The criteria of extremality for classical variational integrals depending on several functions of one independent variable and their derivatives of arbitrary orders for constrained, isoperimetrical, degenerate, degenerate constrained, and so on, cases are investigated by means of adapted Poincare-Cartan forms. Without ambitions on a noble generalizing theory, the main part of the article consists of simple illustrative examples within a somewhat naive point of view in order to obtain results resembling...

Continuing the previous Part I, the degenerate first order variational integrals depending on two functions of one independent variable are investigated.

We will deal with a new geometrical interpretation of the classical Legendre and Jacobi conditions: they are represented by the rate and the magnitude of rotation of certain linear subspaces of the tangent space around the tangents to the extremals. (The linear subspaces can be replaced by conical subsets of the tangent space.) This interpretation can be carried over to nondegenerate Lagrange problems but applies also to the degenerate variational integrals mentioned in the preceding Part II.

Variational integrals containing several functions of one independent variable subjected moreover to an underdetermined system of ordinary differential equations (the Lagrange problem) are investigated within a survey of examples. More systematical discussion of two crucial examples from Part I with help of the methods of Parts II and III is performed not excluding certain instructive subcases to manifest the significant role of generalized Poincaré-Cartan forms without undetermined multipliers....

Some sufficient conditions on the existence and multiplicity of solutions for the damped vibration problems with impulsive effects ⎧ u”(t) + g(t)u’(t) + f(t,u(t)) = 0, a.e. t ∈ [0,T ⎨ u(0) = u(T) = 0 ⎩ $\Delta u^{\text{'}}\left(t_j\right)=u^{\text{'}}(t{⁺}_j-u^{\text{'}}\left(t{¯}_j\right)=I_j\left(u\left(t_j\right)\right)$, j = 1,...,p, are established, where $t₀=0<t₁<\cdots <t_p<t_{p+1}=T$, g ∈ L¹(0,T;ℝ), f: [0,T] × ℝ → ℝ is continuous, and $I_j:ℝ\to ℝ$, j = 1,...,p, are continuous. The solutions are sought by means of the Lax-Milgram theorem and some critical point theorems. Finally, two examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of our results....

In this paper, a class of damped vibration problems with impulsive effects is considered. An existence result is obtained by using the variational method and the critical point theorem due to Brezis and Nirenberg. The obtained result is also valid and new for the corresponding second-order impulsive Hamiltonian system. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the result.

The purpose of this paper is to study the existence and multiplicity of a periodic solution for the non-autonomous second-order system $$\begin{array}{c}\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}t}\left(\right|\dot{u}\left(t\right){|}^{p-2}\dot{u}\left(t\right))=\nabla F(t,u\left(t\right)),\text{a.e.}t\in [0,T],\\ u\left(0\right)-u\left(T\right)=\dot{u}\left(0\right)-\dot{u}\left(T\right)=0,\\ \Delta {\dot{u}}^i\left(t_j\right)={\dot{u}}^i\left(t_j^{+}\right)-{\dot{u}}^i\left(t_j^{-}\right)=I_{ij}\left(u^i\left(t_j\right)\right),i=1,2,\cdots ,N;j=1,2,\cdots ,m.\end{array}$$ By using the least action principle and the saddle point theorem, some new existence theorems are obtained for second-order $p$-Laplacian systems with or without impulse under weak sublinear growth conditions, improving some existing results in the literature.