On the number of positive solutions to an indefinite parameter-dependent Neumann problem

Abstract

We study the second-order boundary value problem \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \, -u''=a_{λ,μ}(t) \, u^{2}(1-u), & t\in(0,1), \\ \, u'(0)=0, \quad u'(1)=0, \end{cases} \end{equation*} where $a_{\lambda ,\mu }$ is a step-wise indefinite weight function, precisely $a_{\lambda ,\mu }\equiv \lambda$ in $[0,\sigma ]\cup [1-\sigma ,1]$ and $a_{\lambda ,\mu }\equiv -\mu$ in $(\sigma ,1-\sigma )$, for some $\sigma \in \left(0,\frac{1}{2}\right)$, with $\lambda$ and $\mu$ positive real parameters. We investigate the topological structure of the set of positive solutions which lie in $(0,1)$ as $\lambda$ and $\mu$ vary. Depending on $\lambda$ and based on a phase-plane analysis and on time-mapping estimates, our findings lead to three different (from the topological point of view) global bifurcation diagrams of the solutions in terms of the parameter $\mu$. Finally, for the first time in the literature, a qualitative bifurcation diagram concerning the number of solutions in the $(\lambda ,\mu )$-plane is depicted. The analyzed Neumann problem has an application in the analysis of stationary solutions to reaction-diffusion equations in population genetics driven by migration and selection.

56 pages, 11 figures