Complex Variables and Elliptic Equations

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Positive solutions to superlinear semipositone

problems on the exterior of a ball

Anumol Joseph & Lakshmi Sankar

To cite this article: Anumol Joseph & Lakshmi Sankar (2022) Positive solutions to superlinear
semipositone problems on the exterior of a ball, Complex Variables and Elliptic Equations,
67:11, 2633-2645, DOI: 10.1080/17476933.2021.1939318

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17476933.2021.1939318

Published online: 16 Jun 2021.

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COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS
2022, VOL. 67, NO. 11, 2633–2645
https://doi.org/10.1080/17476933.2021.1939318

Positive solutions to superlinear semipositone problems on

the exterior of a ball
Anumol Joseph and Lakshmi Sankar
Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad, Kerala, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

We consider the problem Received 22 October 2020
Accepted 2 June 2021

−u = λK(x)f (u) in Bc1 , COMMUNICATED BY
u(x) = 0 on ∂B1 , J. Shi
u(x) → 0 as |x| → ∞,
KEYWORDS
where Bc1 = {x ∈ Rn : |x| > 1}, n > 2, λ is a positive parameter, K : Superlinear; semipositone;
exterior domains; semilinear
Bc1 → R+ belongs to a class of continuous functions which satisfy elliptic boundary value
certain decay assumptions, and f : [0, ∞) → R belongs to a class problems
of continuous functions which are superlinear at ∞ with f (0) < 0.
Recently, several authors have studied positive radial solutions to AMS SUBJECT
this problem assuming that the weight function is radial. We allow CLASSIFICATIONS
35J91; 35J25; 35J20
non-radial weights and study the existence and non-existence of
positive solutions. We prove the existence of a positive solution for
small values of λ using variational methods. A non-existence result is
established for large values of λ.

1. Introduction
We consider the problem
⎧
⎨−u = λK(x)f (u) in Bc1 ,
u(x) = 0 on ∂B1 , (1)
⎩
u(x) → 0 as |x| → ∞,

where Bc1 = {x ∈ Rn : |x| > 1}, n > 2, λ is a positive parameter, and K : Bc1 → R+ , f :
[0, ∞) → R belong to a class of continuous functions with f (0) < 0.
Problems of the form (1) with the reaction term satisfying f (0) < 0 are referred to
as semipositone problems in the literature. Semipositone problems have been studied by
several authors with various reaction terms. See [1–6] for some existence results for semi-
positone problems on exterior domains. In [1,2,4,6], it is further assumed that K is a radial
function. Assuming that the solution is radial, the authors apply Kelvin transformation
and reduce (1) to a two-point boundary value problem. We are interested in the study of
positive solutions to (1) while allowing a larger class of weight functions K which are not

CONTACT Lakshmi Sankar lakshmi@iitpkd.ac.in

© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

2634 A. JOSEPH AND L. SANKAR

necessarily radial. When K is not radial, Kelvin transformation cannot be applied and we
must study (1) in its original setting. We note that in [3,5], semipositone problems with
such weight functions were considered. The reaction terms in [3,5] were assumed to be
sublinear or asymptotically linear. Superlinear reaction terms were considered recently in
[1,2,4] but as remarked earlier the weight functions were assumed to be radial and only
radial solutions were studied. See also [7,8] for the existence of positive radial solutions
for superlinear semipositone p-Laplacian problems. We refer the reader to [9–11] for exis-
tence results for superlinear semipositone problems on Rn and general bounded domains.
In this paper, we study (1) when f has a superlinear growth at ∞.
Our assumptions on f and K are stated below. We assume that K, f are Hölder contin-
uous functions. We define f (t) = f (0) for t < 0, and rewrite f as, f (t) = g(t) + f (0). Note
that g(t) = 0 for all t ≤ 0. We also assume:

(H1) There exists β > 0 such that f (β) = 0, f (x) < 0 for all x < β and f (x) > 0 for all
x > β.
(H2) g(t) ≥ 0 for all t ≥ 0.
(H3) There exist A, B > 0, and 1 < s < n+2
n−2 such that At ≤ g(t)≤ Bt for all t.
s s
t
(H4) For μ = s + 1, μF1 (t) ≤ tg(t) for all t ≥ 0, where F1 (t) = 0 g(ξ ) dξ .
(H5) There exist C > 0 and γ > n such that K(x) ≤ |x|Cγ for |x| large.

Remark 1.1: (1) An example of a function f : [0, ∞) → R satisfying our assumptions

(H1)–(H4) is given by f (t) = t s − 1, 1 < s < n+2 n−2 . We note that the subcritical
growth condition was not needed in the study of radial solutions discussed in [1,2,4]
and hence it is reasonable to expect the results in this paper to hold without this
subcritical condition, which is an open problem.
(2) From assumption (H4), it follows that there exist constants a1 , a2 > 0 such that
F1 (t) ≥ t μ a1 − a2 . This implies that f has a superlinear growth at ∞.
(3) Let σ (x) = 1+|x|1 −1
2 and Lσ −1 (B1 ) denote the weighted L space with weight σ
2 c 2

defined by L2σ −1 (Bc1 ) = {u : Bc1 → R : Bc u2 σ −1 < ∞}. From (H5), it follows that
1
K ∈ L2σ −1 (Bc1 ) ∩ Lp0 (Bc1 ) ∩ L∞ (Bc1 ), where p0 = 2n
2n−(s+1)(n−2) .

We state our main result below.

Theorem 1.2: Let K : Bc1 → R+ , f : [0, ∞) → R be Hölder continuous functions. Assume

that f satisfy (H1)–(H4) and K satisfies (H5). Then, there exists a λ̄ > 0 and 0 < α < 1 such
1,α c
that for λ ≤ λ̄, (1) has a positive solution u ∈ C2 (Bc1 ) ∩ Cloc (B1 ).

Remark 1.3: (1) Theorem 1.2 holds when the domain Bc1 is replaced by BcR = {x ∈
R : |x| > R} for any R > 1.
n

(2) We note that λ̄ depends on the functions f and K, in particular on the values of s,γ
and f (0).

We also prove that (1) has no positive solution when the parameter λ is large. In [1], the
authors prove the non-existence of positive radial solutions to such superlinear semiposi-
tone problems with radial weights on the exterior of a ball. One may also refer [12,13] for
related non-existence results on bounded domains. Below, we state our result.
 COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS 2635

Theorem 1.4: Let K : Bc1 → R+ be a continuous function, f ∈ C1 [0, ∞) satisfy (H1) and
f (s)
lims→∞ s = ∞. Then there exists λ̃ > 0 such that for λ ≥ λ̃, (1) has no positive solution
in C2 (Bc1 ).

Remark 1.5: (1) Theorem 1.4 holds even if we remove the condition u(x) → 0 as
|x| → ∞ from (1).
f (s)
(2) Theorem 1.4 holds even when lims→∞ s = m > 0. This generalizes the non-
existence result in [5] in which the authors proved the non-existence of a positive
radial solution to (1) when f has an asymptotically linear growth and the weight
function is radial.
(3) Theorem 1.4 holds when Bc1 is replaced by c where is a bounded, simply
connected open subset of Rn with smooth boundary and c = Rn \ ¯ .
(4) We note that λ̃ depends on the functions f and K, in particular on the value of β.

We employ variational methods to prove the existence of a solution. The existence of

a critical point of a suitable functional is proved using the well-known Mountain Pass
Lemma. Further, by analyzing the properties of the solution we show that the solution is
positive. Non-existence result is proved by studying qualitative properties of possible solu-
tions. In Section 2, we discuss some preliminary results. Proofs of Theorems 1.2 and 1.4
are provided in the subsequent sections.

2. Preliminary results
We first define our notion of a weak solution. Let Cc∞ (Bc1 ) denote the space of all com-
pactly supported smooth functions on Bc1 and let E = D01,2 (Bc1 ) be the Beppo-Levi space,
which is the completion of Cc∞ (Bc1 ) with respect to ∇ · 2 . We will denote ∇ · 2 by  · E
throughout the paper. We call u ∈ E a weak solution to (1), if u satisfies
 
∇u · ∇v = λ K(x)f (u)v, for all v ∈ E.
Bc1 Bc1

We recall some important properties of E, which will be used throughout.

Lemma 2.1 (See [14, Hardy’s Inequality]): For φ ∈ E, there exists a constant C > 0 such
that
φL2σ (Bc1 ) ≤ CφE .

Lemma 2.2 (See [15, Sobolev’s Inequality]): For φ ∈ E, there exists a constant C > 0 such
that
φ 2n ≤ CφE .
L n−2 (Bc1 )

We now recall the Mountain Pass Lemma.

Lemma 2.3 (See [16, Mountain Pass Lemma]): Let E be a real Banach space and J ∈
C1 (E, R) satisfies the Palais–Smale condition (PS). Suppose also that
2636 A. JOSEPH AND L. SANKAR

(a) J(0) = 0,
(b) there exist constants ρ, α > 0 such that J(v) ≥ α for all v ∈ E with vE = ρ,
(c) there exists an e ∈ E with eE > ρ such that J(e) ≤ 0.

Then J possesses a critical value c ≥ α, which can be characterized as

c = inf max J(γ (t)),
γ ∈ t∈[0,1]

where
= {γ ∈ C([0, 1], E) : γ (0) = 0, γ (1) = v}.
We note that C, C1 , C2 , . . . denote generic positive constants throughout the paper.

3. Proof of Theorem 1.2

Let the linear functional J : E → R be defined as J(u) = 12 u2E − λG(u), where G : E →
R is the functional G(u) = Bc F(u)K(x) dx, and F(u) = 0u f (t) dt.
1

Lemma 3.1: The linear functional J defined above satisfies the following:

(a) J is well defined. 

(b) J (u) : E → R is given by J (u)(φ) = Bc ∇u · ∇φ − λG (u)(φ), where G (u)(φ) =
 1
c
B1 K(x)f (u)φ for all u, φ ∈ E.
(c) J : E → E is continuous.
(d) G : E → E is compact.

Proof of (a). By using (H3), Hölder’s inequality and Sobolev’s inequality,


B
|G(u)| ≤ K(x)[|f (0)||u| + |u|s+1 ]
c
B1 s + 1
≤ |f (0)|KL2 (Bc1 ) uL2σ (Bc1 ) + C1 KLp0 (Bc1 ) us+1
E .
σ −1

Hence, it follows that J is well defined.

Proof of (b). With slight modifications, proof of (b) follows from [16].
Proof of (c). Let um be a sequence in E such that um → u in E. Let r > 1 and B(0, r)
denotes the open ball in Rn with center 0 and radius r. Then

G (um ) − G (u) ≤ sup K(x)|f (um ) − f (u)||φ|
φE ≤1 B(0,r)c

+ sup K(x)|f (um ) − f (u)||φ|.
φE ≤1 Bc1 ∩B(0,r)

Using Hölder’s inequality, Hardy’s inequality and Sobolev’s inequality,


K(x)|f (um ) − f (u)||φ| ≤ C2 [KLp0 (B(0,r)c ) um s 2n
B(0,r)c L n−2 (B(0,r)c )
s
+ KLp0 (B(0,r)c ) u 2n + KL2 (B(0,r)c ) ]φE . (2)
L n−2 (B(0,r)c ) σ −1
 COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS 2637

Also by applying Hölder’s inequality,


K(x)|f (um ) − f (u)||φ| ≤ K(f (um ) − f (u)) 2n φ 2n .
Bc1 ∩B(0,r) L n+2 (Bc1 ∩B(0,r)) L n−2 (Bc1 ∩B(0,r))
(3)
From (2) and (3), it follows that G is continuous.
Proof of (d). Let r > 1 and um be a bounded sequence in E. Consider the
sequence um |Bc1 ∩B(0,r) in H 1 (Bc1 ∩ B(0, r)). Since H 1 (Bc1 ∩ B(0, r)) is compactly embed-
ded in Ls+1 (Bc1 ∩ B(0, r)), um |Bc1 ∩B(0,r) has a subsequence umk |Bc1 ∩B(0,r) which converges
 (B1 ∩ B(0, r)). Similar estimates to those in the proof of (c) shows that
to u in Ls+1 c

supφE ≤1 B(0,r)c K(x)|f (umk ) − f (u)||φ| → 0 as k → ∞. Also,


sup K(x)|f (umk ) − f (u)||φ| ≤ C3 K(f (umk ) − f (u)) s+1 . (4)
φE ≤1 Bc1 ∩B(0,r)
s c L (B1 ∩B(0,r))

We have |K(x)f (t)| ≤ C4 + C5 |t|s for all x ∈ Bc1 , t ∈ R. Let α = s+1

s . Since the Nemyt-
skii operator is continuous from Lαs (Bc1 ∩ B(0, r)) to Lα (Bc1 ∩ B(0, r)), it follows from
equation (4) that supφE ≤1 Bc ∩B(0,r) K(x)|f (umk ) − f (u)||φ| → 0 as k → ∞. Hence, G
1
is compact. 
Now, we prove the existence of a solution using the Mountain Pass Lemma. First, we
verify the (PS) condition for the functional J. Let um be a sequence in E such that J(um )
is bounded and J (um ) → 0. We must show that um has a convergent subsequence in E.
We will first show that um is bounded. Since um = u+ − + −
m − um , and um and um are in E, it is
+ −
enough to show that both um and um are bounded sequences in E. Consider
 
J (um )(u−
m ) = ∇u m · ∇u −
m − λ K(x)f (um )u−
m
Bc1 Bc1
 
=− ∇u− −
m · ∇um − λ K(x)f (0)u−
m
Bc1 Bc1

= −u− 2
m E + λ|f (0)| K(x)u−
m.
Bc1

Rearranging the terms,

u− 2 −
m E ≤ |J (um )(um )| + λ|f (0)|KL2 u−
m E . (5)
σ −1 (Bc1 )

From (5), it follows that u− m is bounded. Since J(um ) is bounded, there exists a constant
C6 > 0 such that
 
1
um 2E − λ K(x)F1 (um ) − λ K(x)f (0)um ≤ C6 . (6)
2 Bc1 Bc1

Since u−
m is bounded
 
K(x)f (0)um ≤ K(x)|f (0)|u−
m ≤ C7 . (7)
Bc1 Bc1
2638 A. JOSEPH AND L. SANKAR

We also have F1 (um ) ≤ F1 (u+ + 2

m ) and um E ≤ um E for every m. Substituting this and (7)
2

in Equation (6),

1 + 2
u  − λ K(x)F1 (u+
m ) ≤ C8 . (8)
2 m E c
B1
u+
By assumption (H4), −F1 (u+
m) ≥ −
+
μ g(um ). Applying
m
this in Equation (8),

1 + 2 λ
u  − K(x)u+ +
m g(um ) ≤ C8 . (9)
2 m E μ Bc1

Now consider
 
J (um )(u+ + 2
m ) = um E − λ K(x)g(u+ +
m )um − λ K(x)f (0)u+
m. (10)
Bc1 Bc1

Equations (9) and (10) together implies


1 + 2 1 + 1 + 2 λ
C8 ≥ um E + J (um )(um ) − um E + K(x)f (0)u+ m
2 μ μ μ Bc1

1 1 1 λ
≥ − u+ 2 +
m E + J (um )(um ) + C9 f (0)KL2 −1 (Bc1 ) um E . (11)
2 μ μ μ σ

Since μ > 2, it follows from Equation (11) that, u+

m is bounded and hence um is bounded.
Now, let D : E → E be the map defined by

Du(φ) = ∇u · ∇φ.
Bc1

D is a surjective linear isometry with D−1 J (u) = u − D−1 G (u) for any u ∈ E. Since G is
a compact map from E to E , G (um ) has a convergent subsequence say G (umk ) in E . The
sequence umk converges in E. Hence J satisfies the (PS) condition.
Next, we will verify the remaining conditions of the Mountain Pass Lemma. Clearly,
J(0) = 0. Let ρ = 1 and u ∈ E be such that uE = 1. We show that there exists α > 0
such that J(u) ≥ α. For this, we write J(u) as below.

1 2
J(u) = uE − λ K(x)[F1 (u) + f (0)u].
2 Bc1

Now,

B
K(x)F1 (u) ≤ KLp0 (Bc1 ) us+1 Lpo (Bc1 )
Bc1 s+1
≤ C10 KLp0 (Bc1 ) us+1
E
and 
K(x)f (0)u ≤ |f (0)|KL2 uL2 σ (Bc1 ) ≤ C11 KL2 uE .
σ −1 (B1 )
c
σ −1 (B1 )
c
Bc1
Hence
J(u) ≥ 12 u2E − C10 KLp0 (Bc1 ) us+1
E − λC11 KL2 uE
σ −1 (B1 )
c

1
= − λC10 KLp0 (Bc1 ) − λC11 KL2 . (12)
σ −1 (B1 )
c
2

We note from (24) that, there exists λ0 > 0 such that, if λ ≤ λ0 , J(u) > 12 .
 COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS 2639

To verify the third condition of the Mountain Pass Lemma, let w > 0 be in Cc∞ (Bc1 ), t > 0,
and consider

t2 2
J(tw) = wE − λ F(tw)K(x)
2 Bc1

t2
= w2E − λ [F1 (tw) + f (0)tw]K(x).
2 supp(w)

By Remark 1.1, there exist constants a1 , a2 > 0 such that F1 (t) ≥ t μ a1 − a2 . Hence,
  
t2 2 μ μ
J(tw) ≤ wE − λa1 t K(x)w + λa2 K(x) + λ|f (0)|t wK(x).
2 supp(w) supp(w) supp(w)
(13)
Since μ > 2, from equation (13), we observe that J(tw) → −∞ as t → ∞. We choose t
large enough so that J(tw) < 0. Hence, by Mountain Pass Lemma, J has a critical point
say u. Using Theorems 6.13, 8.24 and 8.25 of [17], we get u ∈ C2 (Bc1 ) ∩ C0 (Bc1 ) ∩ L∞ (Bc1 ).
1,α c
Using Theorem 1.11 of [18] (see also [19]), it also follows that, u ∈ Cloc (B1 ) and the
solution decays to 0 as |x| → ∞.
Next, we establish certain estimates in order to prove the positivity of the solution.
Lemma 3.2: Let u be the solution obtained using Mountain Pass Lemma. Then there exist
1 1
constants K1 , K2 > 0 and λ̄ > 0 such that when λ ≤ λ̄, K1 λ− s−1 ≤ uE ≤ K2 λ− s−1 .

Proof: We observe that


u2E = λ K(x)[g(u) + f (0)]u
Bc1

≤ λC1 [KLp0 (Bc1 ) us+1

E + KL2 (Bc1 ) uE ].
σ −1

Dividing by u2E and rearranging the terms, we get us−1 −1 − 1 ]. Since, J(u)
E ≥ C1 [λ uE
is bounded from below, uE is bounded from below. It follows that for λ > 0 sufficiently
−1
small, there exists K1 > 0 such that uE ≥ K1 λ s−1 . Now, let w ∈ Cc∞ (Bc1 ), and t > 1. Then

d d
(J(tw)) = tw2E − λ K(x)F(tw)
dt dt Bc1
 
2
= twE − λ K(x)g(tw)w − λ K(x)f (0)w
supp(w) supp(w)
 
μ
≤ tw2E − λ K(x) [t μ wμ a1 − a2 ] − λ K(x)f (0)w
supp(w) t supp(w)
 
1
≤ tw2E − λμa1 t s wμ + λμa2 K(x)
supp(w) supp(w) t

+ λ|f (0)| K(x)w
supp(w)
s
≤ ta − λt b + λc,
2640 A. JOSEPH AND L. SANKAR

−1
dJ
where a, b, c are constants. Let t be such that t ≥ C2 λ s−1 . Then, since s > 1, dt < 0 for λ
−1 −2
small enough. Using Equation (13), we conclude that J(tw) ≤ J(C2 λ s−1 w) ≤ C3 λ s−1 w2E .
−2
Choosing wE = 1, we get J(tw) ≤ C3 λ s−1 . By the characterization of Mountain Pass
critical point, it follows that
−2
J(u) ≤ C3 λ s−1 . (14)
Since J(u) ≥ 1
2 uE
2 − C4 [ μλ KLp0 (Bc1 ) us+1
E + λf (0)KL2 (Bc1 ) uE ], it follows that
σ −1
for λ > 0 sufficiently small
−2
J(u) ≥ 12 u2E − C4 λ s−1 . (15)
−1
Equations (14) and (15) together implies that there exists K2 > 0 such that uE ≤ K2 λ s−1 .

1
Lemma 3.3: Let S = {x ∈ Bc1 : u(x) ≥ λ− s−1 K(x)δ } where δ = n−2
2n−(s+1)(n−2) . Then there
exists a λ̄ > 0 and C > 0 such that |S| ≥ C for all λ ≤ λ̄.

Proof: From Lemma 3.2,

  
2
− s−1
K1 λ ≤ u2E =λ K(x)g(u)u + λ K(x)f (0)u + λ K(x)g(u)u
S S Bc1 \S

+λ K(x)f (0)u
Bc1 \S

≤ C1 [λKLp0 (S) us+1

E + λKL2 −1 (S) uE
σ
 
s+1 −1
s+1 − s−1 1+δ(s+1)
+ λ λ K(x) + λ λ s−1 K(x)1+δ ]
Bc1 \S Bc1 \S
−2 s−2 −2
≤ C2 [λ s−1 KLp0 (S) + λ s−1 KL2 +  s+1 λ s−1 KLp0 (Bc1 \S)
σ −1 (S)
s−2
+ λ s−1 KL1+δ (Bc1 \S) ].
−2
Dividing by λ s−1 , we get
s s
K1 ≤ C2 [KLp0 (S) + λ s−1 KL2 (S) +  s+1 KLp0 (Bc1 \S) + λ s−1 KL1+δ (Bc1 \S) ]. (16)
σ −1

We choose  > 0 and λ > 0 small enough so that KLp0 (S) ≥ C3 > 0. Hence there exists
a λ̄ > 0 and C > 0 such that |S| ≥ C for all λ ≤ λ̄. 

Let R > 2 be such that |S ∩ B(0, R)| > C1 > 0 and = Bc1 ∩ B(0, R). We first show that
u is strictly positive in . For x ∈ ∂B1 , let η(x) denote the inward unit normal at x and let
γ̃ > 0. We define
Nγ̃ (∂B1 ) = {x + β̃η(x) : β̃ ∈ [0, γ̃ ), x ∈ ∂B1 }.
Note that Nγ̃ (∂B1 ) is an open neighborhood of ∂B1 and |Nγ̃ (∂B1 )| → 0 as γ̃ → 0. We
choose γ̃ sufficiently small so that |Nγ̃ (∂B1 )| < C21 . Let K = (S ∩ B(0, R)) \ Nγ̃ (∂B1 ).
Then |K| > C21 > 0.
 COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS 2641

1 1 1
Let G(x, y) = n(n−2)α(n) [ |x−y|n−2 − |x|n−2 |y− x n−2
|
] be Green’s function associated with
|x|2
problem (1) where α(n) denotes the volume of B1 . Fix x0 ∈ K arbitrarily and let ξ0 ∈ ∂B1 .
By the boundary point lemma, there exists bξ0 > 0 such that ∂G
∂η (x0 , ξ0 ) ≥ bξ0 . Since K̃ ×
∂B1 is compact, there exist ˜ > 0 and b > 0 such that ∂G ∂η (x, ξ ) ≥ b for all x ∈ K and ξ ∈
N˜ (∂B1 ). It follows that there exists C2 > 0, such that G(x, ξ ) ≥ C2 d(ξ , ∂B1 ) for all x ∈ K
and ξ with d(ξ , ∂B1 ) < , ˜ where ξ → d(ξ , ∂B1 ) isthe distance function.
For x ∈ Bc1 , u(x) can be expressed as u(x) = Bc λK(y)f (u(y))G(x, y) dy. For ξ with
1
d(ξ , ∂B1 ) < ,˜
 
u(ξ ) = λK(y)f (u(y))G(ξ , y) dy + λK(y)f (u(y))G(ξ , y) dy
K Bc1 \K
 
≥ λC2 d(ξ , ∂B1 ) K(y)[g(u) + f (0)] dy + λf (0) K(y)G(ξ , y) dy
K Bc1 \K

≥ λC3 d(ξ , ∂B1 ) K(y)us dy + f (0)|K|KL∞ (Bc1 )
K

+ λf (0)K L∞ (Bc1 ) G(ξ , y) dy.
Bc1

Here, we note that e(x) = Bc G(x, y) dy is the solution to the problem −e(x) =
1

 = 0 on ∂B1 , e(x) → 0 as |x| → ∞, and hence there exists a constant C > 0

1 in Bc1 , e(x)
such that Bc G(ξ , y) dy ≤ Cd(ξ , ∂B1 ). Thus
1

−s
u(ξ ) ≥ λC4 d(ξ , ∂B1 )  s λ s−1 K(y)1+sδ + f (0)|K|KL∞ (Bc1 ) + f (0)KL∞ (Bc1 )
K
−1 s

≥λ s−1 C5 − C6 λ s−1 d(ξ , ∂B1 ).
−1
We choose λ > 0 small enough so that u(ξ ) ≥ C7 λ s−1 d(ξ , ∂B1 ) for all ξ with d(ξ , ∂B1 ) <
−1
˜ Using the continuity of u and the function ξ → d(ξ , ∂B1 ) u(ξ ) ≥ C7 λ
. ˜ s−1 for all ξ with
d(ξ , ∂B1 ) = ˜ .
We define

f (x), x ≥ β[resp. x < β],
f + (x)[resp. f − (x)] =
0, x < β[resp. x ≥ β],
where β > 0 is as in (H1). Then f = f + + f − , f + ≥ 0, f − ≤ 0. Let w, z, respectively, be
solutions of

−w(x) = λK(x)f + (u), in Bc1 ,
(17)
w(x) = 0, on ∂B1 ,

−z(x) = λK(x)f − (u), in Bc1 ,
z(x) = 0, on ∂B1 .
Then, u = w + z. For any x ∈

z(x) = λK(y)f − (u(y))G(x, y) dy
Bc1
2642 A. JOSEPH AND L. SANKAR


≥ λf (0)KL∞ (Bc1 ) G(x, y) d ≥ −M,
Bc1

where M = −λf (0)KL∞ (Bc1 ) maxx∈ Bc1 G(x, y) dy. Hence, −M ≤ z(x) ≤ 0 for all
x∈ . −1
We have w(x) = u(x) − z(x) ≥ C7 λ ˜ s−1 for all x with d(x, ∂B1 ) = ˜ . Restricting (17) to
−1
\ N˜ (∂B1 ) and applying maximum principle, w(x) ≥ C7 λ ˜ s−1 for all x ∈ \ N˜ (∂B1 ).
−1
Hence u(x) ≥ C7 λ ˜ s−1 − M for all x ∈ \ N˜ (∂B1 ). We choose λ > 0 small enough so
−1
that u(x) ≥ C8 λ s−1 for all x ∈ \ N˜ (∂B1 ). Thus u is positive in .
To prove the positivity of u outside , we use the following proposition.

Proposition 3.4: Let ũ be the non-negative solution of


−ũ = h in Bc1 ,
ũ = 0 on ∂B1 ,
C
where h ∈ L1loc (Bc1 ), h ≥ 0 and let r > 1. Then there exists C > 0 such that ũ(x) ≥ |x|n−2
for
|x| ≥ r.

Proof: Let s = min|x|=r ũ(x)(> 0) and k ∈ N be such that k > r. We define

s(kr)n−2 1 srn−2
u˜k (x) = − . (18)
kn−2 − rn−2 |x|n−2 kn−2 − rn−2
Note that u˜k is a radial solution to the problem
⎧
⎨−u˜k (x) = 0, r < |x| < k,
u˜ (x) = s, if |x| = r, (19)
⎩ k
u˜k (x) = 0, if |x| = k.
srn−2
Also note that v(x) = limk→∞ u˜k (x) = |x|n−2
is a radial solution to the problem

−v(x) = 0, in B(0, r)c ,
(20)
v(x) = s, on ∂B(0, r).

For each k, v(x) ≤ u˜k (x) for all x with r < |x| < k and by comparison principle, u˜k (x) ≤
ũ(x) for all x with r < |x| < k. Thus v(x) ≤ ũ(x) for all x with |x| ≥ r and the Proposition
follows. 

Now, let w > 0 be the solution of


−w(x) = −f (0)K(x), in Bc1 ,
(21)
w(x) = 0, on ∂B1 .

Then −(u + λw)(x) = λK(x)g(u) ≥ 0. By Proposition (3.4), there exists a constant

C1 > 0 such that
C1
(u + λw)(x) ≥ , (22)
|x|n−2
 COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS 2643

for all |x| ≥ R. By Theorem 3 of [20], there exists a constant C2 > 0 such that
C2
w(x) ≤ , for |x| ≥ R. (23)
|x|n−2
C3
Combining the two Equations (22) and (23), for small values of λ, u(x) ≥ |x|n−2
for all
|x| ≥ R. Hence there exists a λ̄ > 0 such that when λ ≤ λ̄, solution is positive in B1 .
c

4. Proof of theorem 1.4

Let u ∈ C2 (Bc1 ) be a positive solution to (1). Let ν = (ν1 , ν2 , . . . , νn ) be the outward unit
normal and z ∈ ∂B1 be arbitrarily fixed such that ν1 (z) > 0. For x ∈ Rn and θ ∈ (0, 1), let
(x−y)·ν
Kθ,x,ν be the cone with vertex at x defined by Kθ,x,ν = {y ∈ Rn : |x−y||ν| > θ }. Let B(z, r)
denote the open ball in Rn with center z and radius r. By following the arguments in Lemma
∂u
Q of [21], there exists  > 0 such that ∂x1
(x) < 0 for all x ∈ B(z, ) ∩ Bc1 . As a consequence
of this, we have the following result.

Proposition 4.1: There exists θ ∈ (0, 1) such that if u ∈ C2 (Bc1 ) is a positive solution to (1)
for some λ > 0 and x ∈ B(z, ) ∩ Bc1 then u(ξ ) ≤ u(x) for all ξ ∈ Kθ,x,ν ∩ B(z, ) ∩ Bc1 .

Lemma 4.2: Let B̃ ⊂ Bc1 ∩ B(z, ) be a ball. There exists a λ∗ > 0 such that if u ∈ C2 (Bc1 )
is a positive solution to (1) for λ ≥ λ∗ then u(x) > β for some x ∈ B̃.

Proof: Since f ∈ C1 [0, ∞), there exists a constant a > 0 such that f (s) ≤ a(s − β) for
all s ≤ β. Suppose u(x) ≤ β for all x ∈ B̃. Let w = u − β. Then w ≤ 0 in B̃ and there
exists a C > 0, independent of , such that −w = −(u − β) ≤ λCw. Let φ1 > 0 be the
eigenfunction corresponding to the first eigenvalue λ1 of the Dirichlet problem

−φ(x) = λφ(x), in B̃,
(24)
φ(x) = 0, on ∂ B̃.
∂φ1
By Theorem 2.4 of [22], ∂η < 0 on ∂ B̃ where η is the outward normal. We observe that
 
(wφ1 − wφ1 ) ≤ (λC − λ1 ) wφ1 .
B̃ B̃

By Green’s identity, we also have

 
∂φ1
(wφ1 − wφ1 ) = w > 0.
B̃ ∂ B̃ ∂η

Hence, we must have (λC − λ1 ) B̃ wφ1 > 0, which again implies that λC − λ1 < 0. Let
λ∗ = λC1 . Then, for λ ≥ λ∗ , we have a contradiction. 

Lemma 4.3: Let B ⊂ B(z, ) ∩ Bc1 be a ball such that d(∂B, ∂B1 ) > 0 where d(∂B, ∂B1 )
denotes the distance from ∂B to ∂B1 and let u be a positive solution to (1) for λ ≥ λ∗ . Then
u(x) > β for all x ∈ B.
2644 A. JOSEPH AND L. SANKAR

Proof: Suppose u(x) ≤ β for some x ∈ B. By Proposition 4.1, we get u(ξ ) ≤ u(x) ≤ β for
all ξ ∈ Kθ,x,ν ∩ B ∩ Bc1 which is a contradiction to Lemma 4.2. 

Now, we prove Theorem 1.4. Let u be a positive solution to (1) for λ ≥ λ∗ and v = u − β,
then v > 0 in B and v satisfies
⎧
⎨ f (u)
−v = λK(x) v, in B,
u−β (25)
⎩
v(x) ≥ 0, on ∂B.
Let φ1 be the eigenfunction corresponding to the first eigenvalue λ1 of the Dirichlet
problem

−φ(x) = λφ(x), in B
(26)
φ(x) = 0, on ∂B.
Multiplying equation (25) by φ1 , equation (29) by v and integrating,
 
f (u)
−vφ1 = λ K(x) vφ1 . (27)
B B u −β
 
−φ1 v = λ1 φ1 v. (28)
B B

Subtracting (31) from (30) and using Green’s identity,

  
f (u) ∂φ1
λ1 φ1 v = λ K(x) vφ1 − v
B B u−β ∂B ∂η

f (u)
≥ λ K(x) vφ1 .
B u −β
Hence of the Dirichlet problem

−φ(x) = λφ(x), in B,
(29)
φ(x) = 0, on ∂B.
Multiplying equation (25) by φ1 , Equation (29) by v and integrating,
 
f (u)
−vφ1 = λ K(x) vφ1 . (30)
B B u−β
 
−φ1 v = λ1 φ1 v. (31)
B B

Subtracting (31) from (30) and using Green’s identity,

  
f (u) ∂φ1
λ1 φ1 v = λ K(x) vφ1 − v
B B u−β ∂B ∂η

f (u)
≥ λ K(x) vφ1 .
B u −β
f (u) f (u)
Hence 0 ≤ K(x) u−β ≤ λλ1 for some x ∈ B. This is possible only when u−β → 0 as λ → ∞
which is a contradiction.
 COMPLEX VARIABLES AND ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS 2645

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This research was supported by the INSPIRE faculty award, awarded by the Department of Science
and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India (DST/INSPIRE/04/2014/002833).

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