Existence Result for Difference Equations on Non-Uniform Grids via Upper and Lower Solution Method

TL;DR

This paper proves the existence of solutions for second-order difference equations on non-uniform grids with mixed boundary conditions using the upper and lower solution method, extending previous homogeneous boundary results.

Contribution

It extends the existence theory to non-uniform grids and non-homogeneous boundary conditions using a functional analytic approach and Brouwer's Fixed Point Theorem.

Findings

Established existence of solutions bounded between upper and lower functions.

Extended previous homogeneous boundary results to non-homogeneous cases.

Developed a decomposition strategy for boundary effects.

Abstract

This paper establishes an existence theory for discrete second-order boundary value problems on non-uniform time grids using the upper and lower solution method. We consider difference equations of the form $u^{\Delta\Delta}(t_{i-1}) + f(t_i, u(t_i), u^\Delta(t_{i-1})) = 0$ on a non-uniform time grid ${t_0, t_1, \ldots, t_{n+2}}$ with mixed boundary conditions $u^\Delta(t_0) = 0$ and $u(t_{n+2}) = g(t_{n+2})$. This extends previous work on homogeneous boundary conditions to the non-homogeneous case, requiring a sophisticated functional analytic framework to handle the resulting affine function spaces. Our approach employs a decomposition strategy that separates boundary effects from the differential structure, enabling the application of Brouwer's Fixed Point Theorem to establish existence with solutions bounded between upper and lower functions.