See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/262943848

Unbounded solution for a fractional boundary value problem

Article  in  Advances in Difference Equations · May 2014

DOI: 10.1186/1687-1847-2014-154

CITATIONS READS

11 136

2 authors:

Assia Guezane-Lakoud Adem Kilicman

Badji Mokhtar - Annaba University Universiti Putra Malaysia
122 PUBLICATIONS   854 CITATIONS    456 PUBLICATIONS   4,747 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Spectrum and Energy of Commuting Graphs for Some Finite Groups View project

A binomial coefficients-based operator for covering fuzzy majority in group decision-making by using composed aggregation functions View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Adem Kilicman on 10 October 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Unbounded solution for a fractional

boundary value problem
Assia Guezane-Lakoud1 and Adem Kılıçman2*
*
Correspondence:
akilic@upm.edu.my Abstract
2
Department of Mathematics and
Institute of Mathematical Research, This paper concerns the existence of unbounded positive solutions of a fractional
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), boundary value problem on the half line. By means of the properties of the Green
Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia function and the compression and expansion fixed point theorem (Kwong in Fixed
Full list of author information is
available at the end of the article Point Theory Appl. 2008:164537, 2008), sufficient conditions are obtained to
guarantee the existence of a solution to the posed problem.
MSC: 26A33; 34B15; 34B27
Keywords: integral condition; Caputo derivative; unbounded solution; existence of
solution; Leray-Schauder nonlinear alternative; Guo-Krasnosel’skii fixed point theorem

1 Introduction
In this paper, we investigate the existence of solutions for a fractional boundary value prob-
lem (P) on the half line:

D+ u(t) = f (t, u(t), u (t)), t > ,
c q
(P)
u() = u () = ,
q–
limt→∞ c D+ u(t) = αu(),

q
where f : [, ∞[ × R × R → R is a given function,  < q < , α > , c D+ denotes the Caputo
fractional derivative. Note that few papers in the literature dealing with fractional differ-
ential equations considered the nonlinearity f in (P) depending on the derivative of u.
Since many problems in the natural sciences require a notion of positivity (only non-
negative densities, population sizes or probabilities make sense in real life), in the present
study we discuss the existence of positive solutions for the problem (P). The proofs of the
main results are based on the properties of the associated Green function, Leray-Schauder
nonlinear alternative and Guo-Krasnosel’skii fixed point theorem on cone. Different meth-
ods are applied to investigate such boundary value problems, we can cite fixed point the-
ory, topological degree methods, Mawhin theory, upper and lower solutions. . . ; see [–].
Fractional boundary value problems on infinite intervals often appear in applied math-
ematics and physics. They can model some physical phenomena, such as the models of
gas pressure in a semi-infinite porous medium; see []. The population growth model
can also be characterized by a nonlinear fractional Volterra integrodifferential equation
on the half line []. For more results on fractional differential equations in science and
engineering and their applications we refer to [–].

©2014 Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and re-
production in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 2 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Fractional boundary value problems on infinite intervals have been investigated by many
authors; see [, , , , , –]. In [], the authors proved the existence of unbounded
solutions for the following nonlinear fractional boundary value problem:

Dα+ u(t) + f (t, u(t)) = , t > ,
u() = , limt→∞ Dα–
+ u(t) = αu(η),

q
by using Leray-Schauder nonlinear alternative. Here  < α ≤ , and D+ denotes the
Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative.
In [] by means of fixed point theorem on cone, the authors discussed the exis-
tence of multiple positive solutions for m-point fractional boundary value problems with
p-Laplacian operator on infinite interval.
Further, in [], the authors studied the following second order nonlinear differential
equation on the half line:

u (t) + q(t)f (t, u(t), u (t)) = , t > ,
αu() – βu () = , u (∞) = u∞ ≥ .

Applying a fixed point theorem and the monotone iterative technique, they proved the
existence of positive solution.
The organization of this paper is as follows. In Section , we provide necessary back-
ground and properties of the Green function. The existence result is established under
some sufficient conditions on the nonlinear term f . Section  is devoted to the existence
of positive solutions on a cone. We conclude the paper with some examples.

2 Existence results
For the convenience of the readers, we first present some useful definitions and funda-
mental facts of fractional calculus theory, which can be found in [, ].

Definition  The Riemann-Liouville fractional integral of order α of a function g is de-

fined by
 t
 g(s)
Iaα+ g(t) = ds,
(α) a (t – s)–α
 +∞
where (α) =  e–t t α– dt is the Gamma function, α > .

Definition  The Caputo fractional derivative of order q of a function g is defined by

 t
c q  g (n) (s)
Da+ g(t) = ds,
(n – q) a (t – s)q–n+

where n = [q] +  ([q] is the entire part of q).

Lemma  For q > , g ∈ C([, ]), the homogeneous fractional differential equation
c q
Da+ g(t) =  has a solution

g(t) = c + c t + c t  + · · · + cn t n– ,

where ci ∈ R, i = , . . . , n, and n = [q] + .

Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 3 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

p q p+q q p q q
Lemma  Let p, q ≥ , f ∈ L [a, b]. Then I+ I+ f (t) = I+ f (t) = I+ I+ f (t) and c Da+ I+ f (t) =
f (t), for all t ∈ [a, b].

Lemma  Let α, β >  and n = [α] + , then the following relations hold:

c (β) β–α–
Dαa+ t β– = t , β > n,
(β – α)
c
Dαa+ t k = , k = , , , . . . , n – .

To prove the main results of this paper we need the following lemma.
∞
Lemma  Let y ∈ C(R+ , R) with  y(s) ds < ∞, the linear nonhomogeneous boundary
value problem

c q
Da+ u(t) = y(t), t > ,
 q–
u() = u () = , lim c D+ u(t) = αu(),
t→∞

has a unique solution

 ∞
u(t) = G(t, s)y(s) ds,


where
⎧ (t–s)q– t
⎪
⎪
t
+ α – (q) ( – s)q– , s ≤ min(t, ),
⎪ (q)
⎪
⎨ (t–s)q– t
+ α,  ≤ s ≤ t,
G(t, s) = (q)
⎪
⎪ t t q–
– (q) ( – s) , t ≤ s ≤ ,
⎪
⎪ α
⎩t
α
, s ≥ max(t, ).

Proof By Lemmas  and , we obtain

q
u(t) = I+ y(t) + a + bt + ct  .

The boundary conditions u() = u () = , imply that

q
u(t) = I+ y(t) + bt;

q–
applying Lemma  and the condition limt→∞ c D+ u(t) = αu(), we obtain

q– q–

lim c D+ u(t) = lim I+ y(t) + c D+ (bt)

t→∞ t→∞
 ∞
= lim I+ y(t) = y(s) ds,
t→∞ 
q
u() = I+ y() + b,

consequently
 ∞  ∞  
 q  
b= y(s) ds – I+ y() = y(s) ds – ( – s)q– y(s) ds,
α  α  (q) 
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 4 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

substituting b by its value, it yields

 t     ∞
 q– q– t
u(t) = (t – s) y(s) ds – t ( – s) y(s) ds + y(s) ds.
(q)   α 

The proof is complete. 

Lemma  Assume that  < α ≤ (q), then for all s, t ≥  we have

G(t, s)  Gt (t, s) 
≤ q–
≤ , ≤ q–
≤ .
+t α +t α(q – )

Proof Simple computations give

⎧ (t–s)q– 
⎪
⎪

+ α – (q) ( – s)q– , s ≤ min(t, ),
⎪
⎪
(q–)
⎨ (t–s)q– 
+ ,  ≤ s ≤ t,
Gt (t, s) = (q–) α
⎪
⎪ α – (q) ( – s) ,
  q–
t ≤ s ≤ ,
⎪
⎪
⎩
α
, s ≥ max(t, ).

Let us consider the case s ≤ min(t, ), then we get


t t (q) – α
G(t, s) ≥ – ( – s) ≥ t
q–
≥ ,
α (q) α(q)
 
Gt (t, s) ≥ – ( – s)q– ≥ .
α (q)

Firstly if s ≤ t ≤ , then

G(t, s) (t – s)q– + t 
q–
≤ q–
≤ ,
+t α( + t ) α
Gt (t, s) α(t – s)q– + (q – ) α + (q – ) 
≤ ≤ ≤ .
 + t q– α( + t q– )(q – ) α(q – )( + t q– ) α(q – )

Secondly if s ≤  ≤ t, then

G(t, s) (t – s)q– + t t q– + t t q– 

q–
≤ q–
≤ ≤ ≤ ,
+t α( + t ) α( + t ) α( + t q– ) α
q–

Gt (t, s) α(t – s)q– + (q – ) 

q–
≤ q–
≤ .
+t α( + t )(q – ) α(q – )

Applying the same techniques to the other cases, the conclusion follows. 

In this paper, we will use the Banach space E defined by

 
u(t) u (t)
E = u ∈ C  (R+ , R), lim < ∞, lim <∞
t→∞  + t q– t→∞  + t q–

|u(t)|
and equipped with the norm u = max(u∞ , u ∞ ), where u∞ = supt≥ +t q–
and
R+ = [, ∞[.
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 5 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Define the integral operator T : E → E by

 ∞

Tu(t) = G(t, s)f s, u(s), u (s) ds,



so we have transformed the problem (P) to a Hammerstein integral equation by using the
Green function.

Lemma  The function u ∈ E is solution of the boundary value problem (P) if and only if
Tu(t) = u(t), for all t ∈ R+ .

From this we see that to solve the problem (P) it remains to prove that the map T has a
fixed point in E. Since the Arzela-Ascoli theorem cannot be applied in this situation, then,
to prove that T is completely continuous, we need the following compactness criterion:


Lemma  [] Let V = {u ∈ C∞ , u < l, where l > }, V (t) = { +t q– , u ∈ V }, V (t) =
u(t)


{ +t q– , u ∈ V }. V is relatively compact in E, if V (t) and V (t) are both equicontinuous on
u (t)

any finite subinterval of R+ and equiconvergent at ∞, that is for any ε > , there exists
η = η(ε) >  such that
    
 u(t ) u(t )   u (t ) u (t ) 
 – < ε,  – < ε,
 q– q–   q– q– 
 + t  + t  + t  + t

∀u ∈ V , t , t ≥ η (uniformly according to u).

We recall that a continuous mapping F from a subset M of a normed space X into an-
other normed space Y is called completely continuous iff F maps bounded subset of M
into relatively compact subset of Y .

Lemma  Assume that f ∈ C(R+ × R × R, R), f (t, , )

=  on any subinterval of R+ and
there exist non-negative functions h, k ∈ L (R+ , R+ ) and ψ , ψ ∈ C(R, R∗+ ) nondecreasing
on R+ , such that






f t,  + t q– x,  + t q– x  ≤ k(t)ψ |x| + h(t)ψ |x| , ∀(t, x, x) ∈ R+ × R , (.)

then T is completely continuous. (Here R∗+ = ], ∞[.)

Proof The proof will be done in some steps.

Step : T is continuous. Let (un )n∈N ∈ E be a convergent sequence to u in E. Let r >
max(u∞ , sup un ∞ ) and r > max(u ∞ , sup un ∞ ), then we obtain with the help of
Lemma , hypothesis (.) and some elementary inequalities
 ∞
G(t, s) 


q–
f s, u(s), u (s) – f s, un (s), un (s)  ds
 +t
  
 ∞  ( + t q– )u(s) ( + t q– )u (s) 
≤ f s, ,
α    + t q–  + t q– 
 
 ( + t q– )un (s) ( + t q– )un (s) 
– f s, ,  ds
 + t q–  + t q–
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 6 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

 ∞  q– q–  

 f s, ( + t )u(s) , ( + t )u (s) 
≤  q– q– 
α  +t +t
  
 ( + t q– )un (s) ( + t q– )un (s) 
+ f s, ,  ds
 + t q–  + t q–
   
 ∞ u(s) u (s)
≤ k(s)ψ + h(s)ψ  ds
α   + t q–  + t q–
   
 ∞ un (s) un (s)
+ k(s)ψ + h(s)ψ ds
α   + t q–  + t q–
 ∞  ∞ 

≤ ψ (r ) k(s) ds + ψ (r ) h(s) ds < ∞.
α  

Using similar techniques we prove that

 ∞
Gt (t, s) 


q–
f s, u(s), u (s) – f s, un (s), un (s)  ds < ∞,
 +t

hence the integrals are convergent. With the help of Lebesgue dominated convergence
theorem and the fact that f is continuous we get

 ∞
G(t, s) 


Tun – Tu∞ = sup f s, u(s), u (s) – f s, un (s), un (s)  ds
t≥   + t q–

→
as n → ∞,
 ∞
   Gt (t, s) 


T un – T  u = sup f s, u(s), u (s) – f s, un (s), un (s)  ds
∞  + t q–
t≥ 

→  as n → ∞,

therefore

Tun – Tu → , as n → ∞.

Step : T is relatively compact. Let Br = {u ∈ E, u < r}, first let us show that TBr is
uniformly bounded. Let u ∈ Br , taking (.) into account and the fact that ψ and ψ are
nondecreasing on R+ , it yields

 ∞
|Tu(t)| 

≤ f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 + t q– α 
  ∞ 


 
= f s,  + sq– u(s) ,  + sq– u (s)  ds
α  +s q– +s q– 

 ∞  ∞ 

≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds .
α  

Consequently

 ∞  ∞ 

Tu∞ ≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds . (.)
α  
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 7 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Similarly, we prove that

 ∞  ∞ 
   
T u ≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds ; (.)
∞ α(q – )  

this along with (.) yields

 ∞  ∞ 

Tu ≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds (.)
α(q – )  

thus TBr is uniformly bounded.

Next, we show that TBr is equicontinuous on any compact interval of R+ . Let u ∈ Br ,
t , t ∈ [a, b],  ≤ a < b < ∞, t ≤ t we have
 
 Tu(t ) Tu(t ) 
 –
 q– q– 
 + t  + t
 ∞  
 G(t , s) G(t , s) 

≤  – f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 q– q– 
  + t  + t
 ∞
|G(t , s) – G(t , s)| 

≤ q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
  + t
 ∞
G(t , s)(t – t ) 

q– q–
+ q– q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 ( + t )( + t )
q– q–   ∞  ∞ 
 (t – t ) (t – t )
≤ + ψ  (r) k(s) ds + ψ  (r) h(s) ds ,
α  + tq– ( + tq– )( + tq– )  

which approaches zero uniformly when t → t . On the other hand we have

  
 T u(t ) T  u(t ) 
 – 
 q– q– 
 + t  + t
 ∞ 
 Gt (t , s) Gt (t , s) 

≤  – f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 q– q– 
  + t  + t
 ∞
|Gt (t , s) – Gt (t , s)| 

≤ q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
  + t
 ∞
Gt (t , s)(t – t ) 

q– q–
+ q– q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds. (.)
 ( + t )( + t )

Let us estimate the second integral on the right hand side of the inequality (.):

 ∞
– t ) 

q–q–
Gt (t , s)(t
q– q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 ( + t )( + t )
q– q–  ∞  ∞ 
 (t – t )
≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds ,
α(q – ) ( + tq– )( + tq– )  

which approaches zero uniformly when t → t . Now we analyze the first integral on the
right hand side of inequality (.) in different cases when the compact [a, b] contains  or
not.
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 8 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

If t < t ≤ , then
 ∞
|Gt (t , s) – Gt (t , s)| 

q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
  + t
 t
|(t – s)q– – (t – s)q– | 

= q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 (q – )( + t )
 t
(t – s)q– 

+ f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
q–
t (q – )( + t )
 t  t 
(q – )(t – t )
≤ q–
ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds
(q – )( + t )  
 t  t 

+ q–
ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds ,
(q – )( + t ) t t

which approaches zero uniformly when t → t .

If t <  ≤ t , then
 ∞
|Gt (t , s) – Gt (t , s)| 

q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
  + t
 t
(t – s)q– – (t – s)q– 

= q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 (q – )( + t )
 t
(t – s)q– 

+ f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
q–
t (q – )( + t )
 t  t 
(t – t )q–
≤ q–
ψ  (r) k(s) ds + ψ  (r) h(s) ds
(q – )( + t )  
 t  t 
(t )q–
+ q–
ψ  (r) k(s) ds + ψ  (r) h(s) ds
(q – )( + t ) t t

→ , uniformly as t → t .

If  ≤ t < t , then
 ∞
|Gt (t , s) – Gt (t , s)| 

q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
  + t
 t
(t – s)q– – (t – s)q– 

= q–
f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
 (q – )( + t )
 t
(t – s)q– 

+ f s, u(s), u (s)  ds
q–
t (q – )( + t )
 t  t 
(t – t )q–
≤ q–
ψ  (r) k(s) ds + ψ  (r) h(s) ds
(q – )( + t )  
 t  t 
t q–
+ q–
ψ  (r) k(s) ds + ψ  (r) h(s) ds
(q – )( + t ) t t

→ , uniformly as t → t .

Thus T is equicontinuous on the compact [a, b].

Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 9 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Step : T is equiconvergent at ∞. Since

 ∞  ∞  ∞ 


f s, u(s), u (s)  ds ≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds < ∞
  

we have
   ∞   
 Tu(t)  
  T u(t) 
lim  ≤  f s, u(s), u (s)  ds < ∞, lim   = ,
t→+∞  + t q–  (q)  t→+∞  + t q– 

consequently T is equiconvergent at ∞. The proof is complete. 

Now, we can give an existence result.

Theorem  Assume that the hypotheses of Lemma  hold and that there exists r > ,
such that
 ∞  ∞ 

ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds < r. (.)
α(q – )  

Then the fractional boundary value problem (P) has at least one nontrivial solution u∗ ∈ E.

To prove this theorem, we apply the Leray-Schauder nonlinear alternative.

Lemma  [] Let F be a Banach space and  a bounded open subset of F,  ∈ . Let
T :  → F be a completely continuous operator. Then either there exist x ∈ ∂, λ > , such
that T(x) = λx, or there exists a fixed point x∗ ∈  of T.

Proof of Theorem  From the proof of Lemma , we know that T is a completely contin-
uous operator. Now we apply the nonlinear alternative of Leray-Schauder to prove that T
has at least one nontrivial solution in E. Let u ∈ ∂Br , such that u = λTu,  < λ < ; we get
with the help of (.):
 ∞  ∞ 

u = λTu ≤ Tu ≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds . (.)
α(q – )  

This together with (.) implies

 ∞  ∞ 

r = u ≤ ψ (r) k(s) ds + ψ (r) h(s) ds < r,
α(q – )  

which contradicts the fact that u ∈ ∂Br . Lemma  allows one to conclude that the operator
T has a fixed point u∗ ∈ Br and then the fractional boundary value problem (P) has a
nontrivial solution u∗ ∈ E. The proof is complete. 

3 Positive solutions
To study the existence of positive solution of the problem (P), first, we will introduce a
positive cone constituted of continuous positive functions or some suitable subset of it.
Second, we will impose suitable assumptions on the nonlinear terms such that the hy-
potheses of the cone theorem are satisfied. Third, we will apply a fixed point theorem to
conclude the existence of a positive solution in the annular region.
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 10 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Definition  A function u is called positive solution of the problem (P) if u(t) ≥ ,

∀t ∈ R+ , and it satisfies the boundary conditions in (P).

Definition  A nonempty subset P of a Banach space E is called a cone if P is convex,

closed, and satisfies the conditions
(i) αx ∈ P for all x ∈ P and α ∈ R+ ;
(ii) x; –x ∈ P imply x = .

Lemma  Assume that  < α < (q), then for  < τ ≤ t ≤ τ and s >  we have

G(t, s) γ τ Gt (t, s) γ
≥ and ≥ ,
 + t q–  + τq–  + t q–  + τq–

 
where γ = α
– (q)
> .

Proof The proof is easy, we omit it. 

Let us make the following hypotheses on the nonlinear term f :

∞
(H) f ∈ C(R+ , R+ ),  f (t, u, v) dt < ∞, f (t, u, v) = a(t)g(t, u, v), where a ∈ L (R+ , R+ ),
τ
g ∈ C(R+ , R+ ) and  < τ a(t) dt < ∞.
Define the cone K by
 
 u(t) + u (t)
K = u ∈ E, u(t) ≥ , u (t) ≥ , ∀t ≥ , min ≥ γ u ,
t∈[τ ,τ ]  + t q–

γ α(+τ )(q–)
where γ = (+τ )
.

Lemma  We have TK ⊂ K .

Proof Taking Lemma  into account, we get

 ∞ 
Tu(t)  

T  u(t)  ∞

≤ f s, u(s), u (s) ds, ≤ f s, u(s), u (s) ds,

 + t q– α   + t q– α(q – ) 

thus
 ∞


Tu ≤ f s, u(s), u (s) ds.

α(q – ) 

Lemma  implies for all t ∈ [τ , τ ]

 ∞
Tu(t) γ τ
γ ατ (q – )
q–
≥ q–
f s, u(s), u (s) ds ≥ q–
Tu,
+t  + τ  ( + τ )
 ∞

T u(t) γ
γ α(q – )
q–
≥ q–
f s, u(s), u (s) ds ≥ q–
Tu.
+t  + τ  ( + τ )

Therefore,

Tu(t) + T  u(t) γ α( + τ )(q – )

min ≥ q–
Tu. 
t∈[τ ,τ ]  + t q– ( + τ )
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 11 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Let us introduce the following notation:

g(t, ( + t q– )u, ( + t q– )v)

Aδ = lim sup ,
u+v→δ t≥ u+v
g(t, ( + t q– )u, ( + t q– )v)

Aδ = lim inf δ = + or +∞ .
u+v→δ t≥ u+v

Theorem  Under the hypothesis (H) and if  < α < (q), then the fractional boundary
value problem (P) has at least one positive solution in the case A =  and A∞ = ∞.

To prove Theorem , we apply the well-known Guo-Krasnosel’skii fixed point theorem
on cone.

Theorem  [, ] Let E be a Banach space, and let K ⊂ E, be a cone. Assume  and
 are open subsets of E with  ∈  ,  ⊂  and let

A : K ∩ ( \ ) → K,

be a completely continuous operator such that

(i) (Expansive form) Au ≤ u, u ∈ K ∩ ∂ , and Au ≥ u, u ∈ K ∩ ∂ ; or
(ii) (Compressive form) Au ≥ u, u ∈ K ∩ ∂ , and Au ≤ u, u ∈ K ∩ ∂ .
Then A has a fixed point in K ∩ ( \ ).

Proof of Theorem  From A = , we deduce that for any ε > , there exists R > , such
that if  < u + v ≤ R , then g(t, ( + t q– )u, ( + t q– )v) ≤ ε(u + v), ∀t ≥ . Let  = {u ∈
E, u < R } and u ∈ K ∩ ∂ , by Lemma  we get

 ∞
Tu(t) 

≤ a(s)g s, u(s), u (s) ds

 + t q– α 
 ∞ 

u(s)
u (s)
= a(s)g s,  + sq– ,  + s q–
ds
α   + sq–  + sq–
 
ε ∞ u(s) u (s)
≤ a(s) + ds
α   + sq–  + sq–
 ∞
ε
≤ u a(s) ds.
α 

Similarly we obtain
 ∞
T  u(t) ε
≤ u a(s) ds,
 + t q– α(q – ) 

therefore,
 ∞
ε
Tu ≤ u a(s) ds.
α(q – ) 

Choosing ε ≤ α(q–) ,
 ∞ a(s) ds
it yields Tu ≤ u, for any u ∈ K ∩ ∂ .
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 12 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Now, since A∞ = ∞, then for any M > , there exists R > , such that ∀t ≥ 

g t,  + t q– u,  + t q– v ≥ M(u + v)

for u + v ≥ R. Let R > max{ R , γR } and denote by  = {u ∈ E : u < R }. For u ∈ K ∩ ∂
and t ∈ [τ , τ ], we obtain

u(t) + u (t) u(t) + u (t)

≥ min ≥ γ u = γ R > R.
 + t q– [τ ,τ ]  + t q–

Using Lemma  and the fact that u ∈ K , we obtain for all t ∈ [τ , τ ]
 ∞
Tu(t) γ τ

q–
≥ q–
a(s)g s, u(s), u (s) ds
+t  + τ 
 ∞ 
γ τ q–

u(s) q–

u (s)
= q–
a(s)g s,  + s ,  + s ds
 + τ   + sq–  + sq–
 ∞ 
γ τ u(s) u (s)
≥ q–
M a(s) + ds
 + τ   + sq–  + sq–
 τ
γ τ u(s) + u (s)
≥ q–
M a(s) ds
 + τ τ  + sq–

γ τ u(t) + u (t) τ
≥ q–
M min a(s) ds
 + τ t∈[τ ,τ ]  + t q– τ
 τ
γ γ τ
≥ q–
Mu a(s) ds,
 + τ τ

similarly, we get

T  u(t) γ γ τ

q–
≥ q–
Mu a(s) ds.
+t  + τ τ

Thus
 τ
γ γ
Tu ≥ max(, τ ) q–
Mu a(s) ds.
 + τ τ

Let us choose M such that

q–
 + τ
M≥ τ ,
γ γ max(, τ ) τ a(s) ds

then we obtain

Tu ≥ u, ∀u ∈ K ∩ ∂ .

The first statement of Theorem  implies that T has a fixed point in K ∩ ( \ ). The
proof is complete. 
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 13 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Now define the function

A∗ : R+ → R+ ,




A∗ (r) = max sup g t,  + t q– u,  + t q– v , (u + v) ∈ [, r] ,
t≥
∗
A (r) A∗ (r)
A∗ = lim+ , A∗∞ = lim .
r→ r r→+∞ r

It is proved in [] that:

Lemma  If g is continuous then A∗ = A and A∗∞ = A∞ .

Theorem  Under the hypothesis (H) and if  < α < (q) and g is decreasing according
to the both variables, then the problem (P) has at least one nontrivial positive solution in
the cone K , in the case A = +∞ and A∞ = .
q–
+τ
Proof Since A = +∞, then for M ≥ 
τ γ ∞ a(s) ds
> , there exists r > , such that if  <
u + v ≤ r , then for all t ≥ , we have

g t,  + t q– u,  + t q– v ≥ M(u + v).

Let  = {u ∈ E, u < r


}, we should prove the second statement of Theorem . Suppose
u ∈ P ∩ ∂ , then

Tu (t)
Tu  ≥
( + t q– )
 ∞ 
γ τ
u (s)
u (s)
≥ q–
a(s)g s,  + sq–
, +s q–
ds.
 + τ  ( + sq– ) ( + sq– )

Now from the fact that g is decreasing, we get

 ∞
γ τ

Tu  ≥ q–
a(s)g s,  + sq– u ,  + sq– u  ds
 + τ 
 ∞
γ τ u 
≥ q–
M a(s) ds.
 + τ 

Thus

Tu  ≥ u  on P ∩ ∂ .

From A∞ =  and Lemma , we get A∗∞ = , so for ε ≤ α(q–) ,

 ∞ a(s) ds
there exists R > ,
∗
such that if r ≥ R, then A (r) ≤ εr. Let  = {u ∈ E, u < r }, where r > max( r , R ), then
 ⊂  . Suppose that u ∈ P ∩ ∂ , then it yields
 ∞ 
Tu (t) 
u (s)
u (s)
q–
≤ a(s)g s,  + sq–
, +s q–
ds
+t α  ( + sq– ) ( + sq– )
 
A∗ (r ) ∞ r ε ∞
≤ a(s) ds ≤ a(s) ds.
α  α 
Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 14 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

On the other hand we get

 ∞ 
T  u (t) 
u (s)
u (s)
≤ a(s)g s,  + sq– ,  + s q–
ds
 + t q– α(q – )  ( + sq– ) ( + sq– )
  ∞
A∗ (r ) ∞ r ε
≤ a(s) ds ≤ a(s) ds.
α(q – )  α(q – ) 

Therefore
 ∞
r ε
Tu  ≤ a(s) ds < r = u 
α(q – ) 

then from the second statement of Theorem , T has a fixed point in P ∩ ( \ ). The
proof is complete. 
∞
Remark If  f (t, u(t), v(t)) dt < ∞, then every positive solution of the problem (P) is un-
bounded. Indeed
  
 t


u(t) = (t – s)q– f s, u(s), u (s) ds – t ( – s)q– f s, u(s), u (s) ds

(q)  
 ∞
t

+ f s, u(s), u (s) ds
α 
 ∞   
 

 

≥t f s, u(s), u (s) ds – q–

( – s) f s, u(s), u (s) ds
α  (q) 
 ∞
 

≥t – f s, u(s), u (s) ds,

α (q) 

therefore our conclusion follows.

Example  Let us consider the problem (P) with

(u + v)  
g(t, u, v) = , a(t) = , q= , α = ,
( + t q– )  + t 
τ
by direct calculation we obtain (  ) = . > α, τ +s  ds = arctan τ – arctan τ > ,
A =  and A∞ = ∞. Clearly hypothesis (H) is satisfied, so by Theorem  there exists at
least one nontrivial positive solution in the cone K .

Example  Let us reconsider the above example with

 + t q–
g(t, u, v) = .
+u+v

Easily we check the hypothesis (H) and find that g is decreasing with respect to u and v.
Furthermore we have the case A = +∞ and A∞ = . Thus by Theorem  there exists at
least one nontrivial positive solution in the cone K .

Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
 Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154 Page 15 of 15
http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2014/1/154

Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed equally to the manuscript and read and approved the final draft.

Author details
1
Mathematics Department, Faculty of Sciences, Badji Mokhtar Annaba University, P.O. Box 12, Annaba, 23000, Algeria.
2
Department of Mathematics and Institute of Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor
43400, Malaysia.

Acknowledgements
The authors express their sincere thanks to the referees for the careful and details reading of the manuscript and very
helpful suggestions. This joint work was done when the first author visited University Putra Malaysia as a visiting scientist
during 21st December-30th December 2013. Thus the authors gratefully acknowledge that this research was partially
supported by the University Putra Malaysia under the GP-IBT Grant Scheme having project number GP-IBT/2013/9420100.

Received: 7 January 2014 Accepted: 7 May 2014 Published: 23 May 2014

References
1. Agarwal, RP, O’Regan, D: Infinite Interval Problems for Differential, Difference and Integral Equations. Kluwer
Academic, Dordrecht (2001)
2. Agarwal, RP, O’Regan, D: Boundary value problems of nonsingular type on the semi-infinity interval. Tohoku Math. J.
51, 391-397 (1999)
3. Guezane-Lakoud, A, Khaldi, R: Solvability of a three-point fractional nonlinear boundary value problem. Differ. Equ.
Dyn. Syst. 20(4), 395-403 (2012)
4. Liang, S, Zhang, J: Existence of three positive solutions of m-point boundary value problems for some nonlinear
fractional differential equations on an infinite interval. Comput. Math. Appl. 61, 3343-3354 (2011)
5. Liang, S, Shi, S: Existence of multiple positive solutions for m-point fractional boundary value problems with
p-Laplacian operator on infinite interval. J. Appl. Math. Comput. 38, 687-707 (2012)
6. Liu, Y, Ahmad, B, Agarwal, RP: Existence of solutions for a coupled system of nonlinear fractional differential equations
with fractional boundary conditions on the half-line. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2013, Article ID 46 (2013)
7. Nyamoradi, N, Baleanu, D, Agarwal, RP: On a multipoint boundary value problem for a fractional order differential
inclusion on an infinite interval. Adv. Math. Phys. 2013, Article ID 823961 (2013)
8. Su, X, Zhang, S: Unbounded solutions to a boundary value problem of fractional order on the half-line. Comput.
Math. Appl. 61, 1079-1087 (2011)
9. Wang, H: On the numbers of positive solutions of a nonlinear systems. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 281, 287-306 (2003)
10. Webb, JRL, Infante, G: Positive solutions of nonlocal boundary value problems involving integral conditions. NoDEA
Nonlinear Differ. Equ. Appl. 15(1-2), 45-67 (2008)
11. Yan, BQ, O’Regan, D, Agarwal, RP: Unbounded solutions for singular boundary value problems on the semi-infinite
interval: upper and lower solutions and multiplicity. J. Comput. Appl. Math. 197, 365-386 (2006)
12. Zhao, X, Ge, W: Unbounded solutions for a fractional boundary value problems on the infinite interval. Acta Appl.
Math. 109, 495-505 (2010)
13. Zhang, X: Existence of positive solutions for boundary value problems for second order nonlinear differential
equations on the half line. Electron. J. Differ. Equ. 141, 1-10 (2009)
14. Xu, H: Analytical approximations for a population growth model with fractional order. Commun. Nonlinear Sci.
Numer. Simul. 14(5), 1978-1983 (2009)
15. Kilbas, AA, Srivastava, HM, Trujillo, JJ: Theory and Applications of Fractional Differential Equations. North-Holland
Mathematics Studies, vol. 204. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2006)
16. Mainardi, F: Fractals and Fractional Calculus in Continuum Mechanics. Springer, New York (1997)
17. Podlubny, I: Fractional Differential Equations Mathematics in Sciences and Engineering. Academic Press, New York
(1999)
18. Lakshmikantham, V, Vatsala, AS: Basic theory of fractional differential equations. Nonlinear Anal. 69(8), 2677-2682
(2008)
19. Corduneanu, C: Integral Equations and Stability of Feedback Systems. Academic Press, New York (1973)
20. Deimling, K: Nonlinear Functional Analysis. Springer, Berlin (1985)
21. Guo, DJ, Lakshmikantham, V: Nonlinear Problems in Abstract Cones. Notes and Reports in Mathematics in Science
and Engineering, vol. 5. Academic Press, Boston (1988)
22. Kwong, MK: On Krasnoselskii’s cone fixed point theorem. Fixed Point Theory Appl. 2008, Article ID 164537 (2008)

10.1186/1687-1847-2014-154
Cite this article as: Guezane-Lakoud and Kılıçman: Unbounded solution for a fractional boundary value problem.
Advances in Difference Equations 2014, 2014:154

View publication stats