Principal solutions of positive linear Hamiltonian systems

Abstract

AbstractThe Hamiltonian system Y′ = BY + CZ, Z′ = – AY – B*Z is considered where the coefficients are continuous on I = [a, ∞, C = C* ≧ 0, and A = A* ≦ 0. A solution (Y, Z) satisfying Y*Z = Z*Y is defined to be principal (coprincipal) provided that (i) Y−1 exists on I (Z−1 exists on I) and (ii) as t→∞ ( as t → ∞). Three conditions are given which are separtely equivalent to the condition that a solution is principal iff it is coprincipal. For a self-adjoint scalar operator L of order 2n, this problem is related to the deficiency index problem and to a problem of Anderson and Lazer (1970) which concerns the number of lnearly independent solutions of L (y) =0 satisfying y(k) ∈ (a, ∞) (k = 0, …, n).