The Dual Method in Critical Point Theory.

Multiplicity Results for Indefinite Functional (*)(**).

VIERI BEI~CI (1) _ DONATO FORTUNATO (2) (Bari)

Sunto. - S i dimostra t'esistenza di so~uzioni ,r~ltiple per l'equazione

Z u = A(u)
ove Z ~ uu operatore inde]inito ed autoaggiunto in uno spazio di JHilbert; A ~ un operatore
variazionale, monotono, dispari the , cresce ~ in maniera opportuna pig che linearmente pe~
][u]]~ ~ . Dal suddetto risul~ato si deduce, tra l'altro, l'esistenza di soluzioni periodiehe
multiple per sistemi hamiltoniani ed equazioni dvllv onde non linvari sulla s#ra n-dimen-
sionale S%

O. - Introduction.

Let us consider the following problem:

find non trivial 2~z-periodic solutions of the semilinear wave equation

u.-- u** = g(x, t, u) in ]0, =[ • R

(o.1)
u(O, t) = u(7~, t) = 0 for t e R

where g(x, t, s) is a continuous, monotonic increasing or decreasing (in s) real func-

tion on [0, z] • 2 and 2u-periodic in t.
If g is , superlinear ~) (i.e. if it grows more t h a n linearly in a suitable way) and
it does not depend on t, RA]3I~OWITZ in [27] has proved the existence of a 2~z-periodie
nontrivial solution of (0.1) b y finite dimensional approximation arguments.
More recently BREZIS, COR0~, I~IRENBERG [10] have obtained the results of [27]
under slightly weaker assumptions on g b y using the (( dual m e t h o d ~) which was
first used b y CLARKE and EKELA~]) [15, 16, 18] for studying Hamiltonian systems.
I n this p a p e r we refine the dual m e t h o d in order to get further informations on
problems of the t y p e (0.1).
I n section 3 we prove (cf. Theorem 3.1) that, if g(x, t, s) is odd, monotonic and
superlinear in s, the equation (0.1) possesses in]initely m a n y 2~-pcriodic solutions.

(*) Entrata in Redaziono il 22 luglio 1981; Redazione finale pervenuta il 2 aprfle 1982.
(**) Work partially supported by C.N.R. and ~.P.I.
(~) Istituto di Matematica Applicata - Via Re David, 200 - 70125 Bari (Italy).
(3) !stituto di Analisi Matematica - Via lqicolM, 2 - 70121 Bari (Italy).
216 VIEm[ B E ~ c I - DO~-ATO FO~U~ATO: The dual method in critical, etc.

Then (section 4) we consider the p r o b l e m of the existence of nontriviM periodic

solutions of the semilinear w a v e equations when m o r e t h a n one spatial dimension
is involved.
W e give a partial answer to the a b o v e problem. ~Iore precisely we consider
the equation

[ u s L~(S ~ x ~)
(0.2) l u**-- A u -~- 2u -~ g(x, t, u ) , x ~ S ~, t ~ S ~

where N~ is the n-dimensional sphere, A denotes the Laplace-13eltrami operator

olt Nn (el. A p p e n d i x 1), 2 is a real p a r a m e t e r a n d g(x, t, s) is a continuous, real func-
tion defined on S" • S 1 • R.
I f g is odd, m o n o t o n i c and superlinear in s, we p r o v e (el. T h e o r e m 4.1) t h a t
equation (0.2) possesses infinitely m a n y nontrivial solutions for each 2 6 R if n is
even, a n d for 2 ---- ( ( n - - 1)/2) 2 if n is odd.
The a b o v e results are deduced f r o m an a b s t r a c t critical point t h e o r e m (of. sec-
tion 1). W e feel t h a t this t h e o r e m m a y h a v e interest in itself because it applies to
<< indefinite ~> funetionals.

To be m o r e precise it is necessary to give some definitions.

A functional I on a real B a n a e h space E is called <<d e f i n i t e , if it is b o u n d e d
f r o m below (or f r o m above), , semidefinite/> if there exists a weakly continuous
functional ~b such t h a t I @ ~b is definite, ir is called , indefinite i> if it is not semi-
definite.
F o r e x a m p l e the 2~-periodie solutions of (0.1) are the critical points of the
functional

i(u) = f . (2 ( ~ - - u~) - - ~(x, t, u)) dx dr, G(x, t, s) = g(x, t, ~) dr

0 9 o

which is indefinite in a n y reasonable function space.

Other interesting problems of m a t h e m a t i c a l physics, such as the s t u d y of peri-
odic solutions of H a m i l t o n i a n systems, the nonlinear ~ibrations of the b e a m , lead
to find the critical points of indefinite functionals.
The indefinite functionals we are interested in, can be written in the following
way

(0.3) I(u) = 89(Zu, u ) + p(u) , u ~ H c~ X

where L is an indefinite, continuous seli-adjoint operator in an Hilbert space f !

and ~ is a Frech6t difierentiable functional on a Banach space X.
Because of the lack of a complete t h e o r y some authors h a v e studied indefinite
v a r i a t i o n a l problems b y (<indirect i) m e t h o d s such as finite dimensional a p p r o x i m a -
tion [6, 26, 27], finite dimensional reduction [2, 3, 4, 5] and the dual m e t h o d [1,
10, 15, 16, 18~ 19, 20]. :
 ~tlEnI BESTCI - DONA~O FO~U~-ATO: The dua~ method in critical, etc. 21~

The finite dimensional reduction works only if ~o is asymptotically quadratic

and the dual methods works only if ~o is convex.
L e t us finally recall t h a t indefinite functionals of t y p e (0.3) can be studied b y
(( direct ~> methods [8, 9] if H is compactly (and densely) embedded into X : this
occurs, in the most interesting examples, if N e t L is finite dimensional as in the
case of the Hamiltonian systems.
This paper is organized as follows:
I n section 1 we state the abstract theorem 1.1 which gives existence and mul-
tiplicity results for critical points of the functional I when ~ grows more t h a n quad--
ratieally at infinity and less t h a n quadratically near the origin.
In section 2 we prove theorem 1.1. ~irst~ b y using the dual method, the s t u d y
of the indefinite functional if is reduced to the study of the (~dual functional ~>which
is semidefinite.
Then the proof of theorem !.1 is obtained b y using two critical point theorems
for semidefinite funetionals proved in [7]. We observe t h a t the use of the dual
m e t h o d permits us to avoid the difficulties arising from the fact t h a t E:er L m a y
be infinite dimensional as for the problem (0.1) (ef. also [10]).
I n section 3 we apply theorem 1.1 to the problem (0.1), to the research of periodic
solutions of Itamiltonian systems and to the study of the nonlinear vibrations of
the beam.
I n section 4 we apply theorem 1.1 to the equation (0.2).
W e t h a n k the referee for his suggestions and in particular for advising us to
use un unpublished argument of t!. BnEZlS in the proof of Th. 8.1.

1. - T h e a b s t r a c t results.

Let H be a real Hilbert space and X be a real, reflexive B a n a e h space. Suppose

t h a t H n X is dense both in H and in X.
The duals of H and X will be denoted b y H ' and X'. The canonical pairing
between X ' and X (or H ' and H) will be denoted b y < . , . } .
Let L: H - + H ' be a continuous linear operator and A : X - > X ' a nonlinear
operator such t h a t A(0) = 0.
W e are concerned in proving the existence of nontriviM solutions of the problem

(1.1) uEH~X, Lu--A(u) =0.

B y E u - - A(u) = 0 we mean {Lu, .} ~- {A(u), .}, V u e H n X.

F r o m now on we shall identify H with its dual H ' . W e suppose t h a t L satisfies
the following assumptions:

(1) L is self-adjoint.
(L) (2) 0 is in the resolvent of L or an isolated eigenvalue.
218 VI~3RIBE~CI - DONATO FO~TUNATO: The dual method in critical, etc.

The most interesting case occurs if 0 is an eigenvalue of infinite multiplicity.

The assumptions on A are the following ones:

(1) A is a b o u n d e d h o m e o m o r p h i s m and there exists a strictly convex

functional ~0e CI(X, R) such t h a t ~o'= A .

(2) If {u~} c X and Uoe X such t h a t (A(u~,) - - A(uo), u~-- %} -+ 0 for n --> 0%
t h e n we can select a subsequenee {uk.} converging to Uo in X.

(A) (3) vu ~ x , r < ~(u)<r where r r are two continuous,

strictly convex functions s.t. r 0 and
r r
- -t2- + + o o as t ~ + oo, t ~ -~ 0 as t ~ O

(4) il ~ A ' ( u ) , u ) - - V ( u ) [ - - > 4 - ~ 1 7 6 for

I-~\ h' u l l x - + @ o o .

Now we need a third set of assumptions which relate H and X . B y virtue o f

(Z) (1) we have t h a t

/ / = / / 0 G R(L)
where /to is the Kernel of L and R(L) is its range.
B y (L)(2) I?(L) in closed. So it can be decomposed in two closed m u t u M l y
orthogonal subspaces //+ and / / _ such t h a t L is positive (respectively negative)
definite in H+ (respectively in //_).
So we can write

H = HOG//_@//+

we suppose t h a t

(1) (H+rhX)@(H (3X)@(Hor3X)=X (the closures are t a k e n in X)

(H) (2) //+@H_ is c o m p a c t l y e m b e d d e d into X

the following theorem holds:

Tm~onE)~ 1.1. - Suppose that the assumptions (L), (A) and (H) hold. I] H+ r {0}
the problem (1.1) has at least one nontrivial solution. Moreover, i/ the operator A is
odd, the problem (1.1) has at least dim 11+ pairs o] nontriviat solutions.

2. - Proof of theorem 1.1.

The proof of theorem 1.1 is carried out in two steps.

First, b y using a duality argument, we reduce the problem (1.1) to the research
of critical points of a suitable functional ] on a linear manifold of X'.
 VIERi BENCi - DO~ATO FORTUNATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 2i0

Second we prove the existence of such critical points exploiting two theorems
of [~].
We now set

X + -~ H+ (~ X , X_= H_n X , Xo= tton X .

Moreover we set
!
:Y+ = X +' , Ir _ = X ' _ :Yo = Xo

and
V = Iz+@ ~ _ .

By (H) (2) the embedding

(2.1) i: H + | H _ ~ V'

is compact and dense.

Then, since we identify H with H', it follows that the embedding

(2.1)* i*: V c - > H + O H

is compact.
The operator Z]~(z ) is invertible and we set

(2.2) g = io (Zl~(~))-loi * .

Obviously K maps V in V' compactly and it is symmetric.

We now consider the polar functional defined by (cf. e.g. [21, 28])

w*(v) = m a x (<v, u> - ~o(u)), v e X' = V| X'.

u~X

By the theory of polar functionals, it follows that

(~o*)' = A - 1 .

We set

b = w*lv

and

(2.3) /(v) = b ( v ) - - l ( v , / i v ) , v e Y.
220 VIE~I BENCt - DOXATO :FO~TU~ATO: The dual method in eritica 4 etc.

It is easy to verify that /e C;(V, R ) and

(2.4) ]'(v) -= br(v) -- K v = Po(~o*)'(v)- K v , v ~ V

where P is the projection operator of X onto X + | X .

We observe t h a t b y virtue of (H) (2) the functional ] is semidefinite while the
operator u - - > Z u - - A ( u ) is the derivative of an indefinite functional, whenever
dim H+ and dim H _ are infinite.
Now we are r e a d y to reduce problem (1.1) to a eriticM point problem on the
linear space V = Y+ | I7_.

LE}~IA 2.1. - A s s u m e that (L), (A) (1), (H) hold. T h e n i] v ~ V is a critical point
of f, there esists uo~ Xo such t h a t

u -~ K v d- uo

is a solution o/ problem (1.i).

PI%OOF. - Let v V be a critical point of ]. Then b y (2.4) we have

~(A-l(v)) - K~ = o.

So there is uo~ Xo such t h a t

(2.5) A-~(v)- K v = uo.

Now we set

6o ~ I(.v .

Then b y (2.5) we have

A-~(L~)- co = uo .

Thus

.~ = A ( o a -i- ~o) 9

So we conclude t h a t

is a solution of problem (1.1). Q.F~.D .

 V~ERI BEh~CI - D0~A~O FO~TU~A~0: The dual method in critieai, etc. 221

RE~ARK 2.2. -- Obviously we do not need in proving lemma 2.1 assumption

(H) (2). W e can assume less restrictively t h a t H + O H _ is continuosly embedded
into X.
I n order to search the critical points of / we need some theorems contained
in [7].
Let I ~ C~(E, R), where E is a reflexive Banach space.
Let us now initially recall a weakened version of the Palais-Smale condition
(cf. [12] or [7, def. 1.1]).

DEFI~ITI0~ 2.3. - The /unetio~al I satisfies the condition (e) in ]0, @ c~[ if

(i) every bounded sequence {u~} c i -~ (]0, d-c~[), for which {I(uk)} is bounded
and I'(uk)--> O, possesses a convergent subsequence;

(ii) Vc e ]0, @ oo[~ 3e, R, ~ > 0 s.t. Vu ~ I - ~ ( [ e - - e, c @ e]), ]lu]]~>/~: ll/'(u)l/~,

9I ] % > ~.

TBEO~E~ 2.4. - Suppose that the functional I satisfies the following properties:

I~) I satisfies condition (c) in ]0, @ c~[;

Is) I(0) = O, there exist ~, ? > 0 and ~ E with I[~I]~>~ s.t.

Vu eE[]u]l ~ = q: I ( u ) > y , and I(~)<0.

Then I possesses a critical value c>~y.

T~EO~E~ 2.5. - Suppose that the functional I satisfies the /ollowing properties:

I~) I satisfies condition (c) in ]0, @ co[;

I2)' I(0) = 0 and there exist constants ~ y, d > 0 and a closed subspaee E_ o / E s.t.
a) I ( u ) > ~ , VueEilul&= e,
b) I ( u ) < d , r a c E _ ;

13) I is even.

Then I possesses, at least, dim E_ distinct pairs o/ non zero critical points.

PROOF. - If E is an Hilbert space the proofs are contained in [7, Th. 2.3, 2.4].
Those proofs hold with easy changes also for B a n a c h spaces.
I n order to apply T h e o r e m s 2.5, 2.6 we need the following 1emma.

LEI~I~A 2.6. - Suppose that (L), (A) (1), (A) (2), (A) (4), (H) hold. Then the/unc
tional / defined by (2.3) satis/ies the condition (e) in ]0, -{-co[ (cf. Def. 2.3).

15 - A n n a l i di M a t e m a t i c a
222 VIEIr BE~-CI - DO_N'ATOFOIC~V~ATO: The deal method in vritical, etc.

PROOF. -- I n i t i a l l y we p r o v e t h a t (i) is satisfied.

Let v, bounded and such that

(2.6) ~ = ]'(v~) - + o , a S ~ --> c o .

T h e n , b y (2.4), we h a v e

From which

Since (v~} is b o u n d e d , we c a n a s s u m e

(2.7) v~ ~ Vo w e a k l y in V .

Thus

(2.s) <v~- So, A-~(s.)> = <v,,-- So, ~ > § <v~-- Vo, Kv~>.

By (2.6), (2.7), the compactness of K and (2.8), we deduce that

< v ~ - - Vo, A-~(v~)> ~ 0 as n - ~ .

Then

<v~- Vo, A - ~ ( v ~ ) - A-~(Vo)> ~ 0 as n ~ c o .

So, if we set u~ = A-l(v,~) a n d uo = A-~(vo), we h a v e

(2.9) < A u ~ - - Auo, u~-- ~o> -+ 0 us n - - > c o .

F r o m (2.9) a n d (A) (2) it follows t h a t

~ n - + ~o a S ~ ---~ O<),

Then, since A is c o n t i n u o u s , we h a v e

q)n---> % aS % -~C~3 ~

Therefore (i) is satisfied.

L e t us n o w p r o v e t h a t ] satisfies (ii).
 ~rXERI BEz~cI - DO~ATO FO~TU~ATO: The duai method in critical, etc. 223

Let c e R and e > 0 and consider

(2.10) e/-~([c- ~, c + d) .

Now

(2.11) ll<lx, lll'(v)ll~> l<v, l'(v)>l = t<v, b'(v)> -- <v, Kv>l.

We set

q(v) = b(v) -- 89<Kv, v> -- c , p(v) = 89 b ' ( v ) } - - b(v)-- e .

Then by (2.11) we have

(2.12) ]lvl[x;ll/'(v)]Ix> 12(q(v) -[- p(v)) + 4c I .

Observe t h a t by (2.10)

I2q(v)[ < 2 ~ .

Then (ii) follows from (2.12) if we show t h a t

(2.13) p(v) --> + co as rJ<}x'-~ + o o .

NOW we have

~*(v) = <v, u> - ~o(u) where u = (~')-l(v) = A - ' ( v ) .

Then

(2.14) b(v) = ~*(v) = <v, A-~(v)> -- v ( A - I ( v ) ) , Vv e V .

Thus

189<% b'(v)> -- b(v)t = 189<% A-t(v)> - - <v, A-I(v)> -}- v(A-I(v))] =

= l - ~<A(~), ~> + V(~)f, A(u) = v.

So, by using (A) (4), we deduce (2.13). Q.E.D.

Now we are ready to prove theorem 1.1.
We set

~(u) = r 1 6 3 u e X, ~*(v) = sup {(v, u> -- r

~eX
224 VIE~I BE_~-CI - DO~ATO FOR~U~A~0: T h e d u a l m e t h o d i n critical, etc.

Then from (A) (3) we deduce that

(2.15) V*(v)<r Yv e X ' .

l~ow we denote by r the Legendre transform of r then it is easy to see that

(2.16) r ~ o ~s t -~ + ~.

~[oreover

(2.z7) r * ' VveX'

In f~et

@*(v) : sup sup {<~, u>t- r = sup {ll~II~,.t - r = r 9

Then, by (2.15), (2.16), (2.17), we have

(s.ls) ~*(~)<r 9 r ~~ 0 a s t --> + c ~ .

Analogously we deduce that (A)(3) implies that

(2.19) F (v)=r , r ~ --* -~ o o ~s t --* o .

n o w observe that

(2.20) I<~, Kv>[< ItKII l]~ll~, 9

Then by (2.19) ~nd (2.20) there exist ~, y > 0 s.t.

(2.21) /(v)>~*(v)--89 V~e V, llv[]x,= q.

We now ussume that H + r {0} und consider u finite dimensionul subspace H~

of H +.
Obviously

where (. 1")~ denote the inner product in H ~nd

~ : infiX: ~ ~a(L), ~ > 0}.

 V~r BEbTCI - DONATO :FoI~TUNATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 225

Because L is continuous the spectrum a(L) of L is bounded, then v is strictly

positive.
Because Hk is finite dimensional we have

(2.22) Vv e ~ , /(v) < ~ * ( v ) - ~livll~,

where c is a positive constant.

B y (2.18) and (2.22) we deduce t h a t

(2.21) and (2.23) imply t h a t ] satisfies the assumption I~) of Theorem 2.4 and the
assumption I2)' of Theorem 2.5.
B y virtue L e m m a 2.6 / satisfies also the condition (e) in ]0, ~ oo[.
Then, by Theorem 2.4, / possesses a nontrivial critical point. Moreover if A is
odd, ] is even. Then by applying Theorem 2.5, ] possesses at least dim H+ pairs of
nontrivial critical p o i n t s .
Finally, applying lemma 2.t, we easily get the conclusion. Q.E.D.

3. - Applications.

In this section we apply Theorem 1.1 to prove existence and multiplicity results
for some nonlinear differential equations with indefinite linear part and a nonlinear
term satisfying appropriate superlinearity conditions.

I) We w a n t to prove the existence of nontrivial 2=-periodic solutions of the

semilinear wave equation (0.1) (cf. Introduction).

Let us assume t h a t the nonlinearity g satisfies the following assumptions:

g~) g is strictly monotone is s;

8
g~) 89 t, s) -fg(x, t, ~) d~>~3181 ~ - 04;
0

where p e ]2, 4[ and el, ..., ca are positive constants.

For example, the function

g(x, t, s) = / ( x , t)[s]~-~s

satisfies gl), g2) and g3) if p ~]2, 4[, ](x, t) is continuous in [0, =] • ~ and f(x,t)>
"~ a > 0, V(X, t) ~ [0, ~:] X/.~1.
226 VIEI~I B]~NcI - DO~ATO FO~TI~ATO: The dual method in critical, etc.

We set

M= [0,7~]• 1, X = L~(M) , ~(u) =fG(x, t, u(x, t)) dx at

M
$

where G(x, t, s) = j g ( x , t, ~) dr.

0
By (gl) ~ e cl(z, R).
A function u ~ X will be called weak 2~r-periodic solution of (0.1) if

uDCdxdt= (x,t,u(x,t))r []--~t ~ ~x~

M M

for each r ~ C| such t h a t r t) = r t) = 0, Vt ~ S 1.

W e shall prove the following Theorem

T m ~ o ~ r 3.1. - If g (or - - g ) satisfies gl), g2), g3), the problem (0.1) has at least
one nontrivial 2~-periodie Weak solution. If we assume also that g(x, t, s) is odd in s,
then there exist infinitely many pairs (% -- u) of 2Jr-periodic weak solutions of problem
(0.1). Moreover u belongs to the domain of the bilinear form related to [] (i.e. the space H
defined by (3.0)).

R ~ A I ~ K 3.2. - The restriction (2 < p < 4) on the growth of the nonlinearity g

can be dropped (el. Theorem B.2 of Appendix 2) if we look for weak solutions of
(0.1), i.e. solutions which are in L~(M) and do not belong necessarily to the space H .
Moreover observe t h a t we can take as period any rational multiple of the spatial
lenght.

I~E~AI~K 3.3. - I n [9, 10, 14, 20] the existence of one nontrivial periodic solu-
tion of (0.1) has been proved under weaker assumptions on g.
~ o n l i n e a r i t y with at most linear growth at infinity h a v e been considered in [2,
3, 4, 11, 13, 17, 22]. The existence of multiple periodic solutions of (0.1) has been
p r o v e d if g is asymptotically linear in [2, 4, 13].

Pt~ooF o1~ TI~EOI~E~ 3.1. - I n order to apply Theorem 1.1 we shall p u t problem
(0.1) in the abstract framework of section 1.
If u ~ L~(M) we have

u(x, t) = ~. u. q). , u . = ~_~

where u,5 are the Fourier components of u along the basis q~, defined in (A.13) of
Appendix 1.
I f u ~ L~(M) and v ~ C~ with v(O, t) : v(s, t) = 0 we have

fu[]~ dx dt = = t~-j~, feN\{0}, j e Z ,

M
 VIEI~I BENcI - DONATO FOtCTU:NATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 227

Now we set

(3.0) H= {u~L'~(M)I y, (1 + I;~,~.l)lu,P< +oo}.

l,j

H is an tIilbert space with respect to the inner product

L e t L be the self-adjoint continuous operator in H defined b y

4i

Obviously every u e H (~ X which satisfies the equation

Zu = A ( u ) , A = ~'

is a weak 27~-periodic solution of (0.1).

I t is easy to see t h a t (A) (1), (A) (3), (A) (4) (ef. section 1) are satisfied b y virtue
of gl), g~), g3)-
:Now we prove t h a t also (A)(2) holds using an unpublished argument of H.
Brezis.
L e t {u~} c X and uo~ X such t h a t

_f(g(x,t , u~(x,t)) --g(x,t, Uo(X,t)))(un(x,t)--uo(x,t)) dxdt -+0 as n -+c<).

M

For a subsequence (still denoted b y {u.)) we m a y assume t h a t

(a) ( g ( x , t , u . ( x , t ) ) - - g ( x , t , Uo(X,t))(u~(x,t)--Uo(X,t))) -->0 a.e. in M ;

(b) (g(x, t, u~(x, t)) - g(x, t, Uo(X, t))(uo(x, t) - Uo(X, t))) -~ h~(x, t);

where hi is a fixed function in L~(M).

F r o m (a) it follows t h a t

(e) u . -+ Uo a.e. in M .

Moreover it is not difficult to prove t h a t gl) and (b) imply t h a t

(d) [u4x, t)[ < h~(x, t)

where h2 is a fixed function in Zv(M).
F r o m (c) and (d) we have t h a t

u,, --> Uo in .L~(M) .

228 VIERI BENCI - DONATO FORTUNATO; The dual method in eritical~ etc.

Now we shall verify t h a t also assumptions (L) (2), (H) (1), (H) (2) are satisfied.
We set

It is easily verified t h a t r is an orthonormal basis in H and

0 if (1, ]) :/: (n, m)

( L r 1r = 2~/1 @ 1~,~ 1 if (1, j) = (% m).

So we conclude t h a t the spectrum ~(L) of L consists of the eigenvalues 2~;/1 45

45 l).zjl whose eigenfunctions are r Thus 0 is an isolated eigenvalue of L of in-
finite multiplicity.
So assumption (L)(2) is satisfied.
We set

I. )
z>IJ1

k J
lil = k

H+ is compactly embedded into L~(M) (2 < p < 4). In fact if u e H+ we have:

Iluii~= ~ 'I(r u ).~,2 = ~ (i + (l + ljl)(z- ]j]))!u,,l~>const ,2

llu~l.,(~> .
IJ[</ IJl</

Then H+ is continuously embedded into Hi(M), where H}(M) denotes the Sobolev
space of fractional order 89 (cf. Appendix 1). M is a two dimensional manifold and
2 < p < 4, then H89 is compactly embedded into L~(M) (el. (A.3) in Appendix 1).
So we conclude t h a t H+ is compactly embedded into L~(M).
Analogously it can be shown t h a t H_ is compactly embedded into Lr(M).
So we conclude t h a t assumption (H)(2) is satisfied.
Finally it is easy to see t h a t also (H) (1) is satisfied. Therefore, applying Theo-
rem 1.1, we easily get the conclusion. Q.E.D.
II) We search nontrivial 2z-periodic solutions of the problem

45 ~25 7- g(x, t, u) -= 0, 0 < x < 7~

(3.1) ~u ~u
[~ u(o, t) = u(~, t) = - g ~ (o, t) = ~ (7c, t) = o teR

where g(x, t, s) is a real continuous, 2z~-periodie in t function,

 VIERI ~BENCI - I)ONATO FORTUNATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 229

W e set M = [ 0 ~ z ] x S ~ snd

where uzj are the Fourier components of u ~ L2(M) with respect to the basis {O~j}
defined in (A.13) of Appendix 1.
Then, following the same arguments used in the proof of Theorem 3.1 (the only
difference consists in taking I~ instead of 12), we deduce t h a t the following Theorem
holds:

Tn-EO~]~:~ 3.4. - I f g satis]ies g~), g~)~ ga), then problem (3.1) has at least one non-
trivial 2~-periodic~ weak solution u ~ Z~(M) ~ H (2 < p < 4): I f we assume also that
g(x, t, s) is odd in s then there exist in]initely m a n y pairs (u~ - - u) o] 2z-periodic, weak
solutions of problem (3.1).

I~E~A~K 3.5. - The existence of a nontrivial 2z-periodic weak solution of prob-

lem (3.1) has been proved in [29] assuming g(x~ t, u) =- alul~u with a > 0, ~ s ]1, 2[.

I I I ) W e consider the existence problem of T-periodic solutions of the hamil-

tonian system of ordinary differential equations

~Je ~Je
(3.2) $ - ~ (t, p, ~), ~ = ~ - ( t , p, ~)

where p, q are n-tuples~ 9 denotes d/dt and the Hamiltonian function JC is assumed
to be C* ~nd T-periodic in t.
F o r simplicity we take T----2z.
We set

u = (p, q),

where I denote identity m a t r i x in R ~.

Then (3.2) becomes

(3.3) - - 3~ --~ ~ ( t , u)

where Je---- (~J~/~p, ~Je/3q).

We suppose t h a t there exists p > 2 such that:

(~)1 elllul?-l< []:~ (t, u)]r <eolrull~-~;

(~E~) ; E is strictly monotone;

(~)~ 1 (ulna(t, u)) - ~(t, u)/> c~ []ulJ~ - e4 i

230 u BE~cI - DorAdo FOnTU~ATo: The dual method in critical, etc.

where e~ ..., c4 are positive constants and (. ].), r]. [] denote the inner product and
the norm in R ~".
The following Theorem holds:

THEORE~ 3.6. -- If JC satisfies assumptions (JC)~, (JC)~ (JC)a~ then the Hamiltonian
system (3.2) possesses at least one nontrivial 2z-periodic solution. I] we assume also
that J~(t, u) is even in u, then there exist in/initely many pairs of 27c-periodic solutions
o! (3.2).

RE~ARK 3.7. -- Let us recall t h a t the existence of a nontrivial periodic solution

of (3.2) has been proved for superquadratic, autonomous Hamiltonians in [1, 9,
9, 18, 19]. Hamiltonians with at most quadratic growth at infinity have been
considered in [2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 15, 16].
In [17 16] the existence of Hamiltonian trajectories with fixed minimal period T
is proved. Moreover, if J~ is asymptotically quadratic, the existence of multiple
periodic solutions of (3.2) has been proved under the assumption t h a t Je is even [5]
or JC ~utonomous [8].
Lastly we observe t h a t for the Hamiltonian system (3.2) the Kernel of the linear
part is finite dimensional; then the direct methods developed in [8] can also be used
to get multiplicity results for nonautonomous, even, superquadratic Hamiltonians.

PROOF OF THEOREM 3.6. -- We shall apply theorem 1.1.

We want to find a n Hilbert space H and a continuous self-adjoint operator L
on H such t h a t
2z
VU, V ~ Cc~ 1, R 2n) , (.LuiV)H : --f(~lv) dt
o

where C=(S ~, R 2~) is the space of the 2~-periodic 2n-tuples of C~ functions and
(. ] . ) . denotes the inner product in H.
A direct computation shows t h a t
2~
Vu, jez, k - - 1 , ..., 2n .
0

Here u,:~ vr denote the coefficients of u and v with respect to the orthonormal
basis {~k} in L~(SI~ R ~'~) defined in (A.9) of Appendix 1.
We set

(ulv).= §
 VIEI~I BE~CI - DONATO FOI~TU:NATO: The dual method in vritieal, etc. 231

Let L be the self-adjoint, continuous operator in H defined by

(Lu[v), = ~,ju~kv~k, u, v ~ H .

We set
2~

X ~- Z~(8 ~, R ~") , ~,(u) = f ~(t, ~(t)) a t , u ~X

0

By (JC)~ y~e C~(X, R) and it is easily seen t h a t overy solution of the equation

u ~ 1t n X , Lu A(u) (A = ~p')

is a 2~-periodic solution of (3.3).

Using the same arguments of Theorem 3.1 by (JEh, (Je)~, (J~)3 A satisfies the
set of assumptions (A) (cf. section 1).
I t is easily verified t h a t

~ ; , = w,,(1 § IJl) -~ , j ~ w, k = 1, ..., 2 n

is an orthonormal basis in H. Moreover wjk are eigenfunctions of Z corresponding

to the eigenvalues

;~J - ~ +i Jil' jez

Observe t h a t each ~j has multiplicity 2n and Ker L = R ~'.

Obviously 0 is an isolated point in the spectrum of L. So assumption (L) (2)
of theorem 1.1 is satisfied.
Let us show t h a t also assumption (H) (2) is satisfied. To this end we prove t h a t

(3.5) H ~ X compactly.

We set

(3.5) H = Ho | H ~ , Ho = Ker Z .

Since Ho is finite dimensional

(3.6) Ho ~-> X compactly.

Consider now u e H~, then

(3.7) rJ~lFi= z (1 § Ijl)i~12>const flull.~(~,,.,.)

J:~0,k

where H89 1, R ~.) is defined in (A.11) of the Appendix 1.

232 VIEI~I B E ~ C I - DONATO FORTU~ATO: The dual method in critical, etc.

:Now H89 ~, R"-) is compactly embedded into X (cf. (A.3) in appendix 1), then
by (3.7) we deduce t h a t

(3.8) Ho~ ~-> X compactly.

Therefore (3.4) is a consequence of (3.5), (3.6), (3.8).

Finally it is easy to see t h a t also (H) (1) is satisfied.
Therefore, applying theorem 1.1, we get the conclusion. Q.E.D.

4. - Periodic solutions for the nonlinear wave equation relative to the Laplace-Beltrami
operator~on the n-dimensional sphere.

In this section we shall apply theorem !.1 to study problem (0.2) (cf. Introduction).
The following theorem holds:

TIrEORE~ 4.1. - Suppose that g (or -- g) satisfies gl), g~), g3) with p ~ ]2, 2 -~ 2/n[
and that g is odd in s. Then, if n is even, for every ~ ~ R problem (0.2) has infinitely
many pairs (u ,-- u) of solutions. I] n is odd and ,~ ---- ( ( n - - 1)/2) 2, then the same
result holds.

REMARK 4.2. -- If g is not odd, by the proof of theorem 4.1, we easily deduce the
existence of at least one nontrivial solution of equation (0.2).
We shall set

2,~----l(l-}-n--l)--j2, feN, jeZ,

A ={(1,~)~NxZll<(n--1) 2 and ]ji<(n--a)~d-~-~-~-}

Ao = {(I, j) ~ NxZIIjI = ~ § ~ - } .

Observe that, if n is even, Ao = O; and if n is odd Ao is infinite.

The following lemma holds:

L~A 4.3. - I f (l, j) ~ A w Ao then

(4:.2) IMI>89 H- l).

P~ooF. - If lJ I < 1 then

M = (z + ljl)(l- lJl) H- l(n -- 1) > l -I- IJl.

 V~I BENcI - D o r A d o FOR~U~A~O: The duai method in eritieai, etc.

L e t us n o w a s s u m e

(4.3) lJl=~§ keN.

Then

(4.4) ~zJ = (n -- 1 -- 2k)l -- k S .

Since (l, j ) ~ A o , n - - 1 - 2k is different f r o m zero.

S u p p o s e first t h a t

(4.5) n-- 1--2k > 0.

Then, since (l, j ) ~ A, we h a v e

(4:.6) 1 > (n -- 1) 2 .

B y (4.4), (4.5), (4.6) we d e d u c e t h a t

2 2 1 2
(~-1)= k~>2 ~ = 2 ~ l(z_+_lil )
3 5z+~ ~ > ~+~=~ 9

Suppose now

(4.7) n - - 1 - - 2k < 0 .

T h e n b y (4.4)

I~,J[>~ + k~>~z + 89 + k) = ~(~ + tJ[) Q.e.D..

!~ow we set M = S ' • 1 and

l,i,m

where u~jm are t h e ~ o u r i e r c o m p o n e n t s of u with respect t h e o r t h o n o r m a l basis in

Z~(M) defined in (A.8) (cf. A p p e n d i x 1).
H is a n H i l b e r t space w i t h t h e inner p r o d u c t

(~1~). = ~ (~ + 1;~,,+ ,~1)~..,~,,.. 9

l,J,m
234 VIERI BENCI - DONATO FOI~TUNA~:0: The dual method in critical, etc.

Moreover, if n is odd, we set

(4.8) W-----span {~b~s.~[(l, j ) ~ Ao} (the closure is taken in H ) .

The following lemma holds.

LJ~)BIA 4.~. - Suppose p < 2 -5 2/,2. I] n is even H is compactly embedded into

L~(M). I] n is odd W a is compactly embedded into L~(M).

P~oo~. - We carry out the proof of the two eases togheter, setting, for n even,
W ~ = H.
First we shall prove t h a t

(4.9) W• r H~(~)/) continuously.

Where H i ( M ) is the fractional order Sobolev space defined in Appendix 1. We

set

(4.1o) W• 1 7 4

where

r~ = s p a n {r j) e A } c ~ W • ,

V2 -- span {q~,~ I(1, ~) ~ A, ]A,jI< 2 IZt} r] W • ,

V8 = span {09,j~ ](1, ~) 6 A, ]A,j[> 2 IA]} v~ W ~ .

The elosures are taken in H.

Vx is finite-dimensional since A is finite, then

(4.11) V~ ~ H 89 continously.

Also V~ is finite-dimensional. I n fact by lemma 4.3 we have

((l,j) ~ A , 12,,i < 212~1) ~ (89 + IJl) < 2tXt)

and the last inequality holds only for a finite number of indices l, j.
So we conclude t h a t also

(4.12) V2 ~-> H89 continuously.

 VIERI BENCI - DONAmO FOI~TU~AmO: The dual method in critical, etc. 235

Finally consider u e Va then

(4.13)
lfi,m

> Z ( l + I,h~l- t~l)lu,~P>

l,j,m

> ~ (1 + ~ la.I)lu,;~?,

Since (l, j ) ~ A , by lemma 4.3 we have

(4.14) 89[,tz~[>-~ ([/[ § [J]).

Then by (4.13), (4.14) and the definition of H89 (cf. Appendix 1), we have

(4.15) 113 ~->H89 continuously.

So by (4.10), (4.11), (4.12), (4.15) we deduce that (4.9) holds.

Now p ~ 2 § 2/n and M is an n § 1 dimensional manifold. Then, by (A.3)
of the Appendix, we have

(4.16) H i ( M ) ~ L~(M) compactly.

Therefore by (4.9) we deduce that also the embedding

W • :-->L~'(M), p ~ ]2, 2 § 2In[

is compact. Q.E.D.
We are now ready to prove theorem 4.1.

PI~OOF OF Tm~O~E~ 4.1. By (A.3) of Appendix 1 l(l § n - - 1 ) (l ~ 0, 1, ...) are

the eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator in Z~(S"). Then

Au § ,tu)v dz =- y_, (,h~ § ~)u~,~v~..,

l,~,m
M
I : O, 1, ... ; j ~ Z; m = 1, 2, ..., .Y(1, n ) ,

where IY(/, n) is defined in (A.5) of Appendix 1.

Now we define the continuous self-adjoint operator L in H by

l,j,m
236 VIE~i BE~cI - DO~ATO FOR~U~A~O: The dual method in critical, etc.

and set

X = L~(~/), W(u) =fG(x,t, u(x,t)) d~, u eX

2/s
where
8

G(x, t, s) =fg(x, t, T) d~ .
0

Obviously F ~ C~(X, R) and every u ~ H ~ X which satisfies the equation

Lu=A(u) (A=T')

is ~ solution of problem (0.2).

_Now we shall verify t h a t the assumptions of Theorem 1.1 are satisfied.
B y gl), ...~ g3) A satisfies the set of assumptions (A).
~ o w it is easily verified t h a t the spectrum a(L) of L consists of the eigenvalues

(4.17) ~*~--l+]2~j+~/' t=0,1,...; ieZ.

T h e a 0 is in the resolvent of L or it is an isolated eigenvalue. So also assump-

tion (L) (2) is satisfied.
~ o w we set

H He ~ H ~ , H0 = Ker L .

If n is even the assumption (H) (2) is a consequence of the first part of lemma 1.4.
_Now suppose n odd and /%= ( ( n - - 1 ) / 2 ) 2. Then

(~= o) . ~ (
z(l + n - l ) - j ~ - ~=~ ((l, j) e A o ) .

Hence (el. (4.8)) we have

H0= W.

Therefore, b y 1emma 4.4, assumption ( H ) ( 2 ) is satisfied. I t is easy to verify

t h a t also assumption (H) (1) is satisfied.
So the conclusion easily follows b y applying Theorem 1.1. Q.E.D.

Appendix 1.
L e t M be a smooth, b o u n d e d n-dimensional Riemannian manifold without
boundary. I n this Appendix we recall the definition of Sobolev space on M and
some spectral properties of the Laplace-]~eltrami operator in L~(M).
 u BENCI - ])ONATO FORTUNATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 237

Hx(M) denotes the closure of C~(M) in the norm

(A.I) (f (lVu, + [ui ) 89

M

In terms of local coordinates we have

i,
Ta

where T~ are local charts, g~J is the metric tensor and g = det (g~') (cf. e.g. [24]).
Let us now recall the definition of the Laplace-Beltrami operator in L2(M). Con-
sider the bilinear form

a(u, v) =f(VulVv) d~ , u, v ~ D(a) = Hi(M)

M

where, in local coordinates

Since D(a) = Hi(M) is an Hilbert space and a(.,. ) is nonnegative and symmetric~
there exists [23, ch. VI] a unique self-adjoint operator d in L2(M) with domain
D(A) c Hi(M) such t h a t

(- Aulv)~,<~)= a(u, v), Vu, v e D(A), Vv ~ Hi(M)

where (. I')L,(m denotes the inner produc in L2(M).

The operator A is called the Laplace-Beltrami operator in L~(M).
If u E C~ the Laplace-Beltrami operator has the usual form

t ,i = l ~g/~] ~ i ( ~V/ g g -~-~j) "

Since M is bounded, Hi(M) is compactly embedded into L~(M), then the spec-
t r u m 0(--A) of A is nonnegative and discrete.
We denote by

/to< ,uz'< ... < btk< ...

the eigenvalues of -- A and by P~ (j = 0, 1, ...) the projections on the corresponding

eigenspaces.

16 - Annali eli Mal~matica

238 V~ERI BE~CI - DO:NAT0 FOI~TUNATO: The dual method in critical, etc.

If a a R, the Sobolev space of fractional order :r is defined b y

~(M) = ~ e L~(M)] ~ (1 + ~j) ~ I]P~u]XL,(~)< + co

J=0

Ha(M), equippe4 with the inner product

i=0

is an Hilbert space.
L e t us recall t h a t

(A.3) the embedding H~(M)~-> Z~(M) is compact if lip > 8 9 ~/n.

I n the study of equation (0.2) (cf. section 4) we need to know the spectrum of
the Laplace-Beltrami operator in L~(M) when M - - - - S " • S ~.
If M is the n-dimensionM sphere S ", it is known [25] t h a t

(A.4) a(-- A) = {t(t + n - - 1)}, ze N

where N denotes the set of all integer, nonnegative numbers.

E a c h eigenvMue /~z = l(t q- n - 1) has multiplicity

(A.5) N(1, n) (21-ff n - - 1 ) ( l q - n - - 1 ) !

= (t + n - 1)~!(n- 1)! (o ! = 1, ;~(o, 1) = 1)

~nd the corresponding eigenfunctions are the spherical harmonics of degree l

(i.6) ~,~(x), m : ~, 2, ..., N(~, n ) .

I n p~rticular if M = S ~

~(-- A) = {Z~}, 1 e N, ;V(1, 1) = 2 if Z r 0

and to each eigenvMue #~ ~-- l ~ correspond the two eigenfunctions

exp [ilt ] , exp [-- ilt ] , i = V'~---X .

Obviously, if M = S~• S% we have

(A.7) a(-- A) = {l(l ~, n - - 1 ) -~ j2} , 1, j a N .

 ~VIE~I B ] ~ C I - D o r A d o FOR TU~ATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 239

The set of eigenfunctions

(A.8) ~b~j~ = 1/2x Y~(x) exp [ijt], l~ N, j ~ Z , m = l, 2,...,.N(l,n)

forms an o r t h o n o r m a l basis in L2(M)= L2(S")(~ L2(SI).

The fractional order Sobolev space H~(M, R ~) of functions valued in R ~ can be
defined in the same m a n n e r as before b y introducing the L a p l a e e - B e l t r a m i operator
d ~ in Z=(M, Rm).
I n order to s t u d y the periodic solutions of H a m i l t o n i a n systems of 2n ordinary
differential equations it is useful to analyse the ease M = S 1. I t can be verified
t h a t the s p e c t r u m of - - d ~ in L~(S ~, R 2n) i8 formed b y the numbers j~ (j e N) and
the corresponding eigenfunctions are

(A.9) %k = exp [jt3]r W-,~= exp [--jt3]r

where {r (k = 1, ..., 2n) is the s t a n d a r d basis in R =" and

(A.10) 3=
(o , I = i d e n t i t y m a t r i x in R ~ .

Then if a e R we h a v e

(A.11)
jeZ, k

where uj~ are the Fourier components of u with respect to the basis {~j~} (j e Z,
k = 1, ...~ 2n) defined in (A.9).
Until now we h a v e considered manifolds without boundary. I f M is a rieman-
nian manifold with smooth b o u n d a r y aM, the Laplace-Beltrami operator A in
Z2(M) and the fractional order Sobolev spaces on M can be defined as before
considering as point of d e p a r t u r e the closure H~(M) of C o ( M \ ~ M ) in the n o r m (A.1).
I n the s t u d y of problem (0.1) the manifold we are interested in is M = [0, ~] • S 1.
The s p e c t r u m o f - - A in L2(E0, a ] • 1) is

(A.12) {12 ~- j"}, 1e N\{0}, j e Z

and the set of the eigenfunctions is given b y

(A.~3) O~j = 1 s i n / x exp [ijt], l ~ N\{0}, j ~ Z.

240 VIERI BE~CI - DOZ.{To I~ORTU~ATO: The dual method in eritieal~ etc.

Appendix 2.

I n some applications (el. T h e o r e m 3.1 and r e m a r k 3.2) condition (H) (2) causes
some restrictions on the growth of the nonlinearity. H e r e we state a v a r i a n t of
T h e o r e m 1.1 in which a s s u m p t i o n (H) (2) is replaced b y another <~compactness ~>
condition.
W e preserve the notations introduced in section 1 and set

9 = {~ e ~ n x l ~ e x'}

we suppose t h a t D is dense b o t h in H and in X.

I n this case u e X is called weak solution of p r o b l e m (1.1) if

<z~, u> = <A(u), ~>, V~ e D .

The following T h e o r e m holds:

THEOI{E~ B.1. - Suppose that all the assumptions of Theorem 1.1 but (H)(2) are
satis]ied. Suppose moreover that

there exists a compact symmetric linear operator K: V -+ V' s.t. <Z% K ~ > -~
(H)(2') = <~, ~>, V~ ~ D, Vo e V

where V : ( H + A X ) ' O ( H nX)'.

Then if H+ =/={0} the problem (1.1) has at least one nontrivial weak solution. More-
over if A is odd, the problem (1.1) has at least dim H+ nontrivial weak solutions.

P R o o f . - Consider the functional / e CI(V, R) defined b y

l(v) = b(v) - - 8 9 Kv>

where b is the ~unctional defined in section 2 (cf. (2.3)).

L e t v ~ V be a critical point of ], t h e n there is uoe X0 s.t.

A-~(v) -- Kv : uo

then, if ~0 ~ D, we h a v e

<zp, A-~(v) -- Kv> = <Zp, uo>,

So~ if we set

v = A(u), ueX,
 VIER~ BENCI - DONATO FOI~TU~ATO: The dual method in critical, etc. 241

w e deduce that

(Zcf, u ) -~ ( Z % K A ( u ) ) .

T h e n b y (H) (2') w e h a v e

( z ~ , u ) = (A(u), ~ ) .

So w e c o n c l u d e t h u t u is ~ w e ~ k s o l u t i o n of p r o b l e m (1.1).
F i n u l l y w e eun g e t t h e e x i s t e n c e of t h e c r i t i c a l p o i n t s of ] b y t h e s a m e a r g u m e n t s
of t h e p r o o f of T h e o r e m 1.1. Q.E.D.

F r o m T h e o r e m B.1 w e e~n d e d u c e ~ v ~ r i ~ n t of T h e o r e m 3.1.

Tm~O~E~ B.2. - I] g(or - - g) satisfies g~), g~)~ g.) with 2 < p < ~ o% the problem
(0.1) has at least one nontrivial 2z-periodic weak solution. I] we assume also that
g(x, t, s) is odd in s, then there exist infinitely m a n y pairs of 2z~-periodie weak solu-
tions of problem (0.1).

P]~ooF. - E v e r y u s s u m p t i o n of T h e o r e m B.I~ b u t (H) (2'), bus b e e n v e r i f i e d i n

t h e p r o o f of T h e o r e m 3.1. T h e p r o o f of (H) (2') cun b e f o u n d in [10~ w 1]. Q.E.D.

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