Existence and multiplicity of solutions for a

non-linear Schrödinger equation with non-local

regional diffusion

Claudianor O. Alves
Universidade Federal de Campina Grande
Unidade Acadêmica de Matemática
CEP: 58429-900 - Campina Grande - PB, Brazil
coalves@mat.ufcg.edu.br

César E. Torres Ledesma

Departamento de Matemáticas,
Universidad Nacional de Trujillo,
Av. Juan Pablo II s/n. Trujillo-Perú
ctl 576@yahoo.es

Abstract
In this article we are interested in the following non-linear Schrödinger
equation with non-local regional diffusion (−∆)αρϵ u + u = f (u) in Rn , where
ϵ > 0, 0 < α < 1, (−∆)αρϵ is a variational version of the regional Laplacian,
whose range of scope is a ball with radius ρϵ (x) = ρ(ϵx) > 0, where ρ is a
continuous function. We give general conditions on ρ and f which assure
the existence and multiplicity of solution for the cited problem.
MSC: 45G05, 35J60, 35B25

1 Introduction
The aim of this article is to study the non-linear Schrödinger equation with
non-local regional difussion

(−∆)αρϵ u + u = f (u) in Rn , u ∈ H α (Rn ), (Pϵ )

where ϵ > 0, 0 < α < 1, n ≥ 2 and f : R → R is a C 1 function. The

operator (−∆)αρϵ is a variational version of the non-local regional Lapla-
cian, with range of scope determined by function ρϵ (x) = ρ(ϵx), where
ρ ∈ C(Rn , (0, +∞)).

1
 As pointed out in [16], when studying the singularly perturbed equation
(see equation (1.3) below), the scope function ρ, that describes the size of
the ball of the influential region of the non-local operator, plays a key role
in deciding the concentration point of ground states of the equation. Even
though, at a first sight, the minimum point of ρ seems to be the concentration
point, there is a non-local effect that needs to be taken in account.
Recently, a great attention has been focused on the study of problems
involving the fractional Laplacian, from a pure mathematical point of view
as well as from concrete applications, since this operator naturally arises in
many different contexts, such as obstacle problems, financial mathematics,
phase transitions, anomalous diffusions, crystal dislocations, soft thin films,
semipermeable membranes, flame propagations, conservation laws, ultra-
relativistic limits of quantum mechanics, quasi-geostrophic flows, minimal
surfaces, materials science and water waves. The literature is too wide to
attempt a reasonable list of references here, so we refer the reader to the
work by Di Nezza, Palatucci and Valdinoci [11], where a more extensive
bibliography and an introduction to the subject are given.
In the context of fractional quantum mechanics, non-linear fractional
Schrödinger equation has been proposed by Laskin [26], [27] as a result of
expanding the Feynman path integral, from the Brownian-like to the Lévy-
like quantum mechanical paths. In the last 10 years, there has been a lot of
interest in the study of the fractional Schrödinger equation, see the works
in [6], [10], [12], [14] and [21]. In a recent paper Felmer, Quaas and Tan [14]
considered positive solutions of non-linear fractional Schrödinger equation

(−∆)α u + u = f (x, u) in Rn . (1.1)

They obtained the existence of a ground state by mountain pass argument

and a comparison method devised by Rabinowitz in [33] for α = 1. They
analyzed regularity, decay and symmetry properties of these solutions. At
this point it is worth mentioning that the uniqueness of the ground state of
(−∆)α u+u = up+1 in R for general α ∈ (0, 1), where 0 < p < 4α/(1−2α) for
α ∈ (0, 21 ) and 0 < p < ∞ for α ∈ [ 21 , 1), was proved by Frank and Lenzmann
in [17]. Recently, the result of [17] has been extended in any dimension when
α is sufficiently close to 1 by Fall and Valdinoci in [13] and later for general
α ∈ (0, 1) by Frank, Lenzmann and Silvestre in [18]. We also mention the
work by Cheng [10], where the fractional Schrödinger equation

(−∆)α u + V (x)u = up in Rn (1.2)

with unbounded potential V was studied. The existence of a ground state

2
of (1.2) is obtained by Lagrange multiplier method and the Nehari manifold
method is used to obtain standing waves with prescribed frequency.
On the other hand, research has been done in recent years regarding
regional fractional Laplacian, where the scope of the operator is restricted to
a variable region near each point. We note that the usual Laplaciain operator
may be thought as a macroscopic manifestation of the Brownian motion, as
known from the Fokker-Planck equation for a stochastic differential equation
with a Brownian motion, whereas the fractional Laplacian operator (−∆)α
is the generator of the symmetric 2α-stable of Lévy flights process (super-
diffusion). From the observations and experiments related to Lévy flights
[3, 30, 34], the fractional Laplacian described that a particle could have
infinite jumps in an arbitrary time interval with intensity proportional to
1
|x−y|N +2α
, but if the particle jumping is forced to restrict only from one
point x ∈ Ω ⊂ Rn to another point y ∈ Ω with the same intensity, then
the related process is called the censored stable process and its generator is
the regional fractional Laplacian defined in Ω, denoted by (−∆)αΩ , for more
details see the references [7, 8, 19, 20]. In physics, the reflected process can
be used to describe some random flow in a closed domain with free action
on the boundary, and they are always connected to the Neumann boundary
problem. In this line, we can mention the work of Guan [19] and Guan
and Ma [20], where the authors study these operators, their relation with
stochastic processes and they develop integration by parts formula, which
is crucial to apply variational methods. In [24], Ishii and Nakamura studied
the Dirichlet problem for regional fractional Laplacian modeled on the p-
Laplacian, while in [9] Chen and Felmer considered the existence of solution
for a general class of problem involving the regional fractional Laplacian
equation in bounded domain.
Very recently Felmer and Torres [15, 16], considered positive solutions
of non-linear Schrödinger equation with non-local regional diffusion
ϵ2α (−∆)αρ u + u = f (u) in Rn , u ∈ H α (Rn ). (1.3)
The operator (−∆)αρ is a variational version of the non-local regional Lapla-
cian, defined by
∫ ∫ ∫
α [u(x + z) − u(x)][v(x + z) − v(x)]
(−∆)ρ uvdx = dzdx.
Rn Rn B(0,ρ(x)) |z|n+2α
Under suitable assumptions on the nonlinearity f and the range of scope ρ,
they obtained the existence of a ground state by mountain pass argument
and a comparison method devised by Rabinowitz in [33] for α = 1. Further-
more, they analyzed symmetry properties and concentration phenomena of

3
these solutions, see [35, 36] for related results. These regional operators
present various interesting characteristics that make them very attractive
from the point of view of mathematical theory of non-local operators.
Furthermore, in a recent paper [31], Pu, Liu and Tang have considered
the problem

(−∆)αρ u + V (x)u = f (u, x) in Rn , u ∈ H α (Rn ), (1.4)

by assuming that ρ and V are bounded from below and there exist r0 > 0
such that for any M > 0,

lim meas({x ∈ Rn : |x − y| ≤ r0 , V (x) ≤ M }) = 0,

|y|→∞

and the nonlinearity f (x, u) satisfy suitable condition, they have proved the
existence of a nonnegative ground state solution for (1.4). Moreover, we
should mention that the Dirichlet boundary value problem on a bounded
domain with regional diffusion were investigated by the second author in
[37].
Motivated by these previous results, in this paper we intend to consider
new class of functions ρ, more precisely we will consider the following classes:

Class 1: ρ is periodic

(ρ1 ) ρ ∈ C(Rn , (0, +∞)) and

0 < ρ0 = infn ρ(x).

x∈R

(ρ2 ) ρ(x + T ) = ρ(x), x ∈ Rn , T ∈ Zn .

Class 2: ρ is asymptotically periodic

(ρ3 ) There is a continuous periodic function h∞ : Rn → R such that

0 < ρ0 = infn ρ(x) ≤ ρ(x) ≤ h∞ (x) ∀x ∈ Rn .

x∈R

(ρ4 )
|h∞ (x) − ρ(x)| → 0 as |x| → +∞.

Class 3: ρ has finite global minimum points

The function ρ verifies (ρ1 ) and

4
(ρ5 )
ρ∞ = lim ρ(x) > ρ(x), ∀x ∈ Rn .
|x|→+∞

(ρ6 ) There are only l points a1 , a2 , · · · , al ∈ Rn such that

ρ(ai ) = infn ρ(x), ∀i ∈ {1, · · · , l}.

x∈R

Without lost of generality, we will assume that

inf ρ(x) = 1 and a1 = 0.

x∈Rn

Associated with the function f , we assume the following conditions:

(f1 ) f ∈ C 1 (R, R) and
f (t) f (t)t
lim = 0, lim = +∞
|t|→∞ |t|q−1 |t|→∞ |t|2

for some q ∈ (2, 2∗α ), where 2∗α = 2n

n−2α .

(f2 ) f (t) = o(|t|), as |t| → 0.

(f3 ) There exists θ ≥ 1 such that θF(t) ≥ F(σt) for t ∈ R and σ ∈ [0, 1],
where ∫ t
F(t) = f (t)t − 2F (t), where F (t) = f (s)ds.
0

Now we are in a position to state our main existence theorem.

Theorem 1.1. Assume 0 < α < 1, n ≥ 2 and (f1 ) − (f3 ). If ϵ = 1 and
i) ρ belongs to Class 1
or
ii) ρ belongs to Class 2 and f also satisfies
f (t)
(f4 ) is strictly increasing in t,
|t|
then problem (Pϵ ) possesses a non-trivial weak solution. Moreover, if ρ
belongs to Class 3 and f satisfies (f1 ), (f2 ), (f4 ) and
(f3′ ) There exists θ > 2 such that
∫ t
0 < θF (t) ≤ f (t)t where F (t) = f (s)ds,
0

5
then there is ϵ∗ > 0, such that problem (Pϵ ) has at least l non-trivial weak
solutions for ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ).

Before concluding this introduction, we would like point out that in the
proof of Theorem 1.1 we adapt some ideas explored in Alves, Carrião &
Miyagaki [2], Cao & Noussair [4], Cao & Zhou [5], Hsu, Lin & Hu [22], Lin
[28] and Hu & Tang [23]. In the above papers the authors have studied the
existence and multiplicity of solution for problems involving the Laplacian
operator.
The plan of the paper is as follows: In Section 2, we review some prop-
erties of the function space which will be used. In Section 3, we prove some
technical lemmas in while in Section 4 we prove the main result. Finally, in
Section 5 we write a remark about the existence of ground state solution.

2 Preliminaries
The fractional Sobolev space of order α on Rn is defined by
{ ∫ ∫ }
|u(x) − u(z)|2
H (R ) = u ∈ L (R ) :
α n 2 n
dzdx < ∞ ,
Rn Rn |x − z|
n+2α

endowed with the norm

(∫ ∫ ∫ )1/2
|u(x) − u(z)|2
∥u∥α = |u(x)| dx +
2
dzdx .
Rn Rn Rn |x − z|n+2α
Given a function ρ as above, we define
∫ ∫ ∫
|u(x + z) − u(x)|2
∥u∥ =
2
dzdx + |u(x)|2 dx. (2.1)
Rn B(0,ρ(x)) |z|n+2α Rn

and the space

Hρα (Rn ) = {u ∈ L2 (Rn ) : ∥u∥2 < ∞}.
We note that, if ρ satisfies (ρ1 ), there exists a constant C̃ > 0 such that

∥u∥α ≤ C̃∥u∥.

This inequality implies that Hρα (Rn ) ,→ Lq (Rn ) is continuous for any q ∈
[2, 2∗α ] and Hρα (Rn ) ,→ Lqloc (Rn ) is compact for any q ∈ [2, 2∗α ) (for more
details, see [16]). From the above remark, we ensure that

H α (Rn ) = Hρα (Rn ) = Hραϵ (Rn ) = Hhα∞ (Rn ).

6
Moreover, the norms ∥ ∥α , ∥ ∥ and
∫ ∫ ∫
|u(x + z) − u(x)|2
∥u∥∞ =
2
dzdx + |u(x)|2 dx.
Rn B(0,h∞ (x)) |z|n+2α Rn

are equivalents on H α (Rn ).

We would like point out that if ρ is a Zn -periodic function and y ∈ Zn ,
a simple change variable gives
∫ ∫ ∫ ∫
|u(x + z) − u(x)|2 |u(x + z) − u(x)|2
dzdx = dzdx.
Rn B(0,ρ(x+y)) |z|n+2α Rn B(0,ρ(x)) |z|n+2α

The above equality will be used frequently in our paper.

The following lemma is a version of the concentration compactness prin-
ciple proved by Felmer and Torres [16].
Lemma 2.1. Let n ≥ 2. Assume that {uk } is bounded in Hρα (Rn ) with
∫
lim sup |uk (x)|2 dx = 0,
k→∞ y∈Rn B(y,R)

for some R > 0. Then uk → 0 in Lq (Rn ) for q ∈ (2, 2∗α ).

Associated with (Pϵ ) we have the functional I : Hραϵ (Rn ) → R defined by
(∫ ∫ ∫ ) ∫
1 |u(x + z) − u(x)|2
I(u) = dzdx + |u(x)|2 dx − F (u(x))dx.
2 Rn B(0,ρϵ (x)) |z|n+2α Rn Rn
(2.2)
From (f1 ), I ∈ C 1 (Hραϵ (Rn ), R) with its Fréchet derivative given by
∫ ∫ ∫
[u(x + z) − u(x)][v(x + z) − v(x)]
I ′ (u)v = + u(x)v(x)dx
Rn B(0,ρϵ ) |z|n+2α Rn
∫
− f (u(x))v(x)dx,
Rn

for u, v ∈ Hραϵ (Rn ). Therefore, the critical points of I are weak solutions of
(Pϵ ).

3 Technical lemmas
In this section, we are going to prove some technical results, for that purpose
we take borrow some ideas of [16] and [29]. First all, we would like point
out the following properties involving the function f :

7
Property 3.1. 1. By condition (f1 ) and (f2 ), for any τ > 0 there exists
a constant Cτ > 0 such that

|F (t)| ≤ τ |t|2 + Cτ |t|q . (3.1)

2. By (f3 ), we deduce that

F(t) = f (t)t − 2F (t) ≥ 0, for all t ∈ R.

Furthermore, if t > 0 then we have

( )
∂ F (t) tf (t) − 2F (t)
2
= ≥ 0. (3.2)
∂t t t3

By (f2 ),
F (t)
lim = 0. (3.3)
t→0+ t2
Next, from (3.2) and (3.3), we conclude that F (t) ≥ 0 for all t ∈ R.

Using the above properties we are ready to prove our technical results.

Lemma 3.1. The functional I satisfies the mountain pass geometry.

Proof. By (3.1),
1
I(u) ≥ ∥u∥2 − τ ∥u∥2L2 − Cτ ∥u∥qLq
2
( )
1
≥ − τ C2 ∥u∥2 − Cτ Cq ∥u∥q .
2

Let τ > 0 small enough such that 12 − τ C2 > 0 and ∥u∥ = ζ. Since q > 2,
we can take ζ small enough such that
1
− τ C2 − Cτ Cq ζ q−2 > 0.
2
Therefore ( )
1
I(u) ≥ ζ 2
− τ C2 − Cτ Cq ζ q−2 := β > 0.
2
Now, by (f1 ),
F (t)
lim = +∞.
|t|→∞ |t|2

8
Then, for φ ∈ C0∞ (Rn ) \ {0},
∫
F (tφ)
lim dx = +∞.
|t|→∞ Rn |t|2

Consequently,
∫
I(tφ) 1 F (tφ)
= ∥φ∥2 − dx → −∞, as |t| → ∞.
|t|2 2 Rn |t|2

Thereby, setting t0 > 0 large enough and e = t0 φ, we have I(e) < 0.

Lemma 3.2. Assume (f1 ) − (f2 ), ϵ = 1 and that ρ belongs to Class 1 or 2.

Let c ∈ R and {uk } ⊂ Hρα (Rn ) be a sequence such that

I(uk ) → c and I ′ (uk ) → 0 as k → ∞. (3.4)

Then {uk } is bounded in Hρα (Rn ).

Proof. To begin with, we recall that

ρ0 ≤ ρ(x) ≤ ρ∗ , ∀x ∈ Rn ,

for ρ∗ = sup ρ(x). Hence, the functions below

x∈Rn

(∫ ∫ ∫ )1
|u(x + z) − u(x)|2 2

∥u∥0 = dzdx + |u(x)| dx

2
Rn B(0,ρ0 ) |z|n+2α Rn

and
(∫ ∫ ∫ )1
|u(x + z) − u(x)|2 2

∥u∥∗ = dzdx + |u(x)| dx

2
Rn B(0,ρ∗ ) |z|n+2α Rn

are equivalents norms to ∥ ∥ on Hρα (Rn ). Now, arguing by contradiction

we suppose that {uk } is unbounded. Then, up to a subsequence, we may
assume that
∥uk ∥ → ∞ as k → ∞.
Thus
( ) ∫ ( )
1 ′ 1
c = lim I(uk ) − I (uk )uk = lim f (uk (x))uk (x) − F (uk (x)) dx.
k→∞ 2 k→∞ Rn 2
(3.5)

9
Let wk = uk
∥uk ∥ , then {wk } is bounded in Hρα (Rn ). We claim that,
∫
lim sup |wk (x)|2 dx = 0. (3.6)
k→∞ y∈Rn B(y,2)

Otherwise, for some δ > 0, up to a subsequence we have

∫
sup |wk (x)|2 dx ≥ δ > 0.
y∈Rn B(y,2)

Let zk ∈ Rn such that

∫
δ
|wk (x)|2 dx ≥ τ := >0 (3.7)
B(zk ,2) 2

and vk (x) = wk (x + zk ). By the change of variable x̃ = x + yk , we find

∥wk ∥0 ≤ ∥vk ∥ ≤ ∥wk ∥∗

from where it follows that {vk } is also bounded in Hρα (Rn ). Passing to a
subsequence, we obtain

vk → v in Lploc (Rn ) and vk (x) → v(x) a.e. x ∈ Rn .

Since ∫ ∫
|vk (x)| dx =
2
|wk (x)|2 dx ≥ τ > 0, (3.8)
B(0,2) B(zk ,2)

we see that v ̸= 0. Let ũk (x) = ∥uk ∥vk (x). If v(x) ̸= 0, we have the limit
|ũk (x)| → +∞ which together with (f3 ) leads to
F (ũk (x))
|vk (x)|2 → +∞. (3.9)
|ũk (x)|2
The last limit combine with (3.9) to give
∫
1 c + o(1) F (uk (x))
− = dx
2 ∥uk ∥2
Rn ∥uk ∥2
∫
F (ũk (x))
= dx
Rn ∥uk ∥2
∫
F (ũk (x))
≥ |vk (x)|2 dx → +∞, (3.10)
{v̸=0} |ũk (x)|

which is impossible. This shows (3.6). Then, by Lemma 2.1

wk → 0 in Lq (Rn ), ∀ q ∈ (2, 2∗α ). (3.11)

10
We are going to get a contradiction as follow. By Property 3.1 - (1), given
τ > 0, there exists Cτ > 0 such that

|F (t)| ≤ τ |t|2 + Cτ |t|q . (3.12)

Since ∥wk ∥ = 1, there exists a constant K > 0 such that

∥wk ∥2L2 ≤ K.

Therefore, by (3.11) and (3.12)

∫
lim sup |F (wk (x))|dx ≤ lim sup(τ ∥wk ∥2L2 + Cτ ∥wk ∥qLq ) ≤ ϵK.
k→∞ Rn k→∞

Since τ is arbitrary, we deduce

∫
lim F (wk (x))dx = 0. (3.13)
k→∞ Rn

Now, we choose a sequence {tk } ∈ [0, 1] such that

I(tk uk ) = max I(tuk ). (3.14)

t∈[0,1]

(4σ)1/2
Given σ > 0, noting that ∥uk ∥ ∈ (0, 1) for k large enough, (3.13) ensures
that
∫
1
I(tk uk ) ≥ I((4σ)1/2 wk ) = ∥(4σ)1/2 wk ∥2 − F ((4σ)1/2 wk (x))dx
2 Rn
∫
= 2σ − F ((4σ)1/2 wk (x))dx ≥ σ.
Rn

Namely, I(tk uk ) → +∞. But I(0) = 0 and I(uk ) → c, then by (3.14) we see
that tk ∈ (0, 1) and

d 
0 = tk I(tuk )
dt t=tk
∫ ∫ ∫
|tk uk (x + z) − tk uk (x)|2
= dzdx + V (x)|tk uk (x)|2 dx
R n B(0,ρ(x)) |z|n+2α
R n
∫
− f (tk uk (x))tk uk (x)dx.
Rn
(3.15)

11
Now from (3.15) and (f3 ),
∫ ( ) ∫ ( )
1 1 1
f (uk )uk − F (uk ) dx ≥ f (tk uk )tk uk − F (tk uk ) dx
Rn 2 θ Rn 2
( ∫ )
1 1
= ∥tk uk ∥ −
2
F (tk uk )dx
θ 2 Rn
1
= I(tk uk ) → +∞.
θ
This contradicts with (3.5). Thereby, {uk } is bounded.

4 Proof of Theorem 1.1

In the sequel, we will analysis the classes (ρ1 ), (ρ2 ) and (ρ3 ) separately.

4.1 Class 1: ρ is periodic

Let c = inf γ∈Γ maxt∈[0,1] I(γ(t)) > 0, then by the Ekeland variational prin-
ciple, there is a sequence {uk } such that

I(uk ) → c and I ′ (uk ) → 0.

By Lemma 3.2, {uk } is bounded in Hρα (Rn ). In what follows, fix

∫
δ = lim sup |uk (x)|2 dx. (4.1)
n→∞ y∈Rn B(y,2)

If δ = 0, the Lemma 2.1 yields

uk → 0 in Lq (Rn ), ∀ q ∈ (2, 2∗α ).

Then, arguing as in (3.13),

∫ ∫
lim F (uk (x))dx = 0 and lim f (uk (x))uk (x)dx = 0. (4.2)
k→∞ Rn k→∞ Rn

The above limits together with (3.5) implies that c = 0, a contradiction.

Therefore δ > 0. So there exists a sequence {yk } ⊂ Zn and a real number
τ > 0 such that
∫ ∫
|vk (x)| dx =
2
|uk (x)|2 dx > τ, (4.3)
B(0,2) B(yk ,2)

12
where vk (x) = uk (x + yk ). Moreover, since ∥vk ∥ = ∥uk ∥, going if necessary
to a subsequence, there is v ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0} such that

vk ⇀ v in Hρα (Rn ) and vk → v in Lploc (Rn );

Furthermore, by the Zn invariance of the problem, {vk } is also a (P S)c

sequence of I. Thus for every φ ∈ C0∞ (Rn ),

I ′ (v)φ = lim I ′ (uk )φ = 0.

k→∞

So I ′ (v) = 0 and v is a non-trivial weak solution of (Pϵ ). Moreover, (f4 )

together with Fatou Lemma gives I(v) ≤ c.

4.2 Class 2: ρ is asymptotically periodic

Hereafter, we denote by I∞ : Hhα∞ (Rn ) → R the functional
(∫ ∫ ∫ ) ∫
1 |u(x + z) − u(x)|2
I∞ (u) = dzdx + |u(x)| dx −
2
F (u(x))dx
2 Rn B(0,h∞ (x)) |z|n+2α Rn Rn

and by w∞ ∈ Hhα∞ (Rn ) be a non-trivial critical point of I∞ , which was

obtained in the last subsection. Then,
′
I∞ (w∞ ) ≤ c∞ and I∞ (w∞ ) = 0,

where c∞ denotes the mountain pass level of I∞ . Since we are assuming

(f4 ), we know that
c∞ = inf I∞ (u)
u∈N∞

where
′
N∞ = {u ∈ Hhα∞ (Rn ) \ {0} : I∞ (u)u = 0},
and so, I∞ (w∞ ) = c∞ . If c denotes the mountain pass level associated
with I, the condition (ρ3 ) gives c ≤ c∞ . Next, we will study the following
situations:
c = c∞ and c < c∞ .
Case 1: c = c∞ . ′ (w )w
As ρ ≤ h∞ and I∞ ∞ ∞ = 0, we have that

I ′ (w∞ )w∞ ≤ 0,

13
hence there is t ∈ (0, 1] such that

tw∞ ∈ N = {u ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0} : I ′ (u)u = 0}.

By (f4 ),
c = inf I(u),
u∈N

then, as t ∈ (0, 1],

1 1 ′
c ≤ I(tw∞ ) = I(tw∞ ) − I ′ (tw∞ )(tw∞ ) ≤ I∞ (w∞ ) − I∞ (w∞ )(w∞ ),
2 2
that is,
1 ′
c ≤ I∞ (w∞ ) − I∞ (w∞ )(w∞ ) = I∞ (w∞ ) = c∞ .
2
Since we are supposing that c = c∞ , we deduce that u∗ = tw∞ verifies

I(u∗ ) = c and I ′ (u∗ ) = 0.

By (f4 ), it is easy to prove that u∗ is a critical for I, which finishes the proof.

Case 2: c < c∞ . Hereafter, we denote by {un } ⊂ Hρα (Rn ) a sequence

which satisfies
I(uk ) → c and I ′ (uk ) → 0.
By using standard arguments, we know that {uk } is a bounded sequence in
Hρα (Rn ). Hence, for some subsequence, there is u ∈ Hρα (Rn ) such that

uk ⇀ u in Hρα (Rn ).

Claim: u ̸= 0.
If u = 0, there are R, η > 0 and {yk } ⊂ Rn such that
∫
lim sup |uk |2 dx ≥ η. (4.4)
k→+∞ BR (yk )

Indeed, otherwise we must have

∫
lim sup |uk |2 dx = 0.
n→+∞ y∈RN BR (y)

Then, by Lemma 2.1,

uk → 0 in Lq (Rn ) ∀q ∈ (2, 2∗ ),

14
from where it follows that
∫
f (uk )uk dx → 0.
Rn

The above limit together with I ′ (uk )uk = on (1) implies that uk → 0 in
Hρα (Rn ), which contradicts the limit I(uk ) → c > 0.
Setting vk (x) = un (x + yk ) and considering yk ∈ Zn , we have that {vk }
is bounded in Hhα∞ (Rn ) and there is v ∈ Hhα∞ (Rn ) such that
vk ⇀ v in Hhα∞ (Rn )
and ∫
|v|2 dx ≥ η > 0
BR (0)
which shows v ̸= 0.
From (4.4), it is easy to see that |yk | → +∞. Then, by (ρ4 )
ρ(x + yk ) → h∞ (x) ∀x ∈ Rn as k → +∞.
The above limit and I ′ (uk )(v(. − yk )) = ok (1) combine to give
′
I∞ (v)v ≤ 0.
Thus, there is s ∈ (0, 1] such that su ∈ N∞ . Consequently,
1 ′ 1 ′
c∞ ≤ I∞ (sv) = I∞ (sv) − I∞ (sv)(sv) ≤ I∞ (v) − I∞ (v)(v).
2 2
Since
1 ′ 1
I∞ (v) − I∞ (v)(v) = I(v) − I ′ (v)(v)
2 2
it follows
1
c∞ ≤ I(v) − I ′ (v)(v).
2
On the other hand, the Fatou Lemma leads to
1 1 1
I(v)− I ′ (v)(v) ≤ lim inf (I(vk )− I ′ (vk )(vk )) = lim inf (I(uk )− I ′ (uk )(uk ))
2 k→+∞ 2 k→+∞ 2
that is,
c∞ ≤ lim inf I(uk ) = c
k→+∞
which is a contradiction, because we are supposing c < c∞ .
From this u ̸= 0 and I ′ (u) = 0, which implies that I has a non-trivial
critical point. Moreover, by Fatou Lemma, it is possible to prove that I(u) =
c.

15
4.3 Class 3: ρ has finite global minimum points
Hereafter, we will consider the following energy functional
Jϵ : Hρα (Rn ) → R defined by
(∫ ∫ ∫ ) ∫
1 |u(x + z) − u(x)|2
Jϵ (u) = dzdx + |u(x)|2 dx − F (u(x))dx.
2 Rn B(0,ρϵ (x)) |z|n+2α Rn Rn

( )
It is easy to see that Jϵ ∈ C 1 Hρα (Rn ), R with
∫ ∫ ∫
[u(x + z) − u(x)][v(x + z) − v(x)]
Jϵ′ (u)v = dzdx + u(x)v(x)dx
Rn B(0,ρϵ (x)) |z|n+2α Rn
∫
− f (u(x))v(x)dx,
Rn

for any u, v ∈ Hρα (Rn ). Thus, the critical points of Jϵ are (weak) solutions
of (Pϵ ). Since the functional Jϵ is not bounded from below on Hρα (Rn ) , we
will work on Nehari manifold Nϵ associated with the functional Jϵ , given by
{ }
Nϵ = u ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0} : Jϵ′ (u)u = 0

and with the level

cϵ = inf Jϵ (u).
u∈Nϵ

It is possible to prove that cϵ is the mountain pass level of functional Jϵ , see

Willem [38].
For ρ ≡ 1, we consider the problem

(−∆)α1 u + u = f (u) in Rn , u ∈ H1α (Rn ). (P∞ )

Associated with the problem (P∞ ), we have the energy functional

α (Rn ) → R given by
J1 : H ∞
(∫ ∫ ∫ ) ∫
1 |u(x + z) − u(x)|2
J∞ (u) = dzdx + |u(x)|2 dx − F (u(x))dx,
2 Rn B(0,1) |z|n+2α Rn Rn

the level
c∞ = inf J∞ (u)
u∈M∞

and the Nehari manifold

{ ′
}
M∞ = u ∈ H∞
α
(Rn ) \ {0} : J∞ (u)u = 0 .

16
 For ρ ≡ ρ∞ , we fix the problem

(−∆)αρ∞ u + u = f (u) in Rn , u ∈ Hρα∞ (Rn ), (Pρ∞ )

and as above, we denote by Jρ∞ , cρ∞ and Mρ∞ the energy functional, the
mountain pass level and Nehari manifold associated with (Pρ∞ ) respectively.

The following result concerns the behavior of Jϵ on Mϵ . Once its proof

is standard, we omit it
Lemma 4.1. The functional Jϵ is bounded from below on Mϵ . Moreover,
Jϵ is coercive on Nϵ .
As an immediate consequence of the last lemma, we have
Corollary 4.1. Let {uk } be a sequence in Nϵ and Jϵ (uk ) → cϵ . Then {uk }
is bounded in Hρα (Rn ).
The next theorem is a version of a result compactness on Nehari man-
ifolds due to Alves [1] for regional fractional Laplacian. It establishes that
problem (P∞ ) has a ground state solution.
Theorem 4.1. Let {uk } ⊂ M∞ be a sequence with J∞ (uk ) → c∞ . Then,
I. uk → u in H1α (Rn ),
or

II. There is {yk } ⊂ Rn with |yk | → +∞ and w ∈ H1α (Rn ) such that wk =
uk (· + yk ) → w in H1α (Rn ) and J∞ (w) = c∞ .
Proof. Similarly to Corollary 4.1, we can assume that {uk } is a bounded
sequence, and so, there is u ∈ H1α (Rn ) and a subsequence of {uk }, still
denoted by itself, such that uk ⇀ u in H1α (Rn ). Applying the Ekeland
variational principle, there is a sequence {wk } in M∞ with

wk = uk + ok (1), J∞ (wk ) → c∞

and
′ ′
J∞ (wk ) − τk E∞ (wk ) = ok (1), (4.5)

where (τk ) ⊂ R and E∞ (w) = J∞′ (w)w, for any w ∈ H α (Rn ).

1
Since {wk } ⊂ M∞ , (4.5) leads to
′
τk E∞ (wk )wk = ok (1).

17
Gathering (f4 ) and Lemma 2.1, it is possible to prove that there is η1 > 0
such that
′
E∞ (u)u ≤ −η1 , ∀u ∈ M∞ .
From this, τk → 0 as k → ∞,
′
J∞ (uk ) → c∞ and J∞ (uk ) → 0.

Consequently, u is critical point of J∞ .

Next, we will study the following possibilities: u ̸= 0 or u = 0.

Case 1: u ̸= 0.
By Fatou Lemma , it is easy to check that
1 ′
c∞ ≤J∞ (u) = J∞ (u) − J∞ (u)u
( ) ∫θ
1 1 1
= − ∥u∥2 + ( f (u)u − F (u))dx
2 θ θ
)R
N
{( ∫ }
1 1 1
≤ lim inf − ∥uk ∥ +
2
( f (uk )uk − F (uk ))dx
k→∞ 2 θ RN θ
{( ) ∫ }
1 1 1
≤ lim sup − ∥uk ∥ +
2
( f (uk )uk − F (uk ))dx
2 θ N θ
}R
k→∞
{
1 ′
= lim J∞ (uk ) − J∞ (uk )uk = c∞ .
k→∞ θ

Hence,
∥uk ∥2 → ∥u∥2 in R,
from where it follows that uk → u in H1α (Rn ).

Case 2: u = 0.

In this case, we claim that there are R, ξ > 0 and {yk } ⊂ Rn satisfying
∫
lim sup |uk |2 dx ≥ ξ. (4.6)
k→∞ BR (yk )

If the claim is false, we must have

∫
lim sup sup |uk |2 dx = 0.
k→∞ y∈Rn BR (y)

18
Thus, by Lemma 2.1,

uk → 0 in Lp (Rn ), ∀p ∈ (2, 2∗α ).

′ (u )u = o (1), the last limit yields
Recalling J∞ k k k

∥uk ∥2 → 0,

or equivalently
uk → 0 in H1α (Rn ),
leading to c∞ = 0, which is absurd. This way, (4.6) is true. Setting

wk (x) = uk (x + yk ),

we have that
′ ′
J∞ (wk ) = J∞ (uk ) and ∥J∞ (wk )∥ = ∥J∞ (uk )∥,

that is, {wk } is a sequence (P S)c∞ for J∞ . If w ∈ H1α (Rn ) denotes the weak
limit of {wn }, it follows from (4.6),
∫
|w|2 dx ≥ ξ,
BR (0)

and so, w ̸= 0.
By repeating the same argument of the first case for the sequence {wk },
we deduce that wk → w in H1α (Rn ), w ∈ M∞ and J∞ (w) = c∞ .

4.3.1 Estimates involving the minimax levels

The main goal of this section is to prove some estimates involving the min-
imax levels cϵ and c∞ . First of all, we recall the inequality

J∞ (u) ≤ Jϵ (u) ∀u ∈ Hρα (Rn ),

which implies
c∞ ≤ cϵ , ∀ϵ > 0.

Lemma 4.2. The minimax levels cϵ and cρ∞ satisfy the inequality
cϵ < cρ∞ . Hence, c∞ < cρ∞ .

19
Proof. In a manner analogous to Theorem 4.1, there is U ∈ Hρα (Rn ) such
that
Jρ∞ (U ) = cρ∞ and Jρ′ ∞ (U ) = 0.
In the sequel, let t > 0 be satisfy tU ∈ Mϵ . Thereby,

cϵ ≤ Jϵ (tU ).

Since that by (ρ5 ), ρ∞ > ρ(x) for all x ∈ Rn , we derive

cϵ < Jρ∞ (tU ) ≤ max Jρ∞ (sU ) = Jρ∞ (U ) = cρ∞ .

s≥0

Using the last lemma, we are able to prove that Jϵ verifies the (P S)d
condition for some values of d.

Lemma 4.3. The functional Jϵ satisfies the (P S)d condition for

d ≤ c∞ + τ , where τ = 12 (cρ∞ − c∞ ) > 0.

Proof. Let {vk } ⊂ Hρα (Rn ) be a (P S)d sequence for functional Jϵ with d ≤
c∞ + τ . Similarly to Corollary 4.1, {vk } is a bounded sequence in Hρα (Rn ),
and so, for some subsequence, still denoted by {vk },

vk ⇀ v in Hρα (Rn ),

for some v ∈ Hρα (Rn ). Now, by using standard arguments, it is possible to

prove that

Jϵ (vk ) − Jϵ (wk ) − Jϵ (v) = ok (1) (4.7)

and

∥Jϵ′ (vk ) − Jϵ′ (wk ) − Jϵ′ (v)∥ = ok (1), (4.8)

where wk = vk − v. Since Jϵ′ (v) = 0 and Jϵ (v) ≥ 0, from (4.7)-(4.8), {wk } is

a (P S)d∗ sequence for Jϵ with d∗ = d − Jϵ (v) ≤ c∞ + τ .

Claim 1. There is R > 0 such that

∫
lim sup sup |wk |2 dx = 0.
k→∞ y∈Rn BR (y)

20
 If the claim is true, we have
∫
f (wk )wk dx → 0.
Rn

On the other hand, by (4.8), we know that Jϵ′ (wk ) = ok (1), then

∥wk ∥2 → 0

that is, wk → 0 in Hρα (Rn ), and so, vk → v in Hρα (Rn ).

Proof of Claim 1: If the claim is not true, for each R > 0 given, we find
ξ > 0 and {yk } ⊂ Rn such that
∫
lim sup |wk |2 ≥ ξ > 0.
k→∞ BR (yk )

Using that wk ⇀ 0 in Hρα (Rn ), it follows that {yk } is an unbounded se-

quence. Setting
w̃k = wk (· + yk ),
we have that {w̃k } is bounded in Hρα (Rn ) Thus, there are w̃ ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0}
and a subsequence of {w̃n }, still denoted by itself, such that

w̃k ⇀ w̃ ∈ Hρα (Rn ).

Moreover, since Jϵ′ (wk )ϕ(· − yk ) = ok (1) for each ϕ ∈ Hρα (Rn ), we obtain
∫ ∫ ∫
[w̃(x + z) − w̃(x)][ϕ(x + z) − ϕ(x)]
0= + w̃(x)ϕ(x)dx
Rn B(0,ρ∞ ) |z|n+2α Rn
∫
− f (w̃(x))ϕ(x)dx,
Rn

from where it follows that w̃ is a weak solution of (Pρ∞ ). Consequently,

after some routine calculations,
{ }
1 ′ 1 ′
cρ∞ ≤ Jρ∞ (w̃) = Jρ∞ (w̃)− Jρ∞ (w̃)w̃ ≤ lim inf Jϵ (wn ) − Jϵ (wn )wn = d∗ ,
θ k→∞ θ
that is, cρ∞ ≤ c∞ + τ , which is an absurd because τ < cρ∞ − c∞ . Therefore,
the Claim 1 is true.

In what follows, let us fix γ0 , r0 > 0 such that

• Bγ0 (ai ) ∩ Bγ0 (aj ) = ∅ for i ̸= j and i, j ∈ {1, ..., ℓ}

21
 ∪ℓ
• i=1 Bγ0 (ai ) ⊂ Br0 (0).
∪ℓ
• K γ0 = i=1 B
γ0 (ai )
2 2

Besides this, we define the function Qϵ : Hρα (Rn ) → Rn by

∫ 2
n χ(ϵx)|u| dx
Qϵ (u) = R ∫ ,
Rn |u| dx
2

where χ : Rn → Rn is given by
{
x if |x| ≤ r0
χ(x) = x
r0 |x| if |x| > r0 .

The next two lemmas will be useful to get important (P S)-sequences

associated with Jϵ .

Lemma 4.4. There are δ0 > 0 and ϵ1 > 0 such that if u ∈ Mϵ and Jϵ (u) ≤
c∞ + δ0 , then
Qϵ (u) ∈ K γ0 for ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ1 ).
2

Proof. If the lemma does not occur, there must be δk → 0, ϵk → 0 and

uk ∈ Mϵ such that
Jϵk (uk ) ≤ c∞ + δk
and
Qϵk (uk ) ̸∈ K γ0 .
2

Fixing sk > 0 such that sk uk ∈ M∞ , we have

c∞ ≤ J∞ (sk uk ) ≤ Jϵk (sk uk ) ≤ max Jϵk (tuk ) = Jϵk (uk ) ≤ c∞ + δk .

t≥0

Hence,
{sk uk } ⊂ M∞ and J∞ (sk uk ) → c∞ .
Applying the Ekeland variational principle, we can assume without loss
of generality that {sk uk } ⊂ M∞ is a sequence (P S)c∞ for J∞ , that is,
′
J∞ (sk uk ) → c∞ and J∞ (sk uk ) → 0.

According to Theorem 4.1, we must consider the following cases:

i) sk uk → U ̸= 0 in Hρα (Rn );

or

22
ii) There exists {yk } ⊂ Zn with |yk | → +∞ such that vk = sk uk (· + yk ) is
convergent in Hρα (Rn ) for some V ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0}.

By a direct computation, we can suppose that sk → s0 for some s0 > 0.

Therefore, without loss of generality, we can assume that

uk → U or vk = uk ( · + yk ) → V in Hρα (Rn ). (4.9)

Analysis of i).

By Lebesgue’s dominated convergence theorem

∫ ∫
Rn∫χ(ϵk x)|uk | dx n χ(0)|U | dx
2 2
R∫
Qϵk (uk ) = → = 0 ∈ K γ0 ,
Rn |uk | dx Rn |U | dx
2 2 2

leading to Qϵk (uk ) ∈ K γ0 for k large, which is absurd.

2

Analysis of ii).

From the equality Jϵ′k (uk )(uk ) = 0, we see that

∫ ∫ ∫
[vk (x + z) − vk (x)]2
0= dx + |vk |2 (x)dx
Rn B(0,ρ(ϵk x+ϵk yk )) |z|n+2α Rn
∫
− f (w̃(x))ϕ(x)dx,
Rn

Now, we will study two cases:

I) |ϵk yk | → +∞

and

II) ϵk yk → y, for some y ∈ Rn .

If I) holds, the limit (4.9) gives

∫ ∫ ∫ ∫
[V (x + z) − V (x)]2
dx + |V |2
dx − f (V )(x))V (x)dx = 0,
Rn B(0,ρ∞ ) |z|n+2α Rn Rn

and so, V ∈ M∞ . Thereby,

{ }
1 ′ 1 ′
cρ∞ ≤ Jρ∞ (V ) = Jρ∞ (V )− Jρ∞ (V )V ≤ lim inf J∞ (uk ) − J∞ (uk )uk = c∞ ,
θ k→∞ θ

23
that is, cρ∞ ≤ c∞ , which contradicts Lemma 4.2.

Now, if ϵk yk → y for some y ∈ Rn , arguing as above we get

cρ(y) ≤ c∞ , (4.10)

where cρ(y) the mountain pass level of the functional Jρ(y) : Hρα (Rn ) → R
given by
(∫ ∫ ∫ ) ∫
1 |u(x + z) − u(x)|2
Jρ(y) (u) = dzdx + |u(x)|2 dx − F (u(x))dx.
2 Rn B(0,ρ(y)) |z|n+2α Rn Rn

Observe that
cρ(y) = inf Jρ(y) (u)
u∈Mρ(y)

where { }
′
Mρ(y) = u ∈ Hρα (RN ) \ {0} : Jρ(y) (u)u = 0 .

If ρ(y) > 1, a similar argument explored in the proof of Lemma 4.2 shows
that cρ(y) > c∞ , which contradicts the inequality (4.10). Therefore, ρ(y) = 1
and y = ai for some i = 1, · · · ℓ. Consequently,
∫
n χ(ϵk x)|uk | dx
2
Qϵk (uk ) = R ∫
n |uk | dx
2
∫ R ∫
Rn χ(ϵ∫k x + ϵk yk )|vk | dx n χ(y)|V | dx
2 2
R∫
= → = ai ∈ K γ0 .
Rn |vk | dx Rn |V | dx
2 2 2

From this, Qϵk (uk ) ∈ K γ0 for k large, which is a contradiction, since by

2
assumption Qϵk (uk ) ̸∈ K γ0 .
2

From now on, we will use the ensuing notation

• θϵi = {u ∈ Mϵ ; |Qϵ (u) − ai | < γ0 },

• ∂θϵi = {u ∈ Mϵ ; |Qk (u) − ai | = γ0 },

• βϵi = inf Jϵ (u)

u∈θϵi

and
• β̃ϵi = inf Jϵ (u).
u∈∂θϵi

24
 The above numbers are very important in our approach, because we
will prove that there is a (P S) sequence of Jϵ associated with each θϵi for
i = 1, 2, ..., ℓ. To this end, we need of the following technical result
Lemma 4.5. There is ϵ∗ > 0 such that

βϵi < c∞ + τ and βϵi < β̃ϵi ,

for all ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ), where τ = 21 (cρ∞ − c∞ ) > 0.

Proof. From now on, U ∈ Hρα (Rn ) is a ground state solution for J∞ , that
is,
′
J∞ (U ) = c∞ and J∞ (U ) = 0 ( See Theorem 4.1 ).
b i : RN → R by
For 1 ≤ i ≤ ℓ, we define the function U ϵ

bϵi (x) = U (x − ai ).
U
ϵ
Claim 2. For all i ∈ {1, ..., ℓ}, we have that
b i )) ≤ c∞ .
lim sup(sup Jϵ (tU ϵ
k→+∞ t≥0

By change of variable gives

(∫ ∫ ∫ )
b i) = t 2 |U (x + z) − U (x)|2
Jϵ (tU dzdx + |U (x)|2 dx −
ϵ
2 Rn B(0,ρ(ϵx+ai )) |z|n+2α Rn

∫
F (tU (x))dx.
Rn

Moreover, we know that there exists s = s(ϵ) > 0 such that

bϵi ) = Jϵ (sU
max Jϵ (tU bϵi ).
t≥0

By a direct computation, it follows that s(ϵ) ̸→ 0 and s(ϵ) ̸→ ∞ as ϵ → 0.

Thus, without loss of generality, we can assume s(ϵ) → s0 > 0 as ϵ → 0.
Thereby,
( ) (∫ ∫ ∫ )
b s20 |U (x + z) − U (x)|2
lim sup max Jϵ (Uϵ ) ≤
i
dzdx + |U (x)| dx −
2
ϵ→0 t≥0 2 Rn B(0,ρ(ϵx+ai )) |z|n+2α Rn

∫
F (s0 U (x))dx.
Rn

25
Consequently,
b i )) ≤ c∞ for i ∈ {1, ...., ℓ}.
lim sup(sup Jϵ (tUϵ
ϵ→0 t≥0

b i ) → ai as ϵ → 0, then U
Since Qϵ (U bϵi ∈ θϵi for all ϵ small enough. On
k
bϵi ) < c∞ + δ0 holds also for ϵ small enough.
the other hand, by Claim 2, Jϵ (U 4
∗
This way, there exists ϵ > 0 such that
δ0
, ∀ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ).
βϵi < c∞ +
4
Thus, decreasing δ0 if necessary, we can assume that
βϵi < c∞ + τ, ∀ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ).
In order to prove the other inequality, we observe that Lemma 4.4 yields
Jϵ (u) ≥ c∞ + δ0 for all u ∈ ∂θϵi and ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ). Therefore,
δ0
β̃ϵi ≥ c∞ + , for ∀ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ).
2
Thereby,
βϵi < β̃ϵi ,
for ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ).
{ }
Lemma 4.6. For each 1 ≤ i ≤ ℓ, there exists a (P S)βϵi sequence, uik ⊂ θϵi
for functional Jϵ .
Proof. By Lemma 4.5, we know that βϵi < β̃ϵi . Then, the lemma follows
adapting the same ideas explored in [28].

4.3.2 Conclusion of the proof for Class 3.

Let {uik } ⊂ θϵi be a (P S)βϵi sequence for functional Jϵ given by Lemma 4.6.
Since βϵi < c∞ + τ , by Lemma 4.3 there is ui such that uik → ui in Hρα (Rn ).
Thus,
ui ∈ θϵi , Jϵ (ui ) = βϵi and Jϵ′ (ui ) = 0.
Now, we infer that ui ̸= uj for i ̸= j as 1 ≤ i, j ≤ ℓ. To see why, it remains
to observe that
Qk (ui ) ∈ Bγ0 (ai ) and Qk (uj ) ∈ Bγ0 (aj ).
Once
Bγ0 (ai ) ∩ Bγ0 (aj ) = ∅ for i ̸= j,
it follows that ̸= uj for i ̸= j. From this, Jϵ has at least ℓ non-trivial
ui
critical points for all ϵ ∈ (0, ϵ∗ ), which proves the theorem.

26
5 A remark about the existence of Ground state
solution
Now we are going to show that the problem (Pϵ ) has a ground state by
supposing only (f1 ) − (f3 ) and that ρ belongs to Class 1 or 2. Let
m = inf I(u), (5.1)
O
where O = {u ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0} : I ′ (u) = 0}.
Suppose that u is an arbitrary critical point of I. By Property 3.1 - (2),
F(t) ≥ 0 for all t ∈ R. (5.2)
Then ∫
1 ′ 1
I(u) = I(u) − I (u)u = F(u(x))dx ≥ 0 (5.3)
2 2 Rn
which implies that m ≥ 0. Therefore 0 ≤ m ≤ I(v) < +∞. Let {uk } ⊂ O
be a sequence such that
I(uk ) → m as k → ∞.
Then, for some β > 0 we have
∥uk ∥ ≥ β. (5.4)
Arguing as in the proof of Lemma 3.2, {uk } is bounded in Hρα (Rn ). Let δ
as in (4.1) associated to {uk }. If δ = 0, then
∫
lim f (uk (x))uk (x)dx = 0,
k→∞ Rn

and hence ∫
′
∥uk ∥ = I (uk )uk +
2
f (uk (x))uk (x)dx → 0. (5.5)
Rn
This contradicts with (5.4). Therefore δ > 0 and there exists a sequence
{yk } ⊂ Zn such that vk (x) = uk (x + yk ) satisfies
I ′ (vk ) = 0 and I(vk ) = I(uk ) → m as k → ∞,
and vk converges weakly to some v ̸= 0, a nonzero critical point of I. Fur-
thermore, by (5.2) and Fatou Lemma we deduce
∫
1 ′ 1
I(v) = I(v) − I (v)v = F(v(x))dx
2 2 Rn
∫
1
≤ lim inf F(vk (x))dx
k→∞ 2 Rn
( )
1 ′
= lim inf I(uk ) − I (uk )uk = m.
k→∞ 2

27
Therefore, v is a non-trivial critical point of I with I(v) = m.

Remark 5.1. We note that, by Theorem 1.1, v is a non-trivial solution but

it is possible that m = I(v) = 0, because we are assuming that

F(t) ≥ 0 ∀t ∈ R.

To ensure that m > 0, it suffices to assume in addition that

F(t) > 0, for t ̸= 0.

This is the case if f satisfies the following condition (f4 ). In fact

∫ t ∫ t
f (s) f (t)
2F (t) = 2 sds < 2 sds = f (t)t, (5.6)
0 s 0 t

which implies that F(t) > 0. Furthermore, under this condition we can show
that the mountain pass critical point is a ground state, namely

m = c = inf I(u),
u∈N

where
N = {u ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0} : I ′ (u)u = 0}.
In fact, by Remark 3.1, I has the mountain-pass geometry, and we can
introduce the following class of paths:

Γ = {γ ∈ C([0, 1], Hρα (Rn )) : γ(0) = 0, I(γ(1)) < 0}.

The mountain-pass level

c = inf sup I(γ(σ)) > 0

γ∈Γ σ∈[0,1]

is therefore associated to Γ. Furthermore, by Remark 3.1 and following the

ideas of [16], we can show that for any u ∈ Hρα (Rn ) \ {0}, there is a unique
tu = t(u) > 0 such that tu u ∈ N and

I(tu u) = max I(tu),

t≥0

and we note that

m∗ = inf max I(tu).
u∈Hρα (Rn )\{0} t≥0

28
where
m∗ = inf I(u)
u∈N

On the other hand, given any u ∈ N , we may define the path γu (t) = t(tu u),
where T (tu u) < 0 and obtain that γu ∈ Γ. Thus, c ≤ m∗ .
The other inequality follows from the fact that, for any γ ∈ Γ, there
exists t ∈ (0, 1) such that γ(1) ∈ N . To prove this fact, we note that if
I ′ (u)u ≥ 0, then, by (5.6) we get
∫
1
I(u) = ∥u∥ − 2
F (u(x))dx
2 Rn
∫
1
= I ′ (u)u + F(u(x))dx
2 Rn
≥0

So, if we assume that I ′ (γ(t))γ(t) > 0 for all t ∈ (0, 1], then I(γ(t)) ≥ 0 for
all t ∈ (0, 1], contradicting I(γ(1)) < 0. In conclusion, we have proved that

m∗ = c.

On the other hand,

m ≥ m∗ and c ≥ m,
from where it follows that
m = m∗ = c.

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