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In this paper, we study the $T$-periodic solutions of the parameter-dependent $\phi$-Laplacian equation \begin{equation*} (\phi(x'))'=F(\lambda,t,x,x'). \end{equation*} Based on the topological degree theory, we present some atypical bifurcation results in the sense of Prodi--Ambrosetti, i.e., bifurcation of $T$-periodic solutions from $\lambda=0$. Finally, we propose some applications to Li\'enard-type equations., Comment: 22 pages, 1 figure

The paper studies the existence of periodic solutions of a perturbed relativistic Kepler problem of the type \begin{equation*} \dfrac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}t}\left(\frac{m\dot{x}}{\sqrt{1-|\dot{x}|^{2}/c^{2}}}\right) = -\alpha\frac{x}{|x|^{3}} + \varepsilon \, \nabla_{x} U(t,x), \qquad x \in \mathbb{R}^d\setminus\{0\}, \end{equation*} with $d=2$ or $d=3$, bifurcating, for $\varepsilon$ small enough, from the set of circular solutions of the unperturbed system. Both the case of the fixed-period problem (assuming that $U$ is $T$-periodic in time) and the case of the fixed-energy problem (assuming that $U$ is independent of time) are considered., Comment: 31 pages

In this paper, we focus our attention on the positive solutions to second-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations of the form $u''+q(t)g(u)=0$, where $q$ is a sign-changing weight and $g$ is a superlinear function. We exploit the classical shooting approach and the comparison theorem to present non-degeneracy and exact multiplicity results for positive solutions. This completes the multiplicity results obtained by Feltrin and Zanolin. Numerical examples and some related open problems are also discussed., Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures

We investigate bifurcation of closed orbits with a fixed energy level for a class of nearly integrable Hamiltonian systems with two degrees of freedom. More precisely, we make a joint use of Moser invariant curve theorem and Poincar\'e-Birkhoff fixed point theorem to prove that a periodic non-degenerate invariant torus $\mathcal{T}$ of the unperturbed problem gives rise to infinitely many closed orbits, bifurcating from a family of tori accumulating onto $\mathcal{T}$. The required non-degeneracy condition, which is nothing but a reformulation of the usual non-degeneracy condition in the isoenergetic KAM theory, is expressed in terms of the derivative of the apsidal angle with respect to the angular momentum: in this way, tools from the theory of time-maps of nonlinear oscillators can be used to verify it in concrete problems. Applications are given to perturbations of central force problems in the plane, and to equatorial geodesic dynamics for perturbations of the Schwarzschild metric., Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures

We deal with the non-autonomous parameter-dependent second-order differential equation \begin{equation*} \delta \left( \dfrac{v'}{\sqrt{1-(v')^{2}}} \right)' + q(t) f(v)= 0, \quad t\in\mathbb{R}, \end{equation*} driven by a Minkowski-curvature operator. Here, $\delta>0$, $q\in L^{\infty}(\mathbb{R})$, $f\colon\mathopen{[}0,1\mathclose{]}\to\mathbb{R}$ is a continuous function with $f(0)=f(1)=0=f(\alpha)$ for some $\alpha \in \mathopen{]}0,1\mathclose{[}$, $f(s)<0$ for all $s\in\mathopen{]}0,\alpha\mathclose{[}$ and $f(s)>0$ for all $s\in\mathopen{]}\alpha,1\mathclose{[}$. Based on a careful phase-plane analysis, under suitable assumptions on $q$ we prove the existence of strictly increasing heteroclinic solutions and of homoclinic solutions with a unique change of monotonicity. Then, we analyze the asymptotic behaviour of such solutions both for $\delta \to 0^{+}$ and for $\delta\to+\infty$. Some numerical examples illustrate the stated results., Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures

We consider two different relativistic versions of the Kepler problem in the plane: the first one involves the relativistic differential operator, the second one involves a correction for the usual gravitational potential due to Levi-Civita. When a small external perturbation is added into such equations, we investigate the existence of periodic solutions with prescribed energy bifurcating from periodic invariant tori of the unperturbed problems. Our main tool is an abstract bifurcation theory from periodic manifolds developed by Weinstein, which is applied in the case of nearly integrable Hamiltonian systems satisfying the usual KAM isoenergetic non-degeneracy condition., Comment: 18 pages

We deal with a planar differential system of the form \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \, u' = h(t,v), \\ \, v' = - \lambda a(t) g(u), \end{cases} \end{equation*} where $h$ is $T$-periodic in the first variable and strictly increasing in the second variable, $\lambda>0$, $a$ is a sign-changing $T$-periodic weight function and $g$ is superlinear. Based on the coincidence degree theory, in dependence of $\lambda$, we prove the existence of $T$-periodic solutions $(u,v)$ such that $u(t)>0$ for all $t\in\mathbb{R}$. Our results generalize and unify previous contributions about Butler's problem on positive periodic solutions for second-order differential equations (involving linear or $\phi$-Laplacian-type differential operators)., Comment: 33 pages

We show the direct applicability of the Brouwer fixed point theorem for the existence of equilibrium points and periodic solutions for differential systems on general domains satisfying geometric conditions at the boundary. We develop a general approach for arbitrary bound sets and present applications to the case of convex and star-shaped domains. We also provide an answer to a question raised in a recent paper of Cid and Mawhin., Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures

We consider a perturbation of a central force problem of the form \begin{equation*} \ddot x = V'(|x|) \frac{x}{|x|} + \varepsilon \,\nabla_x U(t,x), \quad x \in \mathbb{R}^{2} \setminus \{0\}, \end{equation*} where $\varepsilon \in \mathbb{R}$ is a small parameter, $V\colon (0,+\infty) \to \mathbb{R}$ and $U\colon \mathbb{R} \times (\mathbb{R}^{2} \setminus \{0\}) \to \mathbb{R}$ are smooth functions, and $U$ is $\tau$-periodic in the first variable. Based on the introduction of suitable time-maps (the radial period and the apsidal angle) for the unperturbed problem ($\varepsilon=0$) and of an associated non-degeneracy condition, we apply an higher-dimensional version of the Poincar\'{e}-Birkhoff fixed point theorem to prove the existence of non-circular $\tau$-periodic solutions bifurcating from invariant tori at $\varepsilon=0$. We then prove that this non-degeneracy condition is satisfied for some concrete examples of physical interest (including the homogeneous potential $V(r)=\kappa/r^{\alpha}$ for $\alpha\in(-\infty,2)\setminus\{-2,0,1\}$). Finally, an application is given to a restricted $3$-body problem with a non-Newtonian interaction., Comment: 45 pages, 3 figures

We study the second-order boundary value problem \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \, -u''=a_{\lambda,\mu}(t) \, u^{2}(1-u), & t\in(0,1), \\ \, u'(0)=0, \quad u'(1)=0, \end{cases} \end{equation*} where $a_{\lambda,\mu}$ is a step-wise indefinite weight function, precisely $a_{\lambda,\mu}\equiv\lambda$ in $[0,\sigma]\cup[1-\sigma,1]$ and $a_{\lambda,\mu}\equiv-\mu$ in $(\sigma,1-\sigma)$, for some $\sigma\in\left(0,\frac{1}{2}\right)$, with $\lambda$ and $\mu$ positive real parameters. We investigate the topological structure of the set of positive solutions which lie in $(0,1)$ as $\lambda$ and $\mu$ vary. Depending on $\lambda$ and based on a phase-plane analysis and on time-mapping estimates, our findings lead to three different (from the topological point of view) global bifurcation diagrams of the solutions in terms of the parameter $\mu$. Finally, for the first time in the literature, a qualitative bifurcation diagram concerning the number of solutions in the $(\lambda,\mu)$-plane is depicted. The analyzed Neumann problem has an application in the analysis of stationary solutions to reaction-diffusion equations in population genetics driven by migration and selection., Comment: 56 pages, 11 figures

We provide an extension of the Hartman-Knobloch theorem for periodic solutions of vector differential systems to a general class of $\phi$-Laplacian differential operators. Our main tool is a variant of the Man\'{a}sevich-Mawhin continuation theorem developed for this class of operator equations, together with the theory of bound sets. Our results concern the case of convex bound sets for which we show some new connections using a characterisation of sublevel sets due to Krantz and Parks. We also extend to the $\phi$-Laplacian vector case a classical theorem of Reissig for scalar periodically perturbed Li\'{e}nard equations., Comment: 27 pages

The paper provides a uniqueness result for positive solutions of the Neumann and periodic boundary value problems associated with the $\phi$-Laplacian equation \begin{equation*} \bigl{(} \phi(u') \bigr{)}' + a(t) g(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $\phi$ is a homeomorphism with $\phi(0)=0$, $a(t)$ is a stepwise indefinite weight and $g(u)$ is a continuous function. When dealing with the $p$-Laplacian differential operator $\phi(s)=|s|^{p-2}s$ with $p>1$, and the nonlinear term $g(u)=u^{\gamma}$ with $\gamma\in\mathbb{R}$, we prove the existence of a unique positive solution when $\gamma\in\mathopen{]}-\infty,(1-2p)/(p-1)\mathclose{]} \cup \mathopen{]}p-1,+\infty\mathclose{[}$., Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures

We investigate the existence of positive solutions for a class of Minkowski-curvature equations with indefinite weight and nonlinear term having superlinear growth at zero and super-exponential growth at infinity. As an example, for the equation \begin{equation*} \Biggl{(} \dfrac{u'}{\sqrt{1-(u')^{2}}}\Biggr{)}' + a(t) \bigl{(}e^{u^{p}}-1\bigr{)} = 0, \end{equation*} where $p > 1$ and $a(t)$ is a sign-changing function satisfying the mean-value condition $\int_{0}^{T} a(t)\,\mathrm{d}t < 0$, we prove the existence of a positive solution for both periodic and Neumann boundary conditions. The proof relies on a topological degree technique., Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures

We consider a perturbed relativistic Kepler problem \begin{equation*} \dfrac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}t}\left(\dfrac{m\dot{x}}{\sqrt{1-|\dot{x}|^2/c^2}}\right)=-\alpha\, \dfrac{x}{|x|^3}+\varepsilon \, \nabla_x U(t,x), \qquad x \in \mathbb{R}^2 \setminus \{0\}, \end{equation*} where $m, \alpha > 0$, $c$ is the speed of light and $U(t,x)$ is a function $T$-periodic in the first variable. For $\varepsilon > 0$ sufficiently small, we prove the existence of $T$-periodic solutions with prescribed winding number, bifurcating from invariant tori of the unperturbed problem., Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures

We prove the existence of a pair of positive radial solutions for the Neumann boundary value problem \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \, \mathrm{div}\,\Biggl{(} \dfrac{\nabla u}{\sqrt{1- | \nabla u |^{2}}}\Biggr{)} + \lambda a(|x|)u^p = 0, & \text{in $B$,} \\ \, \partial_{\nu}u=0, & \text{on $\partial B$,} \end{cases} \end{equation*} where $B$ is a ball centered at the origin, $a(|x|)$ is a radial sign-changing function with $\int_B a(|x|)\,\mathrm{d}x < 0$, $p>1$ and $\lambda > 0$ is a large parameter. The proof is based on the Leray-Schauder degree theory and extends to a larger class of nonlinearities., Comment: 17 pages, 4 PDF figures

We investigate sufficient conditions for the presence of coexistence states for different genotypes in a diploid diallelic population with dominance distributed on a heterogeneous habitat, considering also the interaction between genes at multiple loci. In mathematical terms, this corresponds to the study of the Neumann boundary value problem \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \, p_{1}''+\lambda_{1} w_{1}(x,p_{2}) f_{1}(p_{1}) = 0, &\text{in $\Omega$,} \, p_{2}''+\lambda_{2} w_{2}(x,p_{1}) f_{2}(p_{2}) = 0, &\text{in $\Omega$,} \, p_{1}'=p_{2}'=0, &\text{on $\partial\Omega$,} \end{cases} \end{equation*} where the coupling-weights $w_{i}$ are sign-changing in the first variable, and the nonlinearities $f_{i}\colon\mathopen{[}0,1\mathclose{]}\to\mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[}$ satisfy $f_{i}(0)=f_{i}(1)=0$, $f_{i}(s)>0$ for all $s\in\mathopen{]}0,1\mathclose{[}$, and a superlinear growth condition at zero. Using a topological degree approach, we prove existence of $2^{N}$ positive fully nontrivial solutions when the real positive parameters $\lambda_{1}$ and $\lambda_{2}$ are sufficiently large., Comment: 23 pages

We deal with the periodic boundary value problem associated with the parameter-dependent second-order nonlinear differential equation \begin{equation*} u'' + cu' + \bigr{(} \lambda a^{+}(x) - \mu a^{-}(x) \bigr{)} g(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $\lambda,\mu>0$ are parameters, $c\in\mathbb{R}$, $a(x)$ is a locally integrable $P$-periodic sign-changing weight function, and $g\colon\mathopen{[}0,1\mathclose{]}\to\mathbb{R}$ is a continuous function such that $g(0)=g(1)=0$, $g(u)>0$ for all $u\in\mathopen{]}0,1\mathclose{[}$, with superlinear growth at zero. A typical example for $g(u)$, that is of interest in population genetics, is the logistic-type nonlinearity $g(u)=u^{2}(1-u)$. Using a topological degree approach, we provide high multiplicity results by exploiting the nodal behaviour of $a(x)$. More precisely, when $m$ is the number of intervals of positivity of $a(x)$ in a $P$-periodicity interval, we prove the existence of $3^{m}-1$ non-constant positive $P$-periodic solutions, whenever the parameters $\lambda$ and $\mu$ are positive and large enough. Such a result extends to the case of subharmonic solutions. Moreover, by an approximation argument, we show the existence of a countable family of globally defined solutions with a complex behaviour, coded by (possibly non-periodic) bi-infinite sequences of $3$ symbols., Comment: 34 pages, 11 PDF figures

We prove the existence of half-entire parabolic solutions, asymptotic to a prescribed central configuration, for the equation \begin{equation*} \ddot{x} = \nabla U(x) + \nabla W(t,x), \qquad x \in \mathbb{R}^{d}, \end{equation*} where $d \geq 2$, $U$ is a positive and positively homogeneous potential with homogeneity degree $-\alpha$ with $\alpha\in\mathopen{]}0,2\mathclose{[}$, and $W$ is a (possibly time-dependent) lower order term, for $\vert x \vert \to +\infty$, with respect to $U$. The proof relies on a perturbative argument, after an appropriate formulation of the problem in a suitable functional space. Applications to several problems of Celestial Mechanics (including the $N$-centre problem, the $N$-body problem and the restricted $(N+H)$-body problem) are given., Comment: 32 pages

We investigate the existence, non-existence, multiplicity of positive periodic solutions, both harmonic (i.e., $T$-periodic) and subharmonic (i.e., $kT$-periodic for some integer $k \geq 2$) to the equation \begin{equation*} \Biggl{(} \dfrac{u'}{\sqrt{1-(u')^{2}}} \Biggr{)}' + \lambda a(t) g(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $\lambda > 0$ is a parameter, $a(t)$ is a $T$-periodic sign-changing weight function and $g \colon \mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[} \to \mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[}$ is a continuous function having superlinear growth at zero. In particular, we prove that for both $g(u)=u^{p}$, with $p>1$, and $g(u)= u^{p}/(1+u^{p-q})$, with $0 \leq q \leq 1 < p$, the equation has no positive $T$-periodic solutions for $\lambda$ close to zero and two positive $T$-periodic solutions (a 'small' one and a 'large' one) for $\lambda$ large enough. Moreover, in both cases the 'small' $T$-periodic solution is surrounded by a family of positive subharmonic solutions with arbitrarily large minimal period. The proof of the existence of $T$-periodic solutions relies on a recent extension of Mawhin's coincidence degree theory for locally compact operators in product of Banach spaces, while subharmonic solutions are found by an application of the Poincar\'e--Birkhoff fixed point theorem, after a careful asymptotic analysis of the $T$-periodic solutions for $\lambda \to +\infty$., Comment: 49 pages, 4 PDF figures

We study the periodic boundary value problem associated with the $\phi$-Laplacian equation of the form $(\phi(u'))'+f(u)u'+g(t,u)=s$, where $s$ is a real parameter, $f$ and $g$ are continuous functions, and $g$ is $T$-periodic in the variable $t$. The interest is in Ambrosetti-Prodi type alternatives which provide the existence of zero, one or two solutions depending on the choice of the parameter $s$. We investigate this problem for a broad family of nonlinearities, under non-uniform type conditions on $g(t,u)$ as $u\to \pm\infty$. We generalize, in a unified framework, various classical and recent results on parameter-dependent nonlinear equations., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures

Reaction-diffusion equations have several applications in the field of population dynamics and some of them are characterized by the presence of a factor which describes different types of food sources in a heterogeneous habitat. In this context, to study persistence or extinction of populations it is relevant the search of nontrivial steady states. Our paper focuses on a one-dimensional model given by a parameter-dependent equation of the form $u'' + \bigl{(} \lambda a^{+}(t)-\mu a^{-}(t) \bigr{)}g(u) = 0$, where $g\colon \mathopen{[}0,1\mathclose{]} \to \mathbb{R}$ is a continuous function such that $g(0)=g(1)=0$, $g(s) > 0$ for every $0

We deal with the Neumann boundary value problem \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \, u" + \bigl{(} \lambda a^{+}(t)-\mu a^{-}(t) \bigr{)}g(u) = 0, \\ \, 0 < u(t) < 1, \quad \forall\, t\in\mathopen{[}0,T\mathclose{]},\\ \, u'(0) = u'(T) = 0, \end{cases} \end{equation*} where the weight term has two positive humps separated by a negative one and $g\colon \mathopen{[}0,1\mathclose{]} \to \mathbb{R}$ is a continuous function such that $g(0)=g(1)=0$, $g(s) > 0$ for $0

We study the positive subharmonic solutions to the second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation \begin{equation*} u'' + q(t) g(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $g(u)$ has superlinear growth both at zero and at infinity, and $q(t)$ is a $T$-periodic sign-changing weight. Under the sharp mean value condition $\int_{0}^{T} q(t) ~\!dt < 0$, combining Mawhin's coincidence degree theory with the Poincar\'e-Birkhoff fixed point theorem, we prove that there exist positive subharmonic solutions of order $k$ for any large integer $k$. Moreover, when the negative part of $q(t)$ is sufficiently large, using a topological approach still based on coincidence degree theory, we obtain the existence of positive subharmonics of order $k$ for any integer $k\geq2$., Comment: 24 pages, 8 PNG figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1508.01867

Using Mawhin's coincidence degree theory, we obtain some new continuation theorems which are designed to have as a natural application the study of the periodic problem for cyclic feedback type systems. We also discuss some examples of vector ordinary differential equations with a $\phi$-Laplacian operator where our results can be applied., Comment: 42 pages, 2 PNG figures

We study the second order nonlinear differential equation \begin{equation*} u"+ \sum_{i=1}^{m} \alpha_{i} a_{i}(x)g_{i}(u) - \sum_{j=0}^{m+1} \beta_{j} b_{j}(x)k_{j}(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $\alpha_{i},\beta_{j}>0$, $a_{i}(x), b_{j}(x)$ are non-negative Lebesgue integrable functions defined in $\mathopen{[}0,L\mathclose{]}$, and the nonlinearities $g_{i}(s), k_{j}(s)$ are continuous, positive and satisfy suitable growth conditions, as to cover the classical superlinear equation $u"+a(x)u^{p}=0$, with $p>1$. When the positive parameters $\beta_{j}$ are sufficiently large, we prove the existence of at least $2^{m}-1$ positive solutions for the Sturm-Liouville boundary value problems associated with the equation. The proof is based on the Leray-Schauder topological degree for locally compact operators on open and possibly unbounded sets. Finally, we deal with radially symmetric positive solutions for the Dirichlet problems associated with elliptic PDEs., Comment: 23 pages, 6 PNG figures

We prove that the superlinear indefinite equation \begin{equation*} u" + a(t)u^{p} = 0, \end{equation*} where $p > 1$ and $a(t)$ is a $T$-periodic sign-changing function satisfying the (sharp) mean value condition $\int_{0}^{T} a(t)~\!dt < 0$, has positive subharmonic solutions of order $k$ for any large integer $k$, thus providing a further contribution to a problem raised by G. J. Butler in its pioneering paper (JDE, 1976). The proof, which applies to a larger class of indefinite equations, combines coincidence degree theory (yielding a positive harmonic solution) with the Poincar\'e-Birkhoff fixed point theorem (giving subharmonic solutions oscillating around it)., Comment: 26 pages

We study the periodic boundary value problem associated with the second order nonlinear equation \begin{equation*} u'' + ( \lambda a^{+}(t) - \mu a^{-}(t) ) g(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $g(u)$ has superlinear growth at zero and sublinear growth at infinity. For $\lambda, \mu$ positive and large, we prove the existence of $3^{m}-1$ positive $T$-periodic solutions when the weight function $a(t)$ has $m$ positive humps separated by $m$ negative ones (in a $T$-periodicity interval). As a byproduct of our approach we also provide abundance of positive subharmonic solutions and symbolic dynamics. The proof is based on coincidence degree theory for locally compact operators on open unbounded sets and also applies to Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. Finally, we deal with radially symmetric positive solutions for the Neumann and the Dirichlet problems associated with elliptic PDEs., Comment: 58 pages, 5 PNG figures

We study the multiplicity of positive solutions for a two-point boundary value problem associated to the nonlinear second order equation $u''+f(x,u)=0$. We allow $x \mapsto f(x,s)$ to change its sign in order to cover the case of scalar equations with indefinite weight. Roughly speaking, our main assumptions require that $f(x,s)/s$ is below $\lambda_{1}$ as $s\to 0^{+}$ and above $\lambda_{1}$ as $s\to +\infty$. In particular, we can deal with the situation in which $f(x,s)$ has a superlinear growth at zero and at infinity. We propose a new approach based on the topological degree which provides the multiplicity of solutions. Applications are given for $u'' + a(x) g(u) = 0$, where we prove the existence of $2^{n}-1$ positive solutions when $a(x)$ has $n$ positive humps and $a^{-}(x)$ is sufficiently large., Comment: 36 pages, 3 PNG figures

We study the periodic boundary value problem associated with the second order nonlinear differential equation $$ u" + c u' + \left(a^{+}(t) - \mu \, a^{-}(t)\right) g(u) = 0, $$ where $g(u)$ has superlinear growth at zero and at infinity, $a(t)$ is a periodic sign-changing weight, $c\in\mathbb{R}$ and $\mu>0$ is a real parameter. We prove the existence of $2^{m}-1$ positive solutions when $a(t)$ has $m$ positive humps separated by $m$ negative ones (in a periodicity interval) and $\mu$ is sufficiently large. The proof is based on the extension of Mawhin's coincidence degree defined in open (possibly unbounded) sets and applies also to Neumann boundary conditions. Our method also provides a topological approach to detect subharmonic solutions., Comment: 53 pages, 6 PNG figures

We present a fixed point theorem on topological cylinders in normed linear spaces for maps satisfying a property of stretching a space along paths. This result is a generalization of a similar theorem obtained by D. Papini and F. Zanolin. In view of the main result we discuss the existence of fixed points for maps defined on different types of domains and we propose alternative proofs for classical fixed point theorems, as Brouwer, Schauder and Krasnosel'ski\u{\i} ones., Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure

We study the periodic and the Neumann boundary value problems associated with the second order nonlinear differential equation \begin{equation*} u'' + c u' + \lambda a(t) g(u) = 0, \end{equation*} where $g \colon \mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[}\to \mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[}$ is a sublinear function at infinity having superlinear growth at zero. We prove the existence of two positive solutions when $\int_{0}^{T} a(t) \!dt < 0$ and $\lambda > 0$ is sufficiently large. Our approach is based on Mawhin's coincidence degree theory and index computations., Comment: 26 pages

We prove the existence of positive periodic solutions for the second order nonlinear equation $u" + a(x) g(u) = 0$, where $g(u)$ has superlinear growth at zero and at infinity. The weight function $a(x)$ is allowed to change its sign. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of nontrivial solutions are obtained. The proof is based on Mawhin's coincidence degree and applies also to Neumann boundary conditions. Applications are given to the search of positive solutions for a nonlinear PDE in annular domains and for a periodic problem associated to a non-Hamiltonian equation., Comment: 41 pages

We deal with the existence of positive solutions for a two-point boundary value problem associated with the nonlinear second order equation $u''+a(x)g(u)=0$. The weight $a(x)$ is allowed to change its sign. We assume that the function $g\colon\mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[}\to\mathbb{R}$ is continuous, $g(0)=0$ and satisfies suitable growth conditions, so as the case $g(s)=s^{p}$, with $p>1$, is covered. In particular we suppose that $g(s)/s$ is large near infinity, but we do not require that $g(s)$ is non-negative in a neighborhood of zero. Using a topological approach based on the Leray-Schauder degree we obtain a result of existence of at least a positive solution that improves previous existence theorems., Comment: 12 pages, 4 PNG figures