Maximum principle for functional equations in the space of discontinuous functions of three variables

The paper is devoted to the maximum principles for functional equations in the space of measurable essentially bounded functions. The necessary and sufficient conditions for validity of corresponding maximum principles are obtained in a form of theorems about functional inequalities similar to the classical theorems about differential inequalities of the Vallee Poussin type. Assertions about the strong maximum principle are proposed. All results are also true for difference equations, which can be considered as a particular case of functional equations. The problems of validity of the maximum principles are reduced to nonoscillation properties and disconjugacy of functional equations. Note that zeros and nonoscillation of a solution in a space of discontinuous functions are defined in this paper. It is demonstrated that nonoscillation properties of functional equations are connected with the spectral radius of a corresponding operator acting in the space of essentially bounded functions. Simple sufficient conditions of nonoscillation, disconjugacy and validity of the maximum principles are proposed. The known nonoscillation results for equation in space of functions of one variable follow as a particular cases of these assertions. It should be noted that corresponding coefficient tests obtained on this basis cannot be improved. Various applications to nonoscillation, disconjugacy and the maximum principles for partial differential equations are proposed. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved