1, we define u(k) < u(k) > αk = p+ if p− if βk = p+ if u(k) < p− if u(k) > 1, and for each k Î ℤ[0, T] , , (2:1) Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page of 14 (a) We deduce that T+1 T+1 u(k − 1) p(k−1) u(k − 1) ≥ k=1 αk−1 k=1 T+1 u(k − 1) ≥ p− k=1 u(k − 1) − p− − u(k − 1) p+ {k∈Z[1,T+1];αk−1 =p+ } T+1 u(k − 1) ≥ p− − C2 , k=1 for all u Î W with ||u|| > The inequality above and the relation (2.1) imply that T+1 u(k − 1) p(k−1) T+1 u(k − 1) ≥ C1 k=1 p− − C2 , k=1 for all u Ỵ W with ||u|| > Analogously, by using bk instead of ak, we prove that there exists C3 and C4 such that T u(k) p(k) p− T |u(k)|2 ≥ C3 k=1 − C4 , k=1 for all u Ỵ W with ||u|| > (b) We deduce as |Δu(k)| < and |u(k)| < since ||u|| < 1, that T+1 T+1 u(k − 1) p(k−1) u(k − 1) ≥ k=1 p+ k=1 and T T u(k) p(k) + ≥ k=1 |u(k)|p k=1 We then get according to the two inequalities above and relation (2.1) that there exist two positive constants C5 and C6 such that T+1 T+1 u(k − 1) p(k−1) u(k − 1) ≥ C5 k=1 k=1 and T u(k) k=1 p+ T p(k) |u(k)|2 ≥ C6 k=1 for all u Ỵ W such that ||u|| < □ , p+ Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page of 14 Existence and uniqueness of weak solution In this section, we study the existence and uniqueness of weak solution of (1.1) Definition 3.1 A weak solution of (1.1) is a function u Ỵ W such that T+1 T k=1 T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k) = a(k−1, u(k−1)) v(k−1)+ k=1 f (k)v(k), for any v ∈ W (3:1) k=1 Note that since W is a finite dimensional space, the weak solutions coincide with the classical solutions of problem (1.1) We have the following result Theorem 3.2 Assume that (1.5)-(1.9) hold Then, there exists a unique weak solution of (1.1) The energy functional corresponding to problem (1.1), J : W ® ℝ is defined by T+1 T A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) + J(u) = k=1 k=1 |u(k)|p(k) − p(k) T f (k)u(k) (3:2) k=1 We first establish some basic properties of J Proposition 3.3 The functional J is well defined on W and is of class C1(W, ℝ) with the derivative given by T+1 T a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) v(k − 1) + J (u), v = k=1 T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k) − k=1 f (k)v(k), (3:3) k=1 for all u, v Ỵ W We define for i = 1, , N the functionals I, Λ1, Λ2 ; W ® ℝ by T+1 A(k − 1, u(k − 1)), I(u) = k=1 T (u) = k=1 |u(k)|p(k) p(k) and T (u) = f (k)u(k) k=1 The proof of Proposition 3.3 is contained in the following Lemma 3.4 (i) The functionals I, Λ1 and Λ2 are well defined on W (ii) The functionals I, Λ1, and Λ2 are of class C1(W, ℝ) and T+1 a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) v(k − 1), I (u), v = (3:4) k=1 T (u), v |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k), = k=1 (3:5) Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page of 14 T (u), v = f (k)v(k), (3:6) k=1 for all u, v Ỵ W Proof T+1 (i) I(u) = A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) < +∞ since A(k, ) is continuous for all k Ỵ ℤ k=1 [0, T] For all k Ỵ ℤ[1, T], T (u) = k=1 1 |u(k)|p(k) ≤ p(k) p− T (|u(k)|p− + |u(k)|p+ ) < +∞ k=1 We also have by using Schwartz inequality that T (u) T f (k) u(k) ≤ f (k)u(k) ≤ = k=1 T k=1 f (k) k=1 T u(k) 2 < +∞ k=1 Then, I, Λ1, and Λ2 are well defined on W (ii) Clearly, I, Λ1 and Λ2 are in C1(W; ℝ) In what follows, we prove (3.4) and (3.5): choose u, v Î W We have lim+ δ→0 I(u + δv) − I(u) = lim+ δ→0 δ T+1 k=1 T+1 lim = k=1 δ→0+ A(k − 1, u(k − 1) + δ v(k − 1)) − A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) δ A(k − 1, u(k − 1) + δ v(k − 1)) − A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) δ T+1 a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) v(k − 1) = k=1 Note also that there exists ν Ỵ]0, 1[ such 1 (|u(k) + δϕ|p(k) − |u(k)|p(k) ) = |u(k) + νδϕ|p(k)−2 (u(k) + νδϕ)ϕ Then δ p(k) lim+ (u δ→0 + δv) − δ (u) T = lim+ δ→0 k=1 |u(k) + δv(k)|p(k) − |u(k)|p(k) p(k) δ T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k) = k=1 and lim+ δ→0 (u + δv) − δ (u) T = lim+ δ→0 k=1 f (k)(u(k) + δv(k)) − f (k)u(k) δ T f (k)v(k) = k=1 that Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page of 14 □ Lemma 3.5 The functional I is weakly lower semi-continuous Proof A is convex with respect to the second variable according to (1.6) Thus, it is enough to show that I is lower semi-continuous For this, we fix u Î W and ε > Since I is convex, we deduce that for any v Ỵ W I(v) ≥ I(u) + I (u), v − u T+1 ≥ I(u) + a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) v(k − 1) − u(k − 1) k=1 T+1 a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) ≥ I(u) − v(k − 1) − u(k − 1) k=1 T+1 a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) ≥ I(u) − T+1 v(k − 1) − k=1 T+1 a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) ≥ I(u) − + u(k − 1) 2 k=1 2 v−u k=1 ≥ I(u) − ε, for all v Ỵ W with ||v - u|| and we get from the above inequality, Lemma 2.1 and the fact that p- > (then x → x lowing: J(u) ≥ p+ T+1 ⎡ k=1 C ⎢ ≥ +⎢ p ⎣ ≥ T | u(k − 1)|p(k−1) + C u p+ p− 2 | u(k − 1)| k=1 p− is convex), the fol- T |u(k)|p(k) − k=1 T+1 p− f (k)u(k) k=1 p− T |u(k)| + k=1 ⎤ ⎥ −C⎥− ⎦ T f (k) k=1 2 T u(k) 2 k=1 − K1 u − K, where K and K1 are positive constants Hence, since p- > 1, J is coercive On the other hand, if ||u|| < 1, we get by (1.8), Lemma 2.1 and the fact that p+ > + (then x → x p2 is convex) the following: Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 ⎡ J(u) ≥ C ⎢ ⎣ p+ C u p+ ≥ −K1 ≥ Page of 14 p+ T+1 | u(k − 1)|2 |u(k)|2 + k=1 p+ p+ T ⎤ ⎥ ⎦ − K1 u k=1 − K1 u > −∞ Therefore, J is bounded from below As I is weakly lower semi-continuous, J is weakly lower semi-continuous □ We now give the proof of Theorem 3.2 Proof of Theorem 3.2 By Proposition 3.6, J has a minimizer which is a weak solution of (1.1) In order to complete the proof of Theorem 3.2, we will prove the uniqueness of the weak solution Let u1 and u2 be two weak solutions of problem (1.1), then we have T+1 T a(k−1, u1 (k−1)) (u1 −u2 )(k−1)+ k=1 T |u1 (k)|p(k) u1 (k)(u1 −u2 )(k) = f (k)(u1 −u2 )(k) (3:7) f (k)(u1 −u2 )(k) k=1 (3:8) k=1 and T+1 T a(k−1, u2 (k−1)) (u1 −u2 )(k−1)+ k=1 T |u2 (k)|p(k) u2 (k)(u1 −u2 )(k) = k=1 k=1 Adding (3.7) and (3.8), we obtain ⎧ T+1 ⎪ ⎪ a(k − 1, u1 (k − 1)) − a(k − 1, u2 (k − 1)) ⎨ k=1 ⎪ T ⎪+ ⎩ (u1 − u2 )(k − 1) (3:9) |u1 (k)|p(k) u1 (k) − |u2 (k)|p(k) u2 (k) (u1 − u2 )(k) = k=1 Using (1.7), we deduce from (3.9) that u1 (k − 1) = u2 (k − 1) for all k = 1, , T + and u1 (k) = u2 (k) for all k = 1, , T Therefore, T+1 u1 − u2 = T (u1 − u2 )(k − 1) k=1 (u1 − u2 )(k) + 2 = 0, k=1 which implies that u1 = u2 □ Some extensions 4.1 Extension In this section, we show that the existence result obtained for (1.1) can be extended to more general discrete boundary value problem of the form: Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page 10 of 14 − (a(k − 1, u(k − 1))) + |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k) = f (k, u(k)), u(0) = u(T) = 0, k ∈ Z[1, T] (4:1) where T ≥ is a positive integer and f : ℤ[1, T] × ℝ ® ℝ is a continuous function with respect to the second variable for all (k, z) ẻ [1, T] ì ℝ For every k Ỵ ℤ[1, T] and every t Î ℝ, we put F(k, t) = t f (k, τ )dτ By a weak solution of problem (4.1), we understand a function u Ỵ W such that T+1 T T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k) = a(k−1, u(k−1)) v(k−1)+ k=1 k=1 f (k, u(k))v(k), for any v ∈ W (4:2) k=1 We assume that there exist two positive constants C7 and C8 such that f (k, t) ≤ C7 + C8 |t|β−1 , for all (k, t) ∈ Z[1, T] × R, where < β < p− (4:3) We have the following result: Theorem 4.1 Under assumptions (1.6)-(1.9) and (4.3), the problem (4.1) has at least one weak solution T Proof Let g(u) = F(k, u(k)), then g’ : W ® W is completely continuous and thus, g k=1 is weakly lower semi-continuous Therefore, for u Ỵ W, T+1 T A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) + J(u) = k=1 k=1 |u(k)|p(k) − p(k) T F(k, u(k)) (4:4) k=1 is such that J Ỵ C1(W; ℝ) and is weakly lower semi-continuous On the other hand, for all u, v Ỵ W, we have lim+ δ→0 g(u + δv) − g(u) = lim+ δ→0 δ T k=1 T lim = k=1 δ→0+ F(k, u(k) + δv(k)) − F(k, u(k)) δ F(k, u(k) + δv(k)) − F(k, u(k)) δ T f (k, u(k))v(k) = k=1 Consequently, T+1 J (u), v = T k=1 T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k)− a(k−1, u(k−1)) v(k−1)+ k=1 f (k, u(k))v(k), k=1 for all u, v Ỵ W This implies that the weak solutions of problem (4.1) coincide with the critical points of J Next, we prove that J is bounded below and coercive complete the proof From (4.3), we deduce that |F(k, t)| ≤ C(1 + |t|b) and then for u Ỵ W such that ||u|| > 1, Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 J(u) ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ Page 11 of 14 T C u p+ p− C u p+ p− C u p+ p− − C1 − F(k, u(k)) k=1 T − C1 − C + u(k) β k=1 T − C1 − C T − C u(k) β k=1 T C u p+ p− C u p+ p− − C1 − C T − C u(k) β k=1 − C1 − C T − K u β Furthermore, by the fact that −∞ Hence, J is bounded below □ t Assume now that F+ (k, t) = f + (k, τ )dτ is such that there exist two positive con- stant C9 and C10 such that f + (k, t) ≤ C9 + C10 |t|β−1 , for all (k, t) ∈ Z[1, T] × R, where < β < p− (4:5) Then, we have the following result: Theorem 4.2 Under assumptions (1.6)-(1.9) and (4.5), problem (4.1) has at least one weak solution t Proof As f = f + - f - , letting F+ (k, t) = t f + (k, τ )dτ and F− (k, t) = f − (k, τ )dτ, we have T+1 T A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) + J(u) = k=1 k=1 T+1 T A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) + = k=1 k=1 T+1 T ≥ A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) + k=1 k=1 |u(k)|p(k) − p(k) |u(k)|p(k) − p(k) |u(k)|p(k) − p(k) T F(k, u(k)) k=1 T T F+ (k, u(k)) + k=1 F− (k, u(k)) k=1 T F+ (k, u(k)) k=1 Therefore, similar to the proof of Theorem 4.1, Theorem 4.2 follows immediately □ Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page 12 of 14 4.2 Extension In this section, we show that the existence result obtained for (1.1) can be extended to more general discrete boundary value problem of the form: − (a(k − 1, u(k − 1))) + |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k) + λ|u(k)|β u(0) = u(T) = 0, + −2 u(k) = f (k, u(k)), k ∈ Z[1, T] (4:6) where T ≥ is a positive integer, l Ỵ ℝ+ and f : [1, T]ì đ is a continuous function with respect to the second variable for all (k, z) Î ℤ[1, T] × ℝ t For every k Î ℤ[1, T] and every t Î ℝ, we put F(k, t) = f (k, τ )dτ By a weak solution of problem (4.1), we understand a function u Î W such that ⎧ T+1 ⎪ ⎪ a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) v(k − 1) + ⎨ k=1 ⎪ T ⎪= ⎩ T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k) + λ k=1 T |u(k)|β + −2 u(k)v(k) k=1 (4:7) f (k, u(k))v(k), for any v ∈ W k=1 We assume that there exist two positive constants C11 and C12 such that f (k, t) ≤ C11 + C12 |t|β(k)−1 , for all (k, t) ∈ Z[1, T] × R, where < β − < p− (4:8) We have the following result: Theorem 4.3 Under assumptions (1.6)-(1.9) and (4.8), there exist l* > such that for l Ỵ [l*, +∞[, the problem (4.6) has at least one weak solution T Proof Let g(u) = F(k, u(k)), then g’: W ® W is completely continuous and thus, g k=1 is weakly lower semi-continuous Therefore, for u Ỵ W T+1 T A(k − 1, u(k − 1)) + J(u) = k=1 k=1 λ |u(k)|p(k) + + p(k) β T T |u(k)|β − + k=1 F(k, u(k)) (4:9) k=1 is such that J Î C1(W; ℝ) and is weakly lower semi-continuous On the other hand, for all u, v Ỵ W, we have lim+ δ→0 g(u + δv) − g(u) = lim+ δ→0 δ T k=1 T lim+ = k=1 δ→0 F(k, u(k) + δv(k)) − F(k, u(k)) δ F(k, u(k) + δv(k)) − F(k, u(k)) δ T f (k, u(k))v(k) = k=1 Consequently, ⎧ T+1 ⎪ J (u), v = ⎪ a(k − 1, u(k − 1)) v(k − 1) + ⎨ ⎪ ⎪ +λ ⎩ k=1 T k=1 |u(k)| β + −2 u(k)v(k) − T |u(k)|p(k)−2 u(k)v(k) k=1 T f (k, u(k))v(k), k=1 for all u, v Ỵ W This implies that the weak solutions of problem (4.6) coincide with the critical points of J We then have to prove that J is bounded below and coercive complete the proof Guiro et al Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:32 http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/32 Page 13 of 14 From (4.8), we deduce that |F(k, t) ≤ C(1 + |t|b(k)-1) and then for u Ỵ W such that ||u|| > 1, J(u) ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ C u p+ p− C u p+ p− C u p+ C u p+ p− p− C u p+ p− C ≥ + u p p− ≥ + + + + λ β+ λ β+ λ β+ λ β+ +( T T |u(k)|β − C1 − + k=1 T F(k, u(k)) k=1 |u(k)|β − C1 − C T + k=1 + u(k) β(k) k=1 T T |u(k)|β − C1 − C T − C + k=1 u(k) β(k) k=1 T T |u(k)|β − C1 − C T − C + k=1 λ −C) β+ u(k) β− k=1 T |u(k)|β − C1 − C T − K u + T u(k) + β+ k=1 β− k=1 − C1 − C T − K u β− , where we put l* = C’b+ Furthermore, by the fact that