Point initial value problem for linear functional differential equations in Banach spaces

Summary The problem of existence and uniqueness of solutions defined on the whole real line and satisfying given initial point data for general abstract linear functional differential equations is considered. The equation is not assumed to be of the delay type. The essence of the method presented here consists in the representation of a solution in the form analogous to the variation of constants formula known for linear ordinary differential equations. It is shown that such an approach can be effectively applied to the problem of existence and uniqueness of solutions satisfying an exponential growth estimate, provided that the deviation of the argument is sufficiently small. The proofs are based on the Banach fixed point principle. Detailed comparison and discussion of the hypotheses ensuring the existence and uniqueness of solutions are presented.