Global branching for semilinear fractional Laplace with sublinear nonlinearity

Abstract

This article investigates the existence, nonexistence, and multiplicity of positive solutions to the sublinear fractional elliptic problem $(P_{\lambda}^s)$. We begin by establishing several a priori estimates that provide regularity results and describe the qualitative behavior of solutions. A critical threshold level for the parameter $\lambda$ is identified, which plays a crucial role in determining the existence or nonexistence of solutions. The sub and supersolution method is employed to obtain a weak solution. Furthermore, we establish a relation between the local minimizers of $\mathcal{D}^{s,2}(\mathbb{R}^N)$ versus $C(\mathbb{R}^N; 1+|x|^{N-2s})$. Combining these results with the Classical Linking Theorem, we demonstrate the existence of at least two distinct positive weak solutions to $(P_{\lambda}^s)$. This work extends the results of Yang, Abrantes, Ubilla, and Zhou (J. Differential Equations, 416:159-189, 2025) to the nonlocal setting, i.e., when $s \in (0,1)$. Several technical challenges arise in this framework, such as the lack of a standard comparison principle in $\mathbb{R}^N$ in the fractional setting.