Skip to main content

Theory and Modern Applications

Multiple periodic solutions for resonant difference equations

Abstract

In this paper, we study the existence of multiple periodic solutions for nonlinear second-order difference equations with resonance at origin. The approach is based on critical point theory, minimax methods, homological linking and Morse theory.

1 Introduction

In this paper, we consider the existence of multiple periodic solutions for the following nonlinear difference equations:

(P) { 2 u ( k 1 ) = λ m u ( k ) + f ( k , u ( k ) ) , k Z [ 1 , N ] , u ( 0 ) = u ( N ) , u ( 1 ) = u ( N + 1 ) ,

where N>3 is a fixed integer, u(k)=u(k+1)u(k), 2 u(k)=(u(k)), f(k,):RR is a differential function satisfying

f(k,0)=0,kZ[1,N],
(1.1)

and λ m is the m+1th eigenvalue of the linear periodic boundary value problem

( P 0 ) { 2 u ( k 1 ) = μ u ( k ) , k Z [ 1 , N ] , u ( 0 ) = u ( N ) , u ( 1 ) = u ( N + 1 ) .

Since (1.1) implies that (P) possesses a trivial periodic solution u0, we are interested in finding nontrivial periodic solutions for (P). It follows from [1] that all the eigenvalues of ( P 0 ) are μ k =4 sin 2 k π N , kZ[0,N1]. Thus μ 0 =0, μ j = μ N j for jZ[1, N 1 ], where

N 1 = { N 1 2 if  N  is odd , N 2 if  N  is even .

For the convenience of later use, we denote by 0= λ 0 < λ 1 << λ N 1 the distinct eigenvalues of ( P 0 ). Moreover, if N is odd then all eigenvalues of ( P 0 ) are multiplicity two except  λ 0 , and let

ϕ 0 , ϕ 1 , ψ 1 ,, ϕ N 1 , ψ N 1

be the corresponding orthonormal eigenvectors; if N is even then all eigenvalues are multiplicity two except λ 0 and λ N 1 , and let

ϕ 0 , ϕ 1 , ψ 1 ,, ϕ N 1 1 , ψ N 1 1 , ϕ N 1

be the corresponding orthonormal eigenvectors.

Now we establish the variational framework associated with (P). Set

u= ( u ( 1 ) , u ( 2 ) , , u ( N ) ) T ,f(u)= ( f ( 1 , u ( 1 ) ) , f ( 2 , u ( 2 ) ) , , f ( N , u ( N ) ) ) T ,

and

A= ( 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 ) N × N .

Then we can rewrite (P) and ( P 0 ) as

Au= λ m u+f(u)andAu=μu,

respectively.

Let E= R N with inner product u,v= k = 1 N u(k)v(k) and norm u= u , u . Then

0= λ 0 u 2 Au,u λ N 1 u 2 ,uE.
(1.2)

For p1, define u p = ( k = 1 N | u ( k ) | p ) 1 / p , then there exist positive numbers a p , b p such that

a p u u p b p u,uE.
(1.3)

Define the functional J:ER by

J(u)= 1 2 Au,u 1 2 λ m u 2 k = 1 N F ( k , u ( k ) ) ,uE,
(1.4)

where F(k,x)= 0 x f(k,s)ds. Then J C 2 (E,R) with derivatives

J (u)=Au λ m uf(u),uE,
(1.5)
J (u)=A λ m I N f (u),uE,
(1.6)

where I N is the identity matrix of order N, f (u)=diag{ f (1,u(1)),, f (N,u(N))}. Hence the periodic solutions of (P) are exactly the critical points of J or −J in E.

We assume that the nonlinearity f satisfies the following conditions:

( f 0 ) f (k,0)=0 for kZ[1,N].

( f 0 + ) There exists δ>0 such that

F(k,x)0,kZ[1,N],|x|δ.

( f 0 ) There exists δ>0 such that

F(k,x)0,kZ[1,N],|x|δ.

( f + ) There exist r>0 and θ>2 such that

0θF(k,x)f(k,x)x,kZ[1,N],|x|>r.

( f ) There exist r>0 and θ>2 such that

0θF(k,x)f(k,x)x,kZ[1,N],|x|>r.

(f) For any a fixed number τ>θ, there exists C>0 such that

| F ( k , x ) | C ( 1 + | x | τ ) ,kZ[1,N],xR.

Therefore we regard the problem (P) as resonance at origin under the assumption ( f 0 ).

Critical point theory has been widely used to study the existence of periodic solutions and solutions for nonlinear difference boundary value problems since the first result was established by using variational methods in 2003 (see [2]). Since then, by using critical point theory, minimax methods and Mores theory, the existence of solutions for non-resonant difference equations has been extensively investigated (see [39] and the references therein). As for resonant cases, Zhu and Yu [10] applied critical point theory to study the existence of positive solutions for a second order nonlinear discrete Dirichlet boundary value problem

{ 2 u ( k 1 ) = f ( k , u ( k ) ) , k Z [ 1 , N ] , u ( 0 ) = 0 , u ( N + 1 ) = 0
(1.7)

when nonlinearity f is odd and resonant at infinity. Zheng and Xiao [11] employed critical groups and the mountain pass theorem to study the existence of nontrivial solutions for (1.7) when the nonlinearity f(k,u)= V (u) and is resonant at infinity. Liu et al. [12] used Morse theory, critical point theory and minimax methods to study the existence of multiple solutions for (1.7) with resonance at both infinity and origin, one can refer to [13, 14].

However, we note that only a few papers concern the existence of periodic solutions for difference equations with resonance. In 2011, Zhang and Wang [15] used variational methods and Morse theory to study the multiplicity of periodic solutions for (P) with double resonance between two consecutive eigenvalues at infinity. The main aim of this paper is to study the multiplicity of nonzero periodic solutions for (P) with resonance at origin. The approach is based on critical theory, Morse theory and homological linking.

The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we collect some useful preliminary results about Morse theory. In Section 3, we give some auxiliary results. Our main results and proofs will be given in Section 4.

2 Preliminaries about Morse theory

In this section, we recall some facts about Morse theory and critical groups [16, 17]. Let E be a real Hilbert space. We say that J satisfies the (PS) condition if every sequence { u n }E such that J( u n ) is bounded and J ( u n )0 as n has a convergent subsequence.

Suppose that J C 1 (E,R) is a functional satisfying the (PS) condition. Let u 0 be an isolated critical point of J with J( u 0 )=cR, and let U be a neighborhood of u 0 . The group

C q (J, u 0 ):= H q ( J c U , ( J c { u 0 } ) U ) ,qZ

is called the q th critical group of J at u 0 , where J c ={uEJ(u)c}, H (A,B) denotes the singular relative homology group of the topological pair (A,B) with coefficient field F. Define

K= { u E J ( u ) = 0 } .

Assume that K is a finite number. Take a<infJ(K). The group

C q (J,):= H q ( E , J a ) ,qZ

is called the q th critical group of J at infinity (see [18]). The Morse type numbers of the pair (E, J a ) are defined by M q := u K dim C q (J,u). Denote by β q :=dim C q (J,) the Betti numbers of the pair (E, J a ). By Morse theory, the relationship between M q and β q is described by

j = 0 q ( 1 ) q j M j j = 0 q ( 1 ) q j β j
(2.1)

and

q = 0 ( 1 ) q M q = q = 0 ( 1 ) q β q .
(2.2)

From M q β q , for each qN, it follows that if C l (J,)0 for some lN, then J must have a critical point u with C l (J, u )0. If K={ u }, then C q (J,) C q (J, u ) for all qN. Thus if C l (J,) C l (J, u ) for some lN, then J must have a new critical point.

For some kZ, define

δ q , k F:= { F , q = k , 0 , q k .

Then

C q (J, u 0 ) { δ q , 0 F if  u 0  is an isolated local minimum of  J , δ q , l F if  u 0  is an isolated local maximum of  J  and  l = dim E < .

Suppose that J C 2 (E,R) and u 0 K. Then J ( u 0 ) is a self-adjoint linear operator on E. The dimension of the largest negative space of J ( u 0 ) is called the Morse index of J at u 0 , and the dimension of the kernel of J ( u 0 ) is called the nullity of J at u 0 . We say that u 0 is nondegenerate if the nullity of J at u 0 is zero, i.e., J ( u 0 ) has a bounded inverse. For an isolated critical point, the following important result is valid.

Proposition 2.1 ([16, 17])

Suppose that u 0 is an isolated critical point of J C 2 (E,R) with finite Morse index μ( u 0 ) and nullity ν( u 0 ).

  1. (i)

    C q (J, u 0 )0 for q[μ( u 0 ),μ( u 0 )+ν( u 0 )].

  2. (ii)

    If u 0 is nondegenerate, then C q (J, u 0 ) δ q , μ ( u 0 ) F.

  3. (iii)

    If C l (J, u 0 )0, then C q (J, u 0 ) δ q , l F for l=μ( u 0 ) or l=μ( u 0 )+ν( u 0 ).

Proposition 2.2 ([1923])

Let 0 be an isolated critical point of J C 2 (E,R) with finite Morse index μ(0) and nullity ν(0). Assume that J has a local linking at 0 with respect to a direct sum decomposition E= E E + , l=dim E <, i.e., there exists ρ>0 such that

J ( z ) 0 for  z E , u ρ , J ( u ) 0 for  u E + , u ρ .

Then C q (J,0) δ q , l F for either l=μ(0) or l=μ(0)+ν(0).

Proposition 2.3 ([16, 19])

Let E be a real Banach space with E=XY and suppose that l=dimX is finite. Assume that J C 2 (E,R) satisfies the (PS) condition and

(H1) there exist ρ>0 and α>0 such that

J(u)>α,uY B ρ ,
(2.3)

where B ρ ={uEuρ},

(H2) there exist R>ρ>0 and ϕY with ϕ=1 such that

J(u)α,uQ,
(2.4)

where Q={u=v+sϕvX,vR,0sR}.

Then J has a critical point u with J( u )= c α and

C l + 1 (J, u )0.
(2.5)

3 Auxiliary results

We first show that the functional J satisfies the (PS) condition.

Lemma 3.1 Assume that f satisfies ( f + ) or ( f ), then J defined by (1.4) satisfies the (PS) condition.

Proof We only prove the case where ( f + ) holds; the other case can be proved similarly. Let { u n }E be such that

| J ( u n ) | C,nN, J ( u n )0as n.
(3.1)

We only need to show that { u n } is bounded. Taking positive number α(1/θ,1/2), it follows from (3.1) that there exists KN such that

C+α u n J( u n )α J ( u n ) , u n ,n>K.

By ( f + ), there exist C 1 , C 2 >0 such that

F(k,x) C 1 ( | x | θ 1 ) ,xR,kZ[1,N],
(3.2)
| θ F ( k , x ) f ( k , x ) x | C 2 ,|x|r,kZ[1,N].
(3.3)

Hence, by (1.2), ( f + ), (3.2) and (3.3), we have

C + α u n J ( u n ) α J ( u n ) , u n = ( 1 2 α ) A u n , u n ( 1 2 α ) λ m u n 2 k = 1 N [ F ( k , u n ( k ) ) α f ( k , u n ( k ) ) u n ( k ) ] ( α 1 2 ) λ m u n 2 | u n ( k ) | > r [ F ( k , u n ( k ) ) α f ( k , u n ( k ) ) u n ( k ) ] | u n ( k ) | r [ F ( k , u n ( k ) ) α f ( k , u n ( k ) ) u n ( k ) ] ( α 1 2 ) λ m u n 2 + ( θ α 1 ) k = 1 N F ( k , u n ( k ) ) α | u n ( k ) | r [ θ F ( k , u n ( k ) ) f ( k , u n ( k ) ) u n ( k ) ] ( α 1 2 ) λ m u n 2 + ( θ α 1 ) C 1 ( u n θ θ N ) N C 2 ( α 1 2 ) λ m u n 2 + ( θ α 1 ) C 1 a θ θ u n θ N [ ( θ α 1 ) C 1 + C 2 ] , n > K .

Since θ>2 and α( 1 θ , 1 2 ), we get that { u n } is bounded. □

Remark 3.1 By the proof of Lemma 3.1, we have that if f satisfies ( f + ) or ( f ), then −J satisfies the (PS) condition.

For kZ[0, N 1 1], defining

E k =span{ ϕ 0 , ϕ 1 , ψ 1 ,, ϕ k , ψ k },E= E k E k , ω k =dim E k ,

then ω k =2k+1 and

E k = { span { ϕ k + 1 , ψ k + 1 , , ϕ N 1 , ψ N 1 } while  N  is odd , span { ϕ k + 1 , ψ k + 1 , , ϕ N 1 1 , ψ N 1 1 , ϕ N 1 } while  N  is even .

Now we construct a linking with respect to the decomposition E= E m E m or E= E m 1 E m 1 .

Lemma 3.2 Suppose that f satisfies ( f 0 ) and (f). Then

  1. (i)

    for any fixed mZ[0, N 1 1], there exist ρ m >0 and α m >0 such that

    J(u)> α m for u E m  with u= ρ m ;
    (3.4)
  2. (ii)

    for any fixed mZ[1, N 1 ], there exist ρ ˜ m >0 and α ˜ m >0 such that

    J(u)> α ˜ m for u E m 1  with u= ρ ˜ m .
    (3.5)

Proof By ( f 0 ) and (f), for any ε>0, there exists C ε >0 such that

| F ( k , x ) | 1 2 ε x 2 + C ε | x | τ ,kZ[1,N],xR.
(3.6)
  1. (i)

    For any u E m , it follows from (3.6) that

    J ( u ) = 1 2 A u , u 1 2 λ m u 2 k = 1 N F ( k , u ( k ) ) 1 2 ( λ m + 1 λ m ) u 2 k = 1 N ( 1 2 ε | u ( k ) | 2 + C ε | u ( k ) | τ ) 1 2 ( λ m + 1 λ m ε ) u 2 C ε b τ τ u τ = 1 2 ( λ m + 1 λ m ε ) u 2 C ε ˜ u τ .

Taking ε= λ m + 1 λ m 2 , we then have

J(u) 1 2 ε u 2 C ε ˜ u τ .

Because τ>2, the function h(ρ)= 1 2 ε ρ 2 C ˜ ε ρ τ defined on [0,) achieves its maximum

h max = τ 2 2 ( τ 1 ε ) τ τ 2 C ˜ ε 2 2 τ

at

ρ m = ( ε 1 τ C ˜ ε ) 1 2 τ .

Hence we get (3.4), where α m := 3 4 h max .

  1. (ii)

    For any u E m 1 , by (3.6), we obtain

    J ( u ) = 1 2 A u , u 1 2 λ m u 2 k = 1 N F ( k , u ( k ) ) 1 2 ( λ m 1 λ m ) u 2 + k = 1 N ( 1 2 ε | u ( k ) | 2 + C ε | u ( k ) | τ ) 1 2 ( λ m 1 λ m + ε ) u 2 + C ε b τ τ u τ = 1 2 ( λ m 1 λ m + ε ) u 2 + C ˜ ε u τ .

Taking ε= λ m λ m 1 2 , we then obtain

J(u) 1 2 ε u 2 + C ˜ ε u τ .

As τ>2, the function h(ρ)= 1 2 ε ρ 2 + C ε ˆ ρ τ defined on [0,) achieves its minimum

h min = τ 2 2 ( τ 1 ε ) τ τ 2 C ˜ ε 2 2 τ

at

ρ ˜ m = ( ε 1 τ C ˜ ε ) 1 2 τ .

Therefore, we obtain (3.5), where α ˜ m := 3 4 h min . □

Now we define

B m = { u E m , u = ρ m } , E m + 1 = E m span { ϕ m + 1 } , m Z [ 0 , N 1 1 ] , B ˜ m = { u E m 1 , u = ρ ˜ m } , E ˜ m + 1 = span { ϕ m 1 } E m 1 , m Z [ 1 , N 1 ] , F ( k , x ) = max { F ( k , x ) , 0 } , F + ( k , x ) = max { F ( k , x ) , 0 } , M = sup ( k , x ) Z [ 1 , N ] × R F ( k , x ) , M + = sup ( k , x ) Z [ 1 , N ] × R F + ( k , x ) .

Lemma 3.3 (i) Suppose that f satisfies ( f + ). Then, for any fixed mZ[0, N 1 1], there exist σ>0 and R>0 such that when M σ,

J(u) α m for u Q m ,
(3.7)

where Q m ={u E m + 1 uR,u= v m +t ϕ m + 1 , v m E m ,t0}.

  1. (ii)

    Suppose that f satisfies ( f ). Then, for any fixed mZ[1, N 1 ], there exist σ>0 and R>0 such that when M + σ,

    J(u) α ˜ m ,for u Q ˜ m ,

where Q ˜ m ={u E ˜ m + 1 uR,u=t ϕ m 1 + v m 1 , v m 1 E m 1 ,t0}.

Proof We only prove (i); the proof of (ii) is similar. For any u E m + 1 , it follows from ( f + ) and (3.2) that

J ( u ) = 1 2 A u , u 1 2 λ m u 2 k = 1 N F ( k , u ( k ) ) 1 2 ( λ m + 1 λ m ) u 2 k = 1 N C 1 ( | u ( k ) | θ 1 ) 1 2 ( λ m + 1 λ m ) u 2 C 1 a θ θ u θ + N C 1 .

As θ>2, we get

J(u),u E m + 1 ,u.

Therefore, there exists R> ρ m such that

J(u)0,u E m + 1 ,u=R.
(3.8)

For u E m ,

J ( u ) = 1 2 A u , u 1 2 λ m u 2 k = 1 N F ( k , u ( k ) ) F ( k , u ( k ) ) 0 F ( k , u ( k ) ) N M .

Taking σ= α m N , when M σ,

J(u) α m for u E m  with uR.
(3.9)

By (3.8) and (3.9), we get (3.7). □

4 Main results and proofs

In this section, we give our main results and proofs. First, we compute the critical groups of J at both infinity and the origin.

Lemma 4.1 Assume that f satisfies ( f 0 ). Then

  1. (i)

    C q (J,) δ q , N F if f satisfies ( f + ).

  2. (ii)

    C q (J,) δ q , N F if f satisfies ( f ).

Proof We only prove (i); (ii) can be proved similarly. Fix λ m R. Defining B={uEu1}, we then have B={uEu=1}. For any uB and t>0, it follows from (3.2) and (1.3) that

J ( t u ) = 1 2 t 2 A u , u 1 2 λ m t 2 k = 1 N F ( k , t u ( k ) ) 1 2 ( λ N 1 λ m ) t 2 k = 1 N C 1 ( | t u ( k ) | θ 1 ) 1 2 ( λ N 1 λ m ) t 2 C 1 a θ θ t θ + N C 1 .

As θ>2, this implies that

J(tu)as t+.
(4.1)

On the other hand, by ( f + ), we have

d J ( t u ) d t = t A u , u λ m t k = 1 N f ( k , t u ( k ) ) u ( k ) = 1 t ( 2 J ( t u ) + k = 1 N ( 2 F ( k , t u ( k ) ) f ( k , t u ( k ) ) t u ( k ) ) ) 1 t ( 2 J ( t u ) + | t u ( k ) | r ( 2 F ( k , t u ( k ) ) f ( k , t u ( k ) ) t u ( k ) ) ) 1 t ( 2 J ( t u ) + N M 1 ) ,

where M 1 := max { | x | r , k Z [ 1 , N ] } |2F(k,x)f(k,x)x|. Hence, for any fixed number a with 2a<N M 1 , we obtain that

J(tu)aimplies d J ( t u ) d t <0.
(4.2)

By J(0)=0, (4.1) and (4.2), we get that for any uB, there exists a unique ξ(u)>0 such that

J ( ξ ( u ) u ) =a,uB.
(4.3)

By (4.3) and the implicit function theorem, we obtain that ξC(B,R). Define h:E{0}R as

h(u)= { 1 if  J ( u ) a , u 1 ξ ( u 1 u ) if  J ( u ) > a , u 0 .

Then hC(E{0},R). Now define η:[0,1]×E{0}E{0} as

η(t,u)=(1t)u+th(u)u.

Clearly, η is continuous, and for any uE{0} with J(u)>a, it follows from (4.3) that

J ( η ( 1 , u ) ) =J ( ξ ( u 1 u ) u 1 u ) =a.

Therefore

η(1,u) J a ,uE{0},η(t,u)=u,t[0,1],u J a .

So J a is a strong deformation retract of E{0}. Notice that dimE=N. Hence we have

C q (J,):= H q ( E , J a ) H q ( E , E { 0 } ) H(B,B) δ q , N F.

 □

Lemma 4.2 Assume that f satisfies ( f 0 ).

  1. (i)

    If f satisfies ( f 0 ), then for mZ[1, N 1 ],

    C q (J,0) δ q , 2 m 1 F, C q (J,0) δ q , N 2 m + 1 F.
  2. (ii)

    If f satisfies ( f 0 + ), then for mZ[0, N 1 1],

    C q (J,0) δ q , 2 m + 1 F, C q (J,0) δ q , N 2 m 1 F.

Proof By ( f 0 ) and (1.6), we have J (0)=A λ m I N .

It follows from ( f 0 ) that u=0 is a degenerate critical point of J with Morse index μ(0)= ω m 1 and nullity ν(0). This implies that u=0 is a degenerate critical point of −J with Morse index μ ˜ (0)=N ω m and nullity ν ˜ (0)=ν(0).

  1. (i)

    By ( f 0 ), we can verify that J has a local linking structure at 0 with respect to E= E m 1 E m 1 (see [12]). That implies −J has a local linking structure at 0 with respect to E= E m 1 E m 1 . Notice that ω m 1 =2m1 and μ ˜ (0)+ ν ˜ (0)=N2m+1 for mZ[1, N 1 ]. Using Proposition 2.2, we get

    C q (J,0) δ q , 2 m 1 F, C q (J,0) δ q , N 2 m + 1 F.
  2. (ii)

    Similarly, by ( f 0 + ), we can verify that J has a local linking structure at 0 with respect to E= E m E m (see [12]). That implies −J has a local linking structure at 0 with respect to E= E m E m . Notice that μ(0)+ν(0)= ω m =2m+1 for mZ[0, N 1 1]. By Proposition 2.2, we have

    C q (J,0) δ q , 2 m + 1 F, C q (J,0) δ q , N 2 m 1 F.

 □

Next, we give our main results.

Theorem 4.1 Let f satisfy ( f 0 ) and (f).

  1. (i)

    If f satisfies ( f + ), then for any fixed mZ[0, N 1 1], there exists σ>0 such that when M σ, (P) has at least one nonzero periodic solution u 1 satisfying

    C 2 m + 2 (J, u 1 )0.
    (4.4)
  2. (ii)

    If f satisfies ( f ), then for any fixed mZ[1, N 1 ], there exists σ>0 such that when M + σ, (P) has at least one nonzero periodic solution u 1 satisfying

    C N 2 m + 2 (J, u 1 )0.
    (4.5)

Theorem 4.2 Let f satisfy ( f 0 ) and (f).

  1. (i)

    If f satisfies ( f 0 ) and ( f + ), then, for any fixed mZ[1, N 1 2], there exists σ>0 such that when M σ, (P) has at least three nonzero periodic solutions.

  2. (ii)

    If f satisfies ( f 0 + ) and ( f ), then, for any fixed mZ[2, N 1 1], there exists σ>0 such that when M + σ, (P) has at least three nonzero periodic solutions.

Finally, we prove our main results.

Proof of Theorem 4.1 We only prove (i); the proof of (ii) is similar. It follows from ( f + ) and Lemma 3.1 that J satisfies the (PS) condition. By Lemmas 3.2 and 3.3, J satisfies (H1) and (H2). This implies that B m and Q m homologically link with respect to the direct sum decomposition E= E m E m (see Example 3 of Chapter II in [16]). Notice that dim E m =2m+1. Applying Proposition 2.3, we get that J has a critical point u 1 such that J( u 1 )= c 1 α m and (4.4). Moreover, it follows from ( f 0 ) that J(0)=0. Hence u 1 0. □

Proof of Theorem 4.2 We only prove (i); (ii) can be proved similarly. It follows from Lemma 4.1(i) that

C q (J,) δ q , N F.
(4.6)

Using Lemma 4.2(i), we have

C q (J,0) δ q , 2 m 1 F.
(4.7)

By Theorem 4.1, we know that there exists σ>0 such that when M σ, (P) has at least one nonzero periodic solution u 1 satisfying (4.4).

By Proposition 2.1(i), we have

C q (J, u 1 )0for q [ μ ( u 1 ) , μ ( u 1 ) + ν ( u 1 ) ] .

Combining with (4.4), we get that 2m+2[μ( u 1 ),μ( u 1 )+ν( u 1 )]. Note that ν( u 1 )=dimker J ( u 1 )2.

  1. (1)

    If ν( u 1 )=0, then by Proposition 2.1(ii) and (4.4),

    C q (J, u 1 ) δ q , 2 m + 2 F.
  2. (2)

    If ν( u 1 )=1, then 2m+2=μ( u 1 ) or 2m+2=μ( u 1 )+ν( u 1 ). By Proposition 2.1(iii),

    C q (J, u 1 ) δ q , 2 m + 2 F.
  3. (3)

    If ν( u 1 )=2, then 2m+2=μ( u 1 ) or 2m+2=μ( u 1 )+ν( u 1 ) or C q (J, u 1 )0 for qμ( u 1 )+1. It follows from Proposition 2.1(iii) and (4.4) that

    C q (J, u 1 ) { δ q , 2 m + 2 F if  2 m + 2 = μ ( u 1 )  or  2 m + 2 = μ ( u 1 ) + ν ( u 1 ) , 0 q 2 m + 2 .

Thus, we conclude that

C q (J, u 1 ) { δ q , 2 m + 2 F if  ν ( u 1 ) = 0 , 1 , 0 q 2 m + 2 , if  ν ( u 1 ) = 2 .
(4.8)

Assume that K={0, u 1 }. Then the 2m th Morse inequality (2.1) is expressed as 1>0. This is impossible. Thus J must have another nonzero critical point u 2 . By Morse theory, we have either

C 2 m (J, u 2 )0
(4.9)

or

C 2 m 2 (J, u 2 )0.
(4.10)

Suppose that (4.9) holds. Then it follows from (4.9) and Proposition 2.1(i), (iii) that

C q (J, u 2 ) { δ q , 2 m F if  ν ( u 2 ) = 0 , 1 , 0 q 2 m , if  ν ( u 2 ) = 2 .
(4.11)

Noticing that mZ[1, N 1 2], we have that

{ 2 m + 3 N while  N  is odd , 2 m + 3 < N while  N  is even .
(4.12)

Assume that K={0, u 1 , u 2 }. We will divide the consideration into four cases.

  1. (1)

    ν( u 1 )=0,1 and ν( u 2 )=0,1. By (4.6)-(4.8), (4.11) and (4.12), we get

    { (2.2) is described as  1 = 1 while  N  is odd , the  2 m + 3 th (2.1) is expressed as  1 0 while  N  is even .
    (4.13)

These are impossible.

  1. (2)

    ν( u 1 )=2 and ν( u 2 )=2. By the 2m th and 2m+1th Morse inequalities, we get that

    rank C 2 m (J, u 2 )=1.
    (4.14)

It then follows from (4.6)-(4.8), (4.11), (4.12) and (4.14) that

{ (2.2) is expressed as  rank C 2 m + 2 ( J , u 1 ) = 1 while  N  is odd , the  2 m + 3 th (2.1) is expressed as  rank C 2 m + 2 ( J , u 1 ) 0 while  N  is even .
(4.15)

These contradict (4.8).

  1. (3)

    ν( u 1 )=0,1 and ν( u 2 )=2. We have (4.14) and (4.13). These are impossible.

  2. (4)

    ν( u 1 )=2 and ν( u 2 )=0,1. Then we have (4.15), which contradicts (4.8).

Hence, J must have a third nonzero critical point u 3 . The proof of the case where (4.10) holds is similar. This completes the proof. □

References

  1. Ma RY, Ma HL: Unbounded perturbations of nonlinear discrete periodic problem at resonance. Nonlinear Anal. 2009, 70: 2602-2613. 10.1016/j.na.2008.03.047

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  2. Guo ZM, Yu JS: The existence of periodic and subharmonic solutions for second-order superlinear difference equations. Sci. China Ser. A 2003, 33: 226-235. (in Chinese)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Agarwal RP, Perera K, O’Regan D: Multiple periodic solutions of singular and nonsingular discrete problems via variational methods. Nonlinear Anal. TMA 2004, 58: 69-73. 10.1016/j.na.2003.11.012

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Agarwal RP, Perera K, O’Regan D: Multiple positive solutions of singular discrete p -Laplacian problems via variational methods. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2005, 2: 93-99.

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Anderson DR, Rachu̇nková I, Tisdell CC: Solvability of discrete Neumann boundary value problems. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 2007, 331: 736-741. 10.1016/j.jmaa.2006.09.002

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  6. Bonanno G, Candito P: Nonlinear difference equations investigated via critical point methods. Nonlinear Anal. 2009, 70: 3180-3186. 10.1016/j.na.2008.04.021

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. Candito P, Giovannelli N: Multiple solutions for a discrete boundary value problem involving the p -Laplacian. Comput. Math. Appl. 2008, 56: 959-964. 10.1016/j.camwa.2008.01.025

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. Wang D, Guan W: Three positive solutions of boundary value problems for p -Laplacian difference equations. Comput. Math. Appl. 2008, 55: 1943-1949. 10.1016/j.camwa.2007.08.033

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Li Y, Lu L: Existence of positive solutions of p -Laplacian difference equations. Appl. Math. Lett. 2006, 19: 1019-1023. 10.1016/j.aml.2005.10.020

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Zhu BS, Yu JS: Multiple positive solutions for resonant difference equations. Math. Comput. Model. 2009, 49: 1928-1936. 10.1016/j.mcm.2008.09.009

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. Zheng B, Xiao HF: Existence of multiple solutions of a second-order difference boundary value problem. Int. J. Math. Math. Sci. 2010., 2010: Article ID 907453

    Google Scholar 

  12. Liu JS, Wang SL, Zhang JM: Multiple solutions for boundary value problems of second-order difference equations with resonance. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 2011, 374: 187-196. 10.1016/j.jmaa.2010.09.025

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Wang SL, Liu JS, Zhang JM, Zhang FW: Existence of non-trivial solutions for resonant difference equations. J. Differ. Equ. Appl. 2013, 19: 209-222. 10.1080/10236198.2011.633517

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  14. Wang SL, Liu JS: Nontrivial solutions of a second order difference systems with multiple resonance. Appl. Math. Comput. 2012, 218: 9342-9352. 10.1016/j.amc.2012.03.017

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. Zhang XS, Wang D: Multiple periodic solutions for difference equations with double resonance at infinity. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2011., 2011: Article ID 15

    Google Scholar 

  16. Chang KC: Infinite Dimensional Morse Theory and Multiple Solutions Problems. Birkhäuser, Boston; 1993.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. Mawhin J, Willem M: Critical Point Theory and Hamiltonian Systems. Springer, Berlin; 1989.

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  18. Bartsch T, Li SJ: Critical point theory for asymptotically quadratic functional and application to the problems with resonance. Nonlinear Anal. 1997, 28: 419-441. 10.1016/0362-546X(95)00167-T

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  19. Liu JQ: A Morse index for a saddle point. Syst. Sci. Math. Sci. 1989, 2: 32-39.

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  20. Su JB: Semilinear elliptic boundary value problems with double resonance between two consecutive eigenvalues. Nonlinear Anal. 2002, 48: 881-895. 10.1016/S0362-546X(00)00221-2

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. Perera K: Critical groups of critical points produced by local linking with applications. Abstr. Appl. Anal. 1998, 3: 437-446. 10.1155/S1085337598000657

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  22. Brezis H, Nirenberg L: Remarks on finding critical points. Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 1991, 64: 939-963.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  23. Li SJ, Willem M: Applications of local linking to critical point theory. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 1995, 189: 6-32. 10.1006/jmaa.1995.1002

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. In addition, this work is partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51278325) and by the Natural Science Foundations of Shanxi (Nos. 2011011002-4, 2012011004-3).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuli Wang.

Additional information

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

The authors have made this manuscript independently. The authors read and approved the final version.

Authors’ original submitted files for images

Below are the links to the authors’ original submitted files for images.

Authors’ original file for figure 1

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, J., Wang, S., Liu, J. et al. Multiple periodic solutions for resonant difference equations. Adv Differ Equ 2014, 236 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1687-1847-2014-236

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1687-1847-2014-236

Keywords