An existence and uniqueness criterion for solutions of boundary value problems

AbstractIn this paper a technique is developed for the study of the existence and uniqueness of solutions to nth order ordinary differential equations satisfying n-point boundary conditions. Liapunov-like functions are employed to determine the existence and uniqueness of solutions to linear equations satisfying the boundary conditions, and these solutions are in turn used to determine existence for the general nonlinear case. A by-product of this technique is a matching technique for linear equations by which solutions of certain k-point boundary value problems (k < n) can be matched to extend the interval of existence for solutions to the n-point problem