fractal and fractional
Article
On the Existence and Stability of Variable Order Caputo Type
Fractional Differential Equations
Shahzad Sarwar






Citation: Sarwar, S. On the Existence
and Stability of Variable Order
Caputo Type Fractional Differential
Equations. Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
fractalfract6020051
Academic Editor: Mark Edelman
Received: 3 October 2021
Accepted: 5 January 2022
Published: 18 January 2022
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Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
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4.0/).
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/fractalfract6020051
Department of Mathematics, College of Computing & Mathematics, King Fahd University of Petroleum &
Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; shahzadppn@gmail.com
Abstract: In the theory of differential equations, the study of existence and the uniqueness of the
solutions are important. In the last few decades, many researchers have had a keen interest in
finding the existence–uniqueness solution of constant fractional differential equations, but literature
focusing on variable order is limited. In this article, we consider a Caputo type variable order
fractional differential equation. First, we present the existence–uniqueness of a solution of the
considered problem. Secondly, By borrowing the idea from the theory of ordinary differential
equations, we extend the continuation theorem for the variable order fractional differential equation.
Further, we prove the global existence results. Finally, we present different types of Ulam–Hyers
stability results, which have never been studied before for the Caputo type variable order fractional
differential equation.
Keywords: variable order fractional calculus; existence–uniqueness; continuation theorem;
Ulam–Hyers stability
1. Introduction
Over the past few years, the study of fractional calculus [1–5] has broadened, because
of its applications in nearly all disciplines of science and engineering. Compared with
derivatives of integer orders, non derivatives of integer orders are weakly singular and
non-local. As the next stage of the dynamical system not only depends on its present stage,
but also on all of its ongoing stages, the theoretical research is more complicated. In 1993,
reference [6] first introduced the concept of variable order fractional calculus. Recently,
some researchers have extended fractional calculus from a constant fractional order to
variable fractional order. As far as we know, variable-order fractional operators rely on
their non-stationary power-law kernels, which more accurately describe the memory and
genetic properties of many complex physical phenomena and processes [7]. For this reason,
variable-order fractional differential equations have received more attention due to their
suitability for modeling and a large number of phenomena covering many fields of science
and engineering [8–11].
The existence–uniqueness of the solution of fractional differential equations (FDEs) is
a interesting research area [12–15]. There is some literature on the existence of a solution of
variable order FDEs, and the results are interesting. In [16], the author studied the existence
of generalized FDE solutions with non-autonomous variable orders. Yufeng et al. [17]
discussed the existence and uniqueness of variable order FDEs by considering the iterative
series with the contraction mapping principle. Jiang et al. [18] provide the existence of the
solution of a variable order fractional differential equation with two point boundary values.
A tempered variable order FDE was studied in [19] for the Mittag–Leffler stability. We can
find more interesting results on variable order FDEs in [20–22].
Researchers also have a keen interest in investigating the stability analysis of fractional-
order problems of science and engineering. In the literature, we can find many ways to
approach the stability analysis. Some researchers [23,24] have studied the local stability
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/fractalfract
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 2 of 12

and Mittag–Leffler stability for constant order FDEs; to the best of our knowledge, there
are limited works on the Ulam stability for constant order FDEs, but there is no work for
variable order FDEs. The Ulam–Hyers (UH) stability is simple and easy way to investigate
fractional differential systems. The history of UH stability goes back to the middle of
the 19th century. In 1940, Ulam [25,26] raised a question in a seminar held at Wisconsin
University—“Under what conditions does there exist an additive mapping near an approx-
imately additive mapping?”İn 1941, Hyers [27] obtained an interesting solution to Ulam’s
question, by considering the Banach spaces. Therefore, this type of stability is called the
Ulam–Hyers stability. In 1978, Rassias further explored the UH stability for linear and
nonlinear mappings. Many researchers then generalized these findings in a variety of areas.
Inspired by the above work, we first established a result about the uniqueness of local
existence, and then we extended the continuity theorem of ordinary differential equations
(ODE) to the continuity theorem of the Caputo type variable order fractional differential
equation (VOFDE). In addition, we propose the global existence of (1) solutions. To the best
of our knowledge, the continuation theorem, global existence, and the Ulam–Hyers type
stability of (1) have not previously been studied.
Now, consider the Caputo type variable order fractional initial value problem as
(
α(t)
C D0,t u ( t ) = f ( t, u ), 0 < α ( t ) < 1, (1)
u(t)|t=0 = u0 , u ∈ R, t ∈ (0, +∞),

where C Dα(t) (·) is the Caputo derivative with the variable order α(t) defined in (3).
The rest of this work is presented as follows: Section 2 provides some definitions and
lemmas for the variable fractional calculus. Section 3 addresses the existence–uniqueness
and the continuation theorem of variable-order FDE. The global solutions of variable-order
FDEs are investigated in Section 4. Ulam–Hyers stability is discussed in Section 5. The
conclusioniis presented at the end.

2. Preliminaries
In this paper, our main focus is on the variable order Caputo derivative. We obtained
the fractional derivative and integral with the variable-order by extending the fractional
derivative and integral of the constant order [1,4,28,29].

Definition 1. Reference [6] The variable order Riemann–Liouvilleiintegral of function f (u) is

Z t
−α(t) 1
RL D0,t f (u) = (u − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ)dλ, t > 0, α(t) > 0. (2)
Γ(α(t)) 0

Definition 2. Reference [6] The variable order Riemann–Liouville derivative of function f (u) is
defined as
1 dn t
Z
α(t)
RL D0,t f ( u ) = (u − λ)n−α(t)−1 f (λ)dλ, (3)
Γ(n − α(t)) dtn 0
where t, α(t) > 0.

Definition 3. Reference [6] The variable order Caputo derivative of f (u) with order is
Z t
α(t) 1
C D0,t f ( u ) = (u − λ)α(t)−1 f (n) (λ)dλ, t > 0, α(t) > 0. (4)
Γ(n − α(t)) 0

Definition 4. Reference [6] The definitions of variable order derivatives 2 and 3 are not often
equivalent; however, they can be linked by the following relationship [7]

n −1
f ( k ) (0) t k − α ( t )
∑
α(t) α(t)
RL D0,t f ( t ) = = C D0,t f ( t ). (5)
k =0
Γ(1 + k − α(t))
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 3 of 12

When 0 < α(t) < 1, then the relation between variable order derivatives 2 and 3 can be
defined as
α(t) α(t)
C D0,t f ( t ) = RL D0,t [ f ( t ) − f (0)]. (6)

Lemma 1. References [2,3,6]. We assume that f ( x, t) is a continuous function. Then the second
kind of nonlinear Volterra integral equation is equivalent to variable order initial problem (1) as
Z t
1
u ( t ) = u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ. (7)
Γ(α(t)) 0

However, every solution of Equation (7) is also the solution of problem (1) and vice versa.

−α(t)
Proof. By applying the operator RL D0,t to both sides of (1), and using the relation (6)
and the initial conditions u(t)|t=0 = u0 , we can reduce the problem (1) into the equivalent
Volterra nonlinear integral Equation (7). The proof is complete.

Lemma 2. References [2,3,6]. Suppose that S ⊆ C [0, T ]. Then S is called pre-compact if {u(t) :
u ∈ M } is uniformly bounded and equicontinuous on [0, T ].

Lemma 3. References [2,3,6]. Suppose that X is a Banach space, and S ⊂ X, where S is the closed
bounded convex set, and assume that T : S → S is the continuous completely. Then there exists a
fixed point of T in S.

Lemma 4. References [2,3,6]. Suppose that a non-empty closed set S is a subset of a Banach space
∞
X, and assume that an ≥ 0, then ∑ an converges, ∀ n ∈ N. Furthermore assume, A : S −→ S
n =0
satisfies the
k P n u1 − P n u2 k ≤ a n k u1 − u2 k, u1 , u2 ∈ S.
Then, for any u1∗ ∈ S is defined the unique fixed point of P.

3. Existence, Uniqueness, and Continuation Theorems

First, we prove the local existence uniqueness of the solution of problem (1). For this,
we make the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1 (H1). Suppose that f (t, u) : [0, +∞) × R → R in (1) be a continuous function.
The function f fulfills the Lipschitz condition, i.e., | f (t, u1 ) − f (t, u2 )| ≤ L|u1 − u2 |, where L > 0.

Hypothesis 2 (H2). assume that f (t, u) have weak singularity, with respect to t then ∃ a constant
η ∈ (0.1] such that (=u)(t) = tη f (t, u) is a continuous bounded map defined on [0, T ] ×
[0, T ], and T > 0.

Theorem 1. We assume that conditions (H1) and (H2) are holds. Then the problem (1) has at least
one solution and u ∈ C [0, h∗ ], f orsome h∗ ∈ (0, T ].

Proof. Let
Ω = {u ∈ C [0, T ] : ku − u0 kC[0,T ] = sup |u − u0 | ≤ φ},
t∈[0,T ]

where φ > 0. Because = is bounded, so a constant N > 0 exits, such that

sup{|(=u)(t)| : t ∈ [0, T ], u ∈ Ω} ≤ N.

Again, we let

Λh∗ = u : u ∈ C [0, h∗ ], sup |u − u0 | ≤ φ ,


t∈[0,T ]
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 4 of 12

φΓ(α(t)+1−η ) α(t1)−η
where h∗ = min{( N Γ (1− η )
) , T }, α(t) > η.

It is obvious, Λh∗ ⊆ C [0, h∗ ] is bounded closed, nonempty, and a convex subset. We

can see that h∗ ≤ T, now let us define ℵ as
Z t
1
(ℵu)(t) = u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ, t ∈ [0, h∗ ]. (8)
Γ(α(t)) 0

By using (8), we have

Z t
N NΓ(1 − η )
|(ℵu)(t) − u0 | ≤ (t − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ ≤ hα(t)−η ≤ φ,
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t) + 1 − η )

for any u ∈ C [0, h∗ ], which shows that ℵΛh ⊂ Λh .

Next, we prove the continuity of operator ℵ. Let un , u ∈ Λh∗ , such that kun − ukC[0,h∗ ]
approaches to 0 as n approaches to ∞. Because the operator = is continuous so k=un −
=uk[0,h∗ ] approaches 0 as n approaches to ∞. Now
Z t
1
|(ℵun )(t) − (ℵu)(t)| = (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, un (λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1
− (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α) 0
1 t Z
≤ (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, un (λ)) − f (λ, u(λ)) dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1
≤ (t − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η (=un )(λ) − (=u)(λ) dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1
≤ (t − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλk(=un )(λ) − (=u)(λ)k[0,h∗ ] .
Γ(α(t)) 0

We have
Γ(1 − α(t))
k(ℵun )(λ) − (ℵu)(λ)k[0,h∗ ] ≤ hα(t)−η k(=un )(λ) − (=u)(λ)k[0,h∗ ] .
Γ(α(t) + 1 − η )

Then k(ℵun )(λ) − (ℵu)(λ)k[0,h∗ ] approaches to 0 as n approaches to ∞. Thus, ℵ

is continuous.
Next, we prove the continuity of the ℵΛh∗ . For this, we let u ∈ Λh∗ and t1 , t2 ∈ [0, h∗ ],
and t1 ≤ t2 . Note that, for any e > 0,

Γ (1 − η )
Z t
1
(t − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ = tα(t)−η → 0, as t → 0+ ,
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t) + 1 − λ)

where η ∈ [0, 1). Then there exists a η̃ > 0,

Z t
2N
(t − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ < e, t ∈ [0, h∗ ],
Γ(α(t)) 0

holds. In this case, for t1 , t2 ∈ [0, η̃ ], one has

Z t t2
1 1
Z
1
(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t Z t2
N 1 N
≤ (t1 − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ + (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t)) 0
< e. (9)

One can get for

η̃
2 ≤ t1 ≤ t2 ≤ h ∗
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 5 of 12

Z t
1 1
(ℵu)(t1 ) − (ℵu)(t2 ) = (t1 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t2
1
− (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
1 t1 Z
≤ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ] f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t2
1
+ (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ . (10)
Γ(α(t)) t1

In (10), on the right hand side, the first term can be written as

1 t1 Z
[(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ] f (λ, x (λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
N 1
≤ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ]λ−η dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
N
Z η̃/2
≤ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ]λ−η dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
N ( 2 )−η
η̃ Z t
1
+ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ] dλ
Γ(α(t)) η̃
2
η1
N ( 2 )−η h
η̃
2N
Z
δ̃
α(t)−1 −η
2
≤ −λ λ dλ + ( t2 − t1 ) α ( t )
Γ(α(t))0 2 Γ(α(t))

η̃
α(t) η̃
α(t)
+ t1 − − t2 −
2 2
η̃ −η 
N( 2 )

α(t) η̃
α(t) η̃
α(t)
≤ e+ ( t2 − t1 ) + t1 − − t2 − .
Γ(α(t)) 2 2

In (10), on the right hand side, the second term can be written as

N ( 21 )−η
Z t2 η Z t2
1
(t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ ≤ (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 dλ
Γ(α(t)) t1 Γ(α(t)) t1
N ( 21 )−η
η
≤ ( t2 − t1 ) α ( t ) . (11)
Γ ( α ( t ) + 1)

From the above discussion, there exists a ( 2 >) η˜1 > 0 for
η̃ η̃
2 ≤ t1 ≤ t2 ≤ h∗ and
|t1 − t2 | < η˜1 ,
|(ℵu)(t1 ) − (ℵu)(t2 )| < 2e. (12)
By using (9) and (12), it is clear that {(ℵu)(t) : u ∈ Λh∗ } is equicontinuous. Someone
can easily find that {(ℵu)(t) : u ∈ Λh∗ } is uniformly bounded because of ℵΛh∗ ⊂ Λh∗ . So,
ℵΛh∗ is pre-compact, and the operator ℵ is continuous completely. By using Lemma 3 and
Lemma 2, it proves the local existence of the problem (1).

Theorem 2. Let us assume that conditions (H1) and (H2) are fulfilled. Then there exists the unique
solution of IVP (1) for u ∈ C [0, h∗ ], where h∗ ∈ [0, T ].

Proof. By using Lemma 1, the problem (1) and Equation (7) are equivalent. So we have
to prove only that the problem (7) has one solution only. First, we have a non-empty and
closed subset of the Banach space in the form

Λ∗ h = u : u ∈ C [0, h∗ ], sup |u − u0 | ≤ φ ,

t∈[0,T ]
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 6 of 12

Again, we introduce the operator ℵ as

Z t
1
(ℵu)(t) = u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ, t ∈ [0, h∗ ].
Γ(α(t)) 0

Now, we obtain the fixed point problem from the uniqueness of the solution to the
integral Equation (7), i.e., u(t) = (ℵu)(t). So, we only prove that ℵ has a unique fixed point.
We have
1
Z t
|(ℵu)(t) − u0 | ≤ (t − λ)α(t)−1 | f (λ, u(λ))|dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
k f kC[0,h∗ ] Γ(1 − α(t)) φΓ(α(t) + 1 − η )
≤ = φ, for any u ∈ Λh∗ .
Γ (1 − η ) k f kC[0,h∗ ] Γ(1 − α(t))

Hence, ℵu ∈ Λh∗ , if u ∈ Λh∗ .

Next, for any 0 ≤ t1 ≤ t2 ≤ h∗ ,

|(ℵu)(t1 ) − (ℵu)(t2 )|
Z t Z t2
1 1 1
= (t1 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1 1
≤ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ] f (λ, u(λ)) dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t2
1
+ (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ)) dλ
Γ(α(t)) t1
k f kC[0,h∗ ] Z t1 k f kC[0,h∗ ] Z t2
≤ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ]dλ + (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t)) t1
k f kC[0,h∗ ]
= [ t α ( t ) − t2 α ( t ) + ( t2 − t1 ) α ( t ) ].
Γ(1 + α(t)) 1

This shows that ℵu is continuous.

However, we have
 n
Lδα(t)
kℵn u − ℵn ũkC[0,t] ≤ ku − ũkC[0,t] , for every n ∈ N and t ∈ [0, h∗ ]. (13)
Γ(1 + nα(t))

For n = 0, the Equation (13) is true. By the fundamental concept of induction, the case
n − 1 is also true, one can get

kℵn u − ℵn ũkC[0,t] = ℵ(ℵn−1 u) − ℵ(ℵn−1 ũ)

C [0,t]
1
Z δ
max (δ − λ)α(t)−1 [ f (λ, ℵn−1 u(λ)) − f (λ, ℵn−1 ũ(λ))]dλ .
Γ(α(t)) 0∈[δ,t] 0

By the Lipschitz condition and the induction hypothesis, the result (13) is obvious.
Now,  n
∞ Lδα(t)  
∑ Γ(1 + nα(t)) = Eα(t) Lδ α(t)
,
n =0
∞
zk
where Eα (·) is the Mittag–Leffler function, defined as Eα (z) = ∑ 1+αk . Thus, we can apply
k =0
the Lemma 4 and deduce the uniqueness of IVP (1).
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 7 of 12

Theorem 3. If condition (H1) and (H2) are holds, then u = u(t), t ∈ (0, ς) is non-continuable if
only for some ξ ∈ (0, 2ς ) and any bounded closed subset X ⊂ [ξ, +∞) × R then ∃ t∗ ∈ [ξ, ς), such
that (t∗ , u(t∗ )) ∈
/ X.

Proof. We provide the proof in two steps. Let, ∃ X ⊂ [ξ, +∞) × R and {(t, u(t)) : t ∈
[ξ, ς)} ⊂ X. The compactness of X ⇒ ς < +∞. A positive K exists by (H1) so that

sup(t,u)∈X | f (t, u)| ≤ K.

Step 1. For limt→ς− u(t) exists. Let

Z ξ
G (t) = (t − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ, 2ξ ≤ t ≤ ς.
0

One can see that G (t) is continuous uniformly on [2ξ, ς]. For all 2ξ ≤ t1 < t2 ≤ ς,
we have

|u(t1 ) − u(t2 )|
Z t Z t2
1 1
α(t)−1 1
= (t − λ) f (λ, u(λ))dλ − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0 1 Γ(α(t)) 0
1
Z ξ
≤ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ]λ−η (=u)(λ)dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1 1
+ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ] f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) ξ
Z t2
1
+| (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ|
Γ(α(t)) t1
k=uk[0,ξ ] Z ξ h i
≤ (t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 λ−η dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t Z t2
K 1 K
+ [(t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 ]dλ + (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 dλ
Γ(α(t)) ξ Γ(α(t)) t1
k=uk[0,ξ ] K
≤ | G (t1 ) − G (t2 )| + [2( t2 − t1 ) α ( t ) + ( t1 − ξ ) α ( t ) − ( t2 − ξ ) α ( t ) ].
Γ(α(t)) Γ(α(t))

Since G (t) is continuous and from th Cauchy convergence criterion, it follows that
limt→ς− u(t) = u∗ exists.
Step 2. In this step, we prove that u(t) is continuable. Because X is a closed subset, then
(ς, u∗ ) ∈ X. We have u(ς) = u∗ and u(t) ∈ C [0, ς], we define operator Q as follows
Z t
1
( Qx )(t) = u1 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ,
Γ(α(t)) ς

where
1
Z ς
u1 = u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ, x ∈ C [ς, ς + 1], ς ≤ t ≤ ς + 1.
Γ(α(t)) 0

Let
Wa = {(t, x ) : t ∈ [ς, ς + 1], | x | ≤ max |u1 (t)| + a}.
t∈[ς,ς+1]

Since f is continuous on Wa , we can have M = max(t,x)∈Wa | f (t, u)|. Let

Wh = { x ∈ C [ς, ς + 1] : max | x (t) − u1 (t)| ≤ a, x (ς) = u1 (ς)},

t∈[ς,ς+h]
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 8 of 12

where h∗ = min 1, ( Γ(α(tM)+1)a )α(t) . Thus Q is completely continuous on Wa . Set { xn } ⊆



C [ς, ς + h∗ ], k xn − x k[ς,ς+h∗ ] approaches to 0 as n approaches to ∞. Then we have

Z t
1
|( Qxn )(t) − ( Qx )(t)| = (t − λ)α(t)−1 [ f (λ, xn (λ)) − f (λ, y(λ))]dλ
Γ(α(t)) ς

hα(t)
≤ k f (λ, yn (λ)) − f (λ, y(λ))k[ς,ς+h∗ ] .
Γ ( α ( t ) + 1)

Since f is continuous, we can have k f (λ, xn (λ)) − f (λ, x (λ))k[ς,ς+h∗ ] approaches to

0 as n approaches to ∞. Moreover, k( Qxn )(t) − ( Qx )(t)k[ς,ς+h∗ ] approaches to 0 as n ap-
proaches to ∞, which shows that Q is continuous.
Next, we show that QWh is equicontinuous. For any x ∈ Wh we have ( Qx )(ς) = u1 (ς)
and
Z t
1
|( Qx )(t) − u1 | = (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) ς

M ( t − ς )α(t) Mh∗α(t)
≤ ≤ ≤ a.
Γ ( α ( t ) + 1) Γ ( α ( t ) + 1)

Thus QWh∗ ⊂ Wh∗ . Set J (t) = Γ(α1(t)) 0 (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ. We know that J (t)
Rς

is continuous on [ς, ς + 1]. For all x ∈ Wh∗ , t1 , t2 ∈ [ς, ς + h∗ ], we have

1
Z ςh i
|( Qx )(t1 ) − ( Qx )(t2 )| ≤ (t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t h
1 1
i
+ (t1 − λ)α(t)−1 − (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) ς
Z t2
1
+ (t2 − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, x (λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) t1
M
≤ | J (t1 ) − J (t2 )| + [2( t2 − t1 ) α ( t ) + ( t1 − ς ) α ( t ) − ( t2 − ς ) α ( t ) ].
Γ ( α ( t ) + 1)

Since J (t) is uniform continuity on [ς, ς + h∗ ] and (13), we conclude that {( Qx )(t) :
x ∈ Wh∗ } is equicontinuous. Thus Q is continuous completely. By Lemma 3, operator Q
has a fixed point ũ(t) ∈ Wh∗ , i.e.,

1 t Z
ũ(t) = u1 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, ũ(λ))dλ, t ∈ [ς, ς + h], (14)
Γ(α(t)) ς
Z t
1
= u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, ũ(λ))dλ,
Γ(α(t)) 0

where (
u ( t ), t ∈ (0, ς]
ũ(t) =
ũ(t), t ∈ [ς, ς + h∗ ]
It follows that ũ(t) ∈ C [0, ς + h∗ ] and
Z t
1
ũ(t) = u0 + (t − λ)α−1 f (λ, ũ(λ))dλ. (15)
Γ(α(t)) 0

By Lemma 1, ũ(t) of Equation (15), define a solution of problem (1) on (0, ς + h∗ ]. This
results in a contradiction because u(t) is non-continuable. The proof is complete.

4. Global Solution
Theorem 4. Assume that (H1) is hold. We consider that u(t) is a solution of problem (1) on (0, ς).
For ε > 0, and if u(t) is bounded on [ε, ς), then ς = +∞.
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 9 of 12

First, we give the following lemma before continuing the next discussion, which will
be relevant in our analysis.

Lemma 5 ([30,31]). Let r be a real function defined on [0, β] × [0, +∞). Assume then ∃ c > 0
and α(t) ∈ (0, 1), such that
Z t
r (λ)
r (t) ≤ q(t) + c dλ,
0 ( t − λ )α(t)

where q(·) > 0 is a locally integrable function on [0, β] Then ∃ h = h(α(t)), such that for
0 ≤ t ≤ β, we have
Z t
q(λ)
r (t) ≤ q(t) + hc dλ.
0 ( t − λ )α(t)

Theorem 5. Assume that (H1) is the hold and three continuous functions g(t) > 0, h(t) >,
j(t) > 0 defined on [0, +∞) × [0, +∞), such that | f (t, u)| ≤ g(t)h(|u|) + j(t), where h(s) ≤ s
for s ∈ [0, ∞). Then there is one solution of (1) in C [0, +∞).

Proof. By using the Theorem 1, one can easily conclude the local existence of the solution
of (1). By using Lemma 1, u(t) satisfies the following equation
Z t
1
u ( t ) = u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ.
Γ(α(t)) 0

Let the maximum interval of u(t) is [0, ς), where (ς < +∞). Then

1
Z t
|u(t)| = u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1
≤ u0 + (t − λ)α(t)−1 ( g(λ)h(|u|) + j(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
k gk[0,ς] Z t α(t)−1 1
Z t
≤ u0 + (t − λ) (h(|u|)dλ + (t − λ)α(t)−1 j(λ)dλ.
Γ(α(t)) 0 Γ(α(t)) 0
Rt k gk ]
Taking r (t) = |u(t)|, q(t) = u0 + Γ(α1(t)) 0 (t − λ)α(t)−1 j(λ)dλ, c = Γ(α([0,ς
t))
. By Lemma 5,
r (t) = |u(t)| is bounded on [0, ς). Thus, for any ε ∈ (0, ς), u(t) is bounded on [ε, ς).
By Theorem 4, the solution of problem (1) exists on (0, +∞).

The next theorem ensures the existence uniqueness of the global solution of (1) on R+ .

Theorem 6. Assume (H1) is hold, and a continuous function p(t) > 0 exists and defined on [0, ∞),
such that | f (t, u) − f (t, ũ)| ≤ p(t)|u − ũ|. Then the unique solution of (1) exists in C [0, +∞).

For proof that this theorem is simple and straightforward, we leave it for the inter-
ested readers.

5. Ulam Stability Results

Now, we consider the Ulam stability for (1). Let e > 0 and ϕ be a continuous function
defined on [0, +∞) → R+ . Consider these inequalities:
α(t)
C D0,t u ( t ) − f (t, u(t)) ≤ e; (16)

α(t)
C D0,t u ( t ) − f (t, u(t)) ≤ ϕ(t); (17)

α(t)
C D0,t u ( t ) − f (t, u(t)) ≤ eϕ(t). (18)
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 10 of 12

Definition 5. IVP (1) is Ulam–Hyers stable if there exists a real number c f > 0, such that for each
e > 0 and for each solution u ∈ C [0, +∞) of inequality (16), there exists a solution v ∈ C [0, +∞)
of (1) with
|u(t) − v(t)| ≤ ec f .

Definition 6. If there exists a real number c f ∈ (R+ , R+ ) with c f (0) = 0, for every e > 0 and
for every solution of u ∈ C of inequality (17), then ∃ a solution v ∈ C of (1) with

|u(t) − v(t)| ≤ c f (e)

then IVP (1) is the generalized Ulam–Hyers stable.

Definition 7. If there is a number c f ,ϕ ∈ R, for every e > 0 and for every solution u ∈ C of (18)
then ∃ a solution v ∈ C of (1) with

|u(t) − v(t)| ≤ ec f ,ϕ ϕ(t),

then IVP (1) is Ulam–Hyers–Rassias stable, with respect to ϕ.

Definition 8. If there is a number c f ,ϕ ∈ R, for every solution u ∈ C of (17), then ∃ a solution

v ∈ C of (1) with
|u(t) − v(t)| ≤ c f ,ϕ ϕ(t).
and then IVP (1) is the generalized Ulam–Hyers–Rassias stable with respect to ϕ

Remark 1. Clearly, we can see that: (i) Definition 5 =⇒ Definition 6; (ii) Definition 7 =⇒
Definition 8; (iii) Definition 7 =⇒ Definition 5.

Hypothesis 3 [H3]. assume that ϕ is an increasing function and belongs to C [0, +∞). Then there
exists χ ϕ > 0, such that
Z t
1
(t − λ)α(t)−1 ϕ(λ)dλ ≤ χ ϕ ϕ(t), t ∈ [0, +∞).
Γ(α(t)) 0

Lemma 6 ([32]). Let x and y be a continuous function defined on [0, T ] × [0, +∞) where T ≤ ∞.
If y is increasing and there are constants µ ≥ 0 and p > 0, such that

Zt
x (t) ≤ y(t) + µ (t − λ) p−1 x (λ)dλ, t ∈ [0, T ),
0

then
Zt ∞
" #
(µΓ( p))k
x (t) ≤ y(t) + ∑ Γ(kp) (t − λ) y(λ) dλ, t ∈ [0, T ).
p −1

0 k =0

If y(t) = c, is a constant on t ∈ [0, T ), then we have

x (t) ≤ cE p (µΓ( p)t p ), t ∈ [0, T ),

where E p (·) is the Mittag–Leffler function.

Theorem 7. If the condition (H3) is satisfied, then IVP (1) is the generalized Ulam–Hyers–
Rassias stable.
Fractal Fract. 2022, 6, 51 11 of 12

Proof. Suppose that u is a solution of (17) on C [0, +∞), and we assume that v is a solution
of (1). Thus, we have
Z t
1
u ( t ) − u0 ( t ) − (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1
≤ (t − λ)α(t)−1 ϕ(λ)dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
≤ χ ϕ ϕ ( t ).

From these relations, it follows

Z t
1
|u(t) − v(t)| ≤ u(t) − u0 (t) − (t − λ)α(t)−1 f (λ, u(λ))dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
1
+ (t − λ)α(t)−1 | f (λ, u(λ)) − f (λ, v(λ))|dλ
Γ(α(t)) 0
Z t
L
≤ χ ϕ ϕ(t) + (t − λ)α(t)−1 |u(λ) − v(λ)|dλ.
Γ(α(t)) 0

By Lemma 6, there exists a constant L∗ > 0 independent of χ ϕ ϕ(t), such that

|u(t) − v(t)| ≤ L∗ χ ϕ ϕ(t) := c f ,ϕ ϕ(t). Thus, IVP (1) is the generalized Ulam–Hyers–Rassias
stable.

Corollary 1. By using the same arguments of Theorem 7, one can prove that IVP (1) with inequality
(18) is Ulam–Hyers–Rassias stable.

Corollary 2. Under the same steps of Theorem 7, with inequality (16), one can prove that IVP (1)
is Ulam–Hyers stable.

6. Conclusions
First, we derived new local existence–uniqueness theorems for the variable order
Caputo order FDE. Next, we proved the new continuation theorems to establish the global
existence of the variable order FDEs. Finally, we gave the lemmas, which showed that our
considered problem is Ulam–Hyers type stable. Readers can find the existence–uniqueness
solution of Hadamard, Caputo–Hadamard, and the Hilfer type variable order differential
equations by reading this work.

Funding: The author acknowledges the funding support provided by the Deanship of Scientific Re-
search (DSR) at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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