f (t, y(t), y 0 (t)) ≤ E, t ∈ [0, 1]. So ψ(T y) = max (T y)(t) = (T y)(0) t∈[0,1] 1 = Pk Pm 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z 1 h 1 1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du × − βφ−1 p(1) p(1) 0 Z 1 Z s k 1 X 1 −1 bi − φ p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 ξi i=1 Z s Z m ξ i X 1 1 − bi φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 0 i=k+1 Z m ξi 1 X 1 − ci φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(ξi ) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 Z s k i Z 1 1 X 1 − 1− bi φ−1 p(0)φ(Ax ) − f (u, x(u), x0 (u))du ds p(s) p(s) 0 0 i=1 h E 1 E βφ−1 ≤ + Pm Pk µp(1) p(1) 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi Z ξi Z k m 1 E E X X Es Es −1 + bi φ + ds + bi φ−1 + ds µp(s) p(s) µp(s) p(s) ξi 0 i=1 i=k+1 + m X i=1 ci φ−1 k Z 1 E X E Eξi Es i + ds + 1 − bi φ−1 + ds µp(ξi ) p(ξi ) µp(s) p(s) 0 i=1 18 J. XIA, Y. LIU = EJDE-2010/22 Z 1 k 1 + µ X 1 + µs h φ−1 (E) + ds βφ−1 bi φ−1 Pm µp(1) µp(s) 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi ξi i=1 Z ξi m m 1 + µs 1 + µξ X X i + ds + ds bi φ−1 ci φ−1 µp(s) µp(ξ ) i 0 i=1 Pk i=k+1 k Z X + 1− bi i=1 0 1 φ−1 1 + µs i ds ≤ a1 . µp(s) This completes the proof of (E4) in Theorem 2.4. Then Theorem 2.4 implies that T has at least three fixed points x1 , x2 and x3 such that β(x1 ) < e1 , α(x2 ) > e2 , β(x3 ) > e1 , α(x3 ) < e2 . Hence (1.7) has three decreasing positive solutions x1 , x2 and x3 as needed in the statement of the theorem; therefore, the proof is complete. 3. Examples Now, we present an example that illustrates our main results, and that can not be solved by results in [3, 9, 10, 15, 16]. Example 3.1. Consider the boundary-value problem x00 (t) + f (t, x(t), x0 (t)) = 0, t ∈ (0, 1), 1 1 x0 (0) = − x0 (1/4) + x0 (1/2), 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 x(1) + 2x (1) = x(1/4) − x(1/2) − x0 (1/4) − x0 (1/2), 4 4 2 4 t|v| and where f (t, u, v) = f0 (u) + 25500000 2 u 51 8 51 564000− 8 564000 + 1004−1251 (u − 1004) f0 (u) = 564000 564000 564000eu−2000004 (3.1) u ∈ [0, 4], u ∈ [4, 12], u ∈ [12, 1004], u ∈ [1004, 4004], u ∈ [4004, 2000004], u ≥ 2000004. Corresponding to (1.7), one sees that φ−1 (x) = x, ξ1 = 1/4, ξ2 = 1/2, a1 = 1/4, a2 = 1/2, b1 = 1/4, b2 = 1/4, c1 = 1/2, c2 = 1/4. It is easy to see that (A1)–(A4) hold. Choose constants k = 21 , e1 = 2, e2 = 100 and c = 20000. One obtains Pm Pm Pk βp(1) + i=1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=k+1 bi (1 − ξi ) + i=1 ci 51 M =1+ = , Pk Pm 4 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi 1 − 1 = 1, µ=φ P m −1 p(0) i=t+1 ai φ p(ξi ) EJDE-2010/22 MONOTONE POSITIVE SOLUTIONS L1 = βφ−1 1 + µ + k X Z 1 φ−1 19 1 + µs ds µp(1) µp(s) ξi i=1 Z ξi m m 1 + µs 1 + µξ X X i + ds + ds bi φ−1 ci φ−1 µp(s) µp(ξ ) i 0 i=1 bi i=k+1 k Z X + 1− bi 1 φ−1 1 + µs ds, µp(s) Z 1 k 1 X s L2 = βφ−1 + ds bi φ−1 p(1) p(s) ξi i=1 Z ξi m m X X s ξi + bi φ−1 ds + ds ci φ−1 p(s) p(ξi ) 0 i=1 i=1 0 i=k+1 k Z X + 1− bi 1 s ds, p(s) 0 i=1 Pk Pm c 1 − i=1 bi + i=k+1 bi µp(1)φ(c) Q = min φ , ; L1 1+µ P P e2 1 − ki=1 bi + m i=k+1 bi W =φ ; L2 P P e1 1 − ki=1 bi + m i=k+1 bi E=φ . L1 It is easy to see that If M c > e2 > e1 k φ−1 > e1 > 0 and f (t, u, v) ≤ Q for all t ∈ [0, 1], u ∈ [0, M c], v ∈ [−20000, 20000]; f (t, u, v) ≥ W for all t ∈ [0, 1/2], u ∈ [100, 200], v ∈ [−20000, 20000]; f (t, u, v) ≤ E for all t ∈ [0, 1], u ∈ [0, 2], v ∈ [−20000, 20000]; Then (A6), (A7) and (A8) hold. 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Jianye Xia Department of Mathematics, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou 510320, China E-mail address: JianyeXia@sohu.com Yuji Liu Department of Mathematics, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414000, China E-mail address: liuyuji888@sohu.com