Multiple solutions to a semilinear elliptic equation with a sharp change of sign in the nonlinearity

TL;DR

This paper studies a semilinear elliptic equation with a sign-changing coefficient, proving existence and multiplicity of solutions in various regimes, and introduces a simplified Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction method.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction approach for problems with sign-changing nonlinearities, demonstrating existence and multiplicity of solutions in different regimes.

Findings

Existence of concentrating positive and nodal solutions in the subcritical regime.

Multiplicity of positive solutions depending on the geometry of the domain.

Existence of blow-up solutions in the critical case for domains with nontrivial topology.

Abstract

We consider a nonautonomous semilinear elliptic problem where the power nonlinearity is multiplied by a discontinuous coefficient that equals one inside a bounded open set $\Omega$ and it equals minus one in its complement. In the slightly subcritical regime, we prove the existence of concentrating positive and nodal solutions. Moreover, depending on the geometry of $\Omega$, we establish multiplicity of positive solutions. Finally, in the critical case, we show the existence of a blow-up positive solution when $\Omega$ has nontrivial topology. Our proofs rely on a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction strategy which in these problems turns out to be remarkably simple. We take this opportunity to highlight certain aspects of the method that are often overlooked and present it in a more accessible and detailed manner for nonexperts.