Real-parameter square-integrable solutions and the spectrum of differential operators

We continue to investigate the connection between the spectrum of self-adjoint ordinary differential operators with arbitrary deficiency index d and the number of linearly independent square-integrable solutions for real values of the spectral parameter λ. We show that if, for all λ in an open interval I, there are d linearly independent square-integrable solutions, then there is no continuous spectrum in I. This for any self-adjoint realization with boundary conditions which may be separated, coupled, or mixed. The proof is based on a new characterization of self-adjoint domains and on limit-point (LP) and limit-circle (LC) solutions established in an earlier paper.     

The spectrum of differential operators and square-integrable solutions

We give a comprehensive account of the relationship between the square-integrable solutions for real values of the spectral parameter λ and the spectrum of self-adjoint even order ordinary differential operators with real coefficients and arbitrary deficiency index d and we solve an open problem stated by Weidmann in his well-known 1987 monograph. According to a well-known result, if one endpoint is regular and for some real value of the spectral parameter λ the number of linearly independent square-integrable solutions is less than d, then λ is in the essential spectrum of every self-adjoint realization of the equation. Weidmann extends this result to the two singular endpoint case provided an additional condition is satisfied. Here we prove this result without the additional condition.     

Continuous spectrum and square-integrable solutions of differential operators with intermediate deficiency index

We explore the connection between square-integrable solutions for real-values of the spectral parameter λ and the continuous spectrum of self-adjoint ordinary differential operators with arbitrary deficiency index d. We show that if, for all λ in an open interval I, there are d of linearly independent square-integrable solutions, then for every extension of Dmin the point spectrum is nowhere dense in I, and there is a self-adjoint extension of Smin which has no continuous spectrum in I. This analysis is based on our construction of limit-point (LP) and limit-circle (LC) solutions obtained recently in an earlier paper.     

The Fourth-order Bessel–type Differential Equation

The Bessel-type functions, structured as extensions of the classical Bessel functions, were defined by Everitt and Markett in 1994. These special functions are derived by linear combinations and limit processes from the classical orthogonal polynomials, classical Bessel functions and the Krall Jacobi-type and Laguerre-type orthogonal polynomials. These Bessel-type functions are solutions of higher-order linear differential equations, with a regular singularity at the origin and an irregular singularity at the point of infinity of the complex plane.

There is a Bessel-type differential equation for each even-order integer; the equation of order two is the classical Bessel differential equation. These even-order Bessel-type equations are not formal powers of the classical Bessel equation.

When the independent variable of these equations is restricted to the positive real axis of the plane they can be written in the Lagrange symmetric (formally self-adjoint) form of the Glazman–Naimark type, with real coefficients. Embedded in this form of the equation is a spectral parameter; this combination leads to the generation of self-adjoint operators in a weighted Hilbert function space. In the second-order case one of these associated operators has an eigenfunction expansion that leads to the Hankel integral transform.

This article is devoted to a study of the spectral theory of the Bessel-type differential equation of order four; considered on the positive real axis this equation has singularities at both end-points. In the associated Hilbert function space these singular end-points are classified, the minimal and maximal operators are defined and all associated self-adjoint operators are determined, including the Friedrichs self-adjoint operator. The spectral properties of these self-adjoint operators are given in explicit form.

From the properties of the domain of the maximal operator, in the associated Hilbert function space, it is possible to obtain a virial theorem for the fourth-order Bessel-type differential equation.

There are two solutions of this fourth-order equation that can be expressed in terms of classical Bessel functions of order zero and order one. However it appears that additional, independent solutions essentially involve new special functions not yet defined. The spectral properties of the self-adjoint operators suggest that there is an eigenfunction expansion similar to the Hankel transform, but details await a further study of the solutions of the differential equation.     

ON THE TITCHMARSH-WEYL THEORY OF ORDINARY SYMMETRIC ODD-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSIONS AND A DIRECT CONVERGENCE THEOREM

Abstract

In this paper the odd-order differential equation M[y] λ wy on the interval (O,∞), associated with the symmetric differential expression M of (2k-1)st order (k ≥ 2) with w a positive weight function and λ a complex number, is shown to possess k-Titchmarsh-Weyl solutions for every non-real λ in the underlying Hilbert space L² _w(O, ∞) having identical representation for every non-real λ. In terms of these solutions the Green's function associated with the singular boundary value problem is shown to possess identical representation for all non-real λ which has been further made use of in the third-order case to establish a direct convergence eigenfunction expansion theorem. The symmetric spectral matrix appearing in the expansion theorem has been characterized in terms of the Titchmarsh-Weyl m-coefficients.     

Multiplicity of the spectrum of a self-adjoint ordinary differential operator of odd order

A bound is obtained for the multiplicity of the spectrum of the self-adjoint operator generated by a singular ordinary differential operator? of odd order in the Hubert space ?² in terms of solutions of the differential equation?[y]=λy.     

Positive and dead core solutions of singular BVPs for third-order differential equations

The paper discusses the existence of positive and dead core solutions of the singular differential equation (?(u^″))^′=λf(t,u,u^′,u^″) satisfying the boundary conditions u(0)=A, u(T)=A, min{u(t):t∈[0,T]}=0. Here λ is a nonnegative parameter, A is a positive constant and the Carathéodory function f(t,x,y,z) is singular at the value 0 of its space variable y.     

Approximation of isolated eigenvalues of general singular ordinary differential operators

Let A be a self-adjoint operator defined by a general singular ordinary differential expression τ on an interval (a, b), ? ∞ ≤ a < b ≤ ∞. We show that isolated eigenvalues in any gap of the essential spectrum of A are exactly the limits of eigenvalues of suitably chosen self-adjoint realizations A_n of τ on subintervals (a_n, b_n) of (a, b) with a_n → a, b_n → b. This means that eigenvalues of singular ordinary differential operators can be approximated by eigenvalues of regular operators. In the course of the proof we extend a result, which is well known for quasiregular differential expressions, to the general case: If the spectrum of A is not the whole real line, then the boundary conditions needed to define A can be given using solutions of (τ ? λ)u = 0, where λ is contained in the regularity domain of the minimal operator corresponding to τ.     

The classification of self-adjoint boundary conditions of differential operators with two singular endpoints

For general even order linear ordinary differential equations with real coefficients and endpoints which are regular or singular and for arbitrary deficiency index d, the self-adjoint domains are determined by d linearly independent boundary conditions. These conditions are of three types: separated, coupled, and mixed. We give a construction for all conditions of each type and determine the number of conditions of each type possible for a given self-adjoint domain. Our construction gives a direct alternative to the recent construction of Everitt and Markus which uses the theory of symplectic spaces. We believe our construction will prove useful in the spectral analysis of these operators and in obtaining canonical forms of self-adjoint boundary conditions. Such forms are known only in the second order, i.e. Sturm-Liouville, case. Even for regular problems of order four no such forms are available. In the case when all d conditions are separated this construction yields explicit non-real conditions for all orders greater than two. It is well known that no such conditions exist in the second order case.     

Two-Interval Sturm–Liouville Operators in Direct Sum Spaces with Inner Product Multiples

In direct sum spaces with inner product multiples, we study two-interval Sturm–Liouville problems. For singular problems, we generate self-adjoint realizations for boundary conditions with any real coupling matrix whose determinant is positive. This contrasts with the usual theory which requires the coupling matrix to have determinant one. This paper is in final form and no version of it will be submitted for publication elsewhere. Received: September 28, 2006.     

The existence and multiplicity of solutions for an impulsive differential equation with two parameters via a variational method

In this paper, we study the existence and multiplicity of classical solutions for a second-order impulsive differential equation with periodic boundary conditions. By using a variational method and critical point theory, we give some new criteria to guarantee that the impulsive problem has at least one solution, two solutions and infinitely many solutions when the parameter pair (c,λ) lies in different intervals, respectively. Some examples are given in this paper to illustrate the main results.     

The monotonic property and stability of solutions of fractional differential equations

In this paper we improve on the monotone property of Lemma 1.7.3 in Lakshmikantham et al. (2009) [5] for the case g(t,u)=λu with a nonnegative real number λ. We also investigate the Mittag-Leffler stability of solutions of fractional differential equations by using the fractional comparison principle.     

On the singular Weyl-Titchmarsh function of perturbed spherical Schrödinger operators

We investigate the singular Weyl-Titchmarsh m-function of perturbed spherical Schrödinger operators (also known as Bessel operators) under the assumption that the perturbation q(x) satisfies xq(x)∈L¹(0,1). We show existence plus detailed properties of a fundamental system of solutions which are entire with respect to the energy parameter. Based on this we show that the singular m-function belongs to the generalized Nevanlinna class and connect our results with the theory of super singular perturbations.     

The classification of self-adjoint boundary conditions: Separated, coupled, and mixed

There are three basic types of self-adjoint regular and singular boundary conditions: separated, coupled, and mixed. For even order problems with real coefficients, one regular endpoint and arbitrary deficiency index d, we give a construction for each type and determine the number of possible conditions of each type under the assumption that there are d linearly independent square-integrable solutions for some real value of the spectral parameter. In the separated case our construction yields non-real conditions for all orders greater than two. It is well known that no such conditions exist in the second order case. Our construction gives a direct alternative to the recent construction of Everitt and Markus which uses the theory of symplectic spaces. We believe our construction will prove useful in the spectral analysis of these operators and in obtaining canonical forms of self-adjoint boundary conditions. Such forms are known only in the second order, i.e. Sturm-Liouville, case. Even for regular problems of order four no such forms are available.     

Extrapolation from A∞ weights and applications

We generalize the A_p extrapolation theorem of Rubio de Francia to A_∞ weights in the context of Muckenhoupt bases. Our result has several important features. First, it can be used to prove weak endpoint inequalities starting from strong-type inequalities, something which is impossible using the classical result. Second, it provides an alternative to the technique of good-λ inequalities for proving L^p norm inequalities relating operators. Third, it yields vector-valued inequalities without having to use the theory of Banach space valued operators. We give a number of applications to maximal functions, singular integrals, potential operators, commutators, multilinear Calderón-Zygmund operators, and multiparameter fractional integrals. In particular, we give new proofs, which completely avoid the good-λ inequalities, of Coifman's inequality relating singular integrals and the maximal operator, of the Fefferman-Stein inequality relating the maximal operator and the sharp maximal operator, and the Muckenhoupt-Wheeden inequality relating the fractional integral operator and the fractional maximal operator.     

Left-definite theory with applications to orthogonal polynomials

In the past several years, there has been considerable progress made on a general left-definite theory associated with a self-adjoint operator A that is bounded below in a Hilbert space H; the term ‘left-definite’ has its origins in differential equations but Littlejohn and Wellman [L. L. Littlejohn, R. Wellman, A general left-definite theory for certain self-adjoint operators with applications to differential equations, J. Differential Equations, 181 (2) (2002) 280-339] generalized the main ideas to a general abstract setting. In particular, it is known that such an operator A generates a continuum {H_r}_r>0 of Hilbert spaces and a continuum of {A_r}_r>0 of self-adjoint operators. In this paper, we review the main theoretical results in [L. L. Littlejohn, R. Wellman, A general left-definite theory for certain self-adjoint operators with applications to differential equations, J. Differential Equations, 181 (2) (2002) 280-339]; moreover, we apply these results to several specific examples, including the classical orthogonal polynomials of Laguerre, Hermite, and Jacobi.     

Positive solutions for semi-positone three-point boundary value problems

Using a fixed point theorem of generalized cone expansion and compression we present in this paper criteria which guarantee the existence of at least two positive solutions for semi-positone three-point boundary value problems with parameter λ>0$\lambda >0$ belonging to a certain interval.     

Relations among eigenvalues of left-definite Sturm–Liouville problems with coupled BCS and separated BCS

This paper deals with Left-Definite regular self-adjoint SLPs with coupled boundary conditions. It is obtained that, for a given eigenvalue _λ∗${\lambda }_{\ast }$ of Left-Definite regular SLPs with coupled BCs, there are some separated BCs also having _λ∗${\lambda }_{\ast }$ as an eigenvalue with the same index or indices. And then we can construct an algorithm for computing the index of a given eigenvalue for the Left-Definite SLPs with coupled boundary conditions.     

On positive solutions for fourth-order boundary value problem with impulse

In this paper, we consider a fourth-order boundary value problem with impulse. First, we establish criteria for the existence of one or more than one positive solution of a non-eigenvalue problem. Second, we are concerned with determining values of λ$\lambda$, for which there exist positive solutions for an eigenvalue problem. In both problems, we shall use the Krasnoselskii fixed point theorem.     

Self-adjoint extensions for linear Hamiltonian systems with two singular endpoints

This paper is concerned with self-adjoint extensions for a linear Hamiltonian system with two singular endpoints. The domain of the closure of the corresponding minimal Hamiltonian operator H₀ is described by properties of its elements at the endpoints of the discussed interval, decompositions of the domains of the corresponding left and right maximal Hamiltonian operators are provided, and expressions of the defect indices of H₀ in terms of those of the left and right minimal operators are given. Based on them, characterizations of all the self-adjoint extensions for a Hamiltonian system are obtained in terms of square integrable solutions. As a consequence, the characterizations of all the self-adjoint extensions are given for systems in several special cases.