\documentclass[reqno]{amsart}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\AtBeginDocument{{\noindent\small
\emph{Electronic Journal of Differential Equations},
Vol. 2014 (2014), No. 134, pp. 1--11.\newline
ISSN: 1072-6691. URL: http://ejde.math.txstate.edu or http://ejde.math.unt.edu
\newline ftp ejde.math.txstate.edu}
\thanks{\copyright 2014 Texas State University - San Marcos.}
\vspace{9mm}}

\begin{document}
\title[\hfilneg EJDE-2014/134\hfil Steklov problems]
{Steklov problems involving the $p(x)$-Laplacian}

\author[G. A. Afrouzi, A. Hadjian, S. Heidarkhani \hfil EJDE-2014/134\hfilneg]
{Ghasem A. Afrouzi, Armin Hadjian, Shapour Heidarkhani}  % in alphabetical order

\address{Ghasem A. Afrouzi \newline
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences,
University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran}
\email{afrouzi@umz.ac.ir}

\address{Armin Hadjian \newline
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of
Bojnord, P.O. Box 1339, Bojnord 94531, Iran}
\email{hadjian83@gmail.com}

\address{Shapour Heidarkhani \newline
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, Razi University,
67149 Kermanshah, Iran}
\email{s.heidarkhani@razi.ac.ir}

\thanks{Submitted December 26, 2013. Published June 10, 2014.}
\subjclass[2000]{35J60, 35J20}
\keywords{$p(x)$-Laplace operator;
variable exponent Sobolev spaces;\hfill\break\indent
multiple solutions; variational methods}

\begin{abstract}
 Under suitable assumptions on the potential of the nonlinearity,
 we study the existence and multiplicity of solutions for a Steklov problem
 involving the $p(x)$-Laplacian. Our approach is based on variational methods.
\end{abstract}

\maketitle
\numberwithin{equation}{section}
\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section]
\newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma}
\newtheorem{remark}[theorem]{Remark}
\allowdisplaybreaks

\section{Introduction}

The aim of this article is to study the following Steklov problem
involving the $p(x)$-Laplacian,
\begin{equation}\label{e1.1}
\begin{gathered}
\Delta_{p(x)} u=a(x)|u|^{p(x)-2}u \quad \text{in } \Omega,\\
|\nabla u|^{p(x)-2}\frac{\partial u}{\partial
\nu}=\lambda f(x,u) \quad \text{on } \partial\Omega,
\end{gathered}
\end{equation}
where $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^N$ is a bounded smooth domain,
$\lambda$ is a positive parameter, $p\in C(\bar{\Omega})$,
$\Delta_{p(x)}u:=\operatorname{div}(|\nabla u|^{p(x)-2}\nabla u)$
denotes the $p(x)$-Laplace operator,
$f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ is a
Carath\'{e}odory function, $a\in L^\infty(\Omega)$ with
$\operatorname{ess\,inf}_{\Omega}a>0$ and $\nu$ is the outer unit normal to
$\partial\Omega$.

The study of differential equations and variational problems with
nonstandard $p(x)$-growth conditions is a new and interesting topic.
It varies from nonlinear elasticity theory, electro-rheological
fluids, and so on (see \cite{Ru,Zh}). Many results have been
obtained on this kind of problems, for instance we here cite
\cite{AlElOu, BonaChi1, BonaChi2, BonaChi3, CamChDi, DagSci, Dai,
FanDeng, FanHan, FanZhang, HarHaLat, Ji}.

The inhomogeneous Steklov problems involving the $p$-Laplacian has
been the object of study in, for example, \cite{MavNka}, in which
the authors have studied this class of inhomogeneous Steklov
problems in the cases of $p(x)\equiv p=2$ and of $p(x)\equiv p> 1$,
respectively.

In this paper, motivated by \cite{AlElOu}, at first, we prove the
existence of a non-zero solution of the problem \eqref{e1.1},
without assuming any asymptotic condition neither at zero nor at
infinity (see Theorem \ref{the3.1}). Next, we obtain the existence
of two solutions, possibly both non-zero, assuming only the
classical Ambrosetti-Rabinowitz condition; that is, without
requiring that the potential $F$ satisfies the usual condition at
zero (see Theorems \ref{the3.2} and \ref{the3.3}). Finally, we
present a three solutions existence result under appropriate
condition on the potential $F$ (see Theorem \ref{the3.4}). Our
approach is fully variational method and the main tools are critical
point theorems contained in \cite{Bonanno2} and \cite{BonaMara} (see
Theorems \ref{the2.1} and \ref{the2.2} in the next section).

A special case of Theorem \ref{the3.4} is the following theorem.

\begin{theorem}\label{t1.1}
Let $p(x)=p>N$ for every $x\in\Omega$ and let
$f:\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ be a non-negative continuous function.
Put $F(t):=\int_0^tf(\xi)d\xi$ for each $t\in \mathbb{R}$. Assume
that $F(d)>0$ for some $d\geq 1$ and, moreover,
$$
\liminf_{\xi\to
0}\frac{F(\xi)}{\xi^{p}}=\limsup_{|\xi|\to+\infty}\frac{F(\xi)}{\xi^{p}}=0.
$$
Then, there is $\lambda^\star>0$ such that for each
$\lambda>\lambda^\star$ the problem
\begin{gather*}
\Delta_p u=a(x)|u|^{p-2}u \quad \text{in } \Omega,\\
|\nabla u|^{p-2}\frac{\partial u}{\partial \nu}=\lambda
f(u) \quad \text{on } \partial\Omega,
\end{gather*}
admits at least three non-negative weak solutions.
\end{theorem}


\section{Preliminaries}

In this section, we recall definitions and theorems to be used in
this paper. Let $(X,\|\cdot\|)$ be a real Banach space and $\Phi$,
$\Psi:X\to \mathbb{R}$ be  two continuously G\^ateaux differentiable
functionals; put
$$
I:=\Phi-\Psi
$$
and fix $r_1$, $r_2\in[-\infty,+\infty]$, with $r_1<r_2$. We say
that the functional $I$ satisfies the \emph{Palais-Smale condition
cut off lower at $r_1$ and upper at $r_2$}
($^{[r_1]}{\rm(PS)}^{[r_2]}$-condition) if any sequence $\{u_n\}\in
X$ such that
\begin{itemize}
\item  $\{I(u_n)\}$ is bounded,
\item  $\lim_{n\to +\infty}\|I'(u_n)\|_{X^\ast}=0$,
\item  $r_1<\Phi(u_n)<r_2\quad \forall n\in \mathbb{N}$,
\end{itemize}
has a convergent subsequence.

If $r_1=-\infty$ and $r_2=+\infty$, it coincides with the classical
${\rm(PS)}$-condition, while if  $r_1=-\infty$ and $r_2\in
\mathbb{R}$ it is denoted by ${\rm(PS)}^{[r_2]}$-condition.

First we recall a result of local minimum obtained in
\cite{Bonanno2}, which is based on \cite[Theorem 5.1]{Bonanno1}.


\begin{theorem}[{\cite[Theorem 2.3]{Bonanno2}}]\label{the2.1}
Let $X$ be a real Banach space and let $\Phi$, $\Psi:X\to
\mathbb{R}$ be two continuously G\^ateaux differentiable
 functionals such that $\inf_X\Phi=\Phi(0)=\Psi(0)=0 $.
Assume that there exist $r\in \mathbb{R}$ and $ \bar{u}\in X$, with
$0<\Phi(\bar{u})<r$, such that
\begin{equation}\label{e2.1}
\frac{\sup_{u\in\Phi^{-1}(]-\infty,r[)}\Psi(u)}{r}
<\frac{\Psi(\bar{u})}{\Phi(\bar{u})}
\end{equation}
and, for each
$\lambda\in\Lambda:=\Big]\frac{\Phi(\bar{u})}{\Psi(\bar{u})},
\frac{r}{\sup_{u\in\Phi^{-1}(]-\infty,r[)}\Psi(u)}\Big[$ the
functional $I_\lambda:=\Phi-\lambda \Psi$ satisfies the
${\rm(PS)}^{[r]}$-condition. Then, for each $\lambda\in\Lambda$,
there is $u_\lambda\in \Phi^{-1}(]0,r[)$ (hence, $u_\lambda\neq 0$)
such that $I_\lambda(u_\lambda)\leq I_\lambda(u)$ for all $u\in
\Phi^{-1}(]0,r[)$ and $I'_\lambda(u_\lambda)=0$.
\end{theorem}

Now we point out an other result, which insures the existence of at
least three critical points, that has been obtained in
\cite{BonaMara} and it is a more precise version of 
\cite[Theorem 3.2]{BonaCan}.


\begin{theorem}[{\cite[Theorem 3.6]{BonaMara}}]\label{the2.2}
Let $X$ be a reflexive real Banach space, $\Phi:X\to \mathbb{R}$ be
a continuously G\^ateaux differentiable, coercive and sequentially
weakly lower semicontinuous functional whose G\^ateaux derivative
admits a continuous inverse on $X^\ast$, $\Psi: X\to \mathbb{R}$ be
a continuously G\^ateaux differentiable functional whose G\^ateaux
derivative is compact, moreover
$$
\Phi(0)=\Psi(0)=0.
$$
Assume that there exist $r\in \mathbb{R}$ and $ \bar{u}\in X$, with
$0<r<\Phi(\bar{u}) $, such that
\begin{itemize}
\item[(i)] $\frac{\sup_{u\in\Phi^{-1}(]-\infty,r])}\Psi(u)}{r}
 <\frac{\Psi(\bar{u})}{\Phi(\bar{u})}$
\item[(ii)] for each $\lambda\in \Lambda
:=\Big]\frac{\Phi(\bar{u})}{\Psi(\bar{u})},\frac{r}{\sup_{u\in\Phi^{-1}(]-\infty,r])}
\Psi(u)}\Big[$ the functional $I_\lambda=\Phi-\lambda \Psi$ is
coercive.
\end{itemize}
Then, for each $\lambda\in \Lambda$, the functional $I_{\lambda}$
has at least three distinct critical points in $X$.
\end{theorem}


Here and in the sequel, we suppose that $p\in C(\bar{\Omega})$
satisfies the following condition:
\begin{equation}\label{e2.2}
N<p^{-}:=\inf_{x\in\Omega}p(x)\leq p(x)\leq
p^{+}:=\sup_{x\in\Omega}p(x)<+\infty.
\end{equation}
Define the variable exponent Lebesgue space $L^{p(x)}(\Omega)$ by
$$
L^{p(x)}(\Omega):=\Big{\{}u:\Omega\to\mathbb{R} : u \
\text{is measurable and } \int_\Omega
|u(x)|^{p(x)}dx<+\infty\Big{\}}.
$$
We define a norm, the so-called \textit{Luxemburg norm}, on this
space by the formula
$$
\|u\|_{L^{p(x)}(\Omega)}=|u|_{p(x)} := \inf \big\{\lambda > 0 :
\int_\Omega\big|\frac{u(x)}{\lambda}\big|^{p(x)}dx\leq 1
\big\}.
$$
Define the variable exponent Sobolev space $W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)$ by
$$
W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega):=\big\{u\in L^{p(x)}(\Omega) : |\nabla u|\in
L^{p(x)}(\Omega)\big\}
$$
equipped with the norm
$$
\|u\|_{W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)}:=|u|_{p(x)}+|\nabla u|_{p(x)}.
$$
It is well known \cite{FanZhao} that, in view of \eqref{e2.2}, both
$L^{p(x)}(\Omega)$ and $W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)$, with the respective
norms, are separable, reflexive and uniformly convex Banach spaces.

When $a\in L^\infty(\Omega)$ with $\operatorname{ess\,inf}_{\Omega}a>0$,
for any $u\in W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)$, define
$$
\|u\|_{a}:=\inf \Big\{\lambda > 0 : \int_\Omega
\big(|\frac{\nabla u(x)}{\lambda}|^{p(x)} +
a(x)|\frac{u(x)}{\lambda}|^{p(x)}\big)dx\leq 1
\Big\}.
$$
Then, it is easy to see that $\|u\|_{a}$ is a norm on
$W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)$ equivalent to $\|u\|_{W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)}$. In
the following, we will use $\|u\|_{a}$ instead of
$\|u\|_{W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)}$ on $X=W^{1,p(x)}(\Omega)$.

As pointed out in \cite{KovRak} and \cite{FanZhao}, $X$ is
continuously embedded in $W^{1,p^-}(\Omega)$ and, since $p^->N$,
$W^{1,p^-}(\Omega)$ is compactly embedded in $C^0(\bar{\Omega})$.
Thus, $X$ is compactly embedded in $C^0(\bar{\Omega})$. So, in
particular, there exists a positive constant $m>0$ such that
\begin{equation}\label{e2.3}
\|u\|_{C^0(\bar{\Omega})}\leq m\|u\|_a
\end{equation} 
for each $u\in X$. When $\Omega$ is convex, an explicit upper bound for the
constant $m$ is
$$
m\leq
2^{\frac{p^{-}-1}{p^{-}}}\max\Big\{\big(\frac{1}{\|a\|_{1}}\big)^{\frac{1}{p^{-}}},
\frac{d}{N^{\frac{1}{p^{-}}}}
\big(\frac{p^{-}-1}{p^{-}-N}|\Omega|\big)^{\frac{p^{-}-1}{p^{-}}}
\frac{\|a\|_{\infty}}{\|a\|_{1}}\Big\}\big(1+|\Omega|\big)
$$
where $d:=\operatorname{diam}(\Omega)$ and $|\Omega|$ is the Lebesgue
measure of $\Omega$ (for details, see \cite{DagSci}),
$\|a\|_1:=\int_\Omega a(x)dx$ and $\|a\|_{\infty}:=\sup_{x\in
\Omega}a(x)$.


\begin{lemma}[{\cite{FanZhao}}]\label{lem2.3}
Let $I(u)=\int_{\Omega}(|\nabla u|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u|^{p(x)})dx$.  For
$u\in X$ we have
\begin{itemize}
\item[(i)] $\|u\|_a<1(=1;>1)\Leftrightarrow I(u)<1(=1;>1);$
\item[(ii)] If $\|u\|_a<1\Rightarrow \|u\|_a^{p^{+}}\leq I(u)\leq
\|u\|_a^{p^{-}};$
\item[(iii)] If $\|u\|_a>1\Rightarrow \|u\|_a^{p^{-}}\leq I(u)\leq \|u\|_a^{p^{+}}$.
\end{itemize}
\end{lemma}

We refer the reader to \cite{FanShenZhao, FanZhao} for the basic
properties of the variable exponent Lebesgue and Sobolev spaces.

Throughout this article,  we assume the following condition on the
Carath\'{e}odory function
$f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$:
\begin{itemize}
\item[(F0)] $|f(x,s)|\leq \alpha(x)+b|s|^{\beta(x)-1}$
for all $(x,s)\in \partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}$, where $\alpha\in
L^{\frac{\beta(x)}{\beta(x)-1}}(\partial\Omega)$, $b\geq 0$ is a
constant and $\beta\in C(\partial\Omega)$ such that
\begin{equation}\label{e2.4}
1<\beta^{-}:=\inf_{x\in\bar{\Omega}}\beta(x)\leq\beta(x)\leq
\beta^{+}:=\sup_{x\in\bar{\Omega}}\beta(x)<p^{-}.
\end{equation}
\end{itemize}
We recall that
$f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ is a
Carath\'{e}odory function if $x\mapsto f(x,\xi)$ is measurable for
all $\xi\in\mathbb{R}$ and $\xi\mapsto f(x,\xi)$ is continuous for
a.e. $x\in\partial\Omega$.
Put
$$
F(x,t):=\int_0^t f(x,\xi)d\xi,
$$
for all $(x,t)\in\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}$.


\begin{theorem}[{\cite[Theorem 2.9]{AlElOu}}]\label{the2.4}
Let $f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ be a
Carath\'eodory function satisfying {\rm (F0)}. For each $u\in X$
set $\Psi(u)=\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,u(x))d\sigma$. Then $\Psi\in
C^{1}(X,\mathbb{R})$ and
$$
\Psi'(u)(v)=\int_{\partial\Omega}f(x,u(x))v(x) d\sigma
$$
for every $v\in X$. Moreover, the operator  $\Psi':X\to X^{\ast}$ is
compact.
\end{theorem}


We say that a function $u\in X$ is a \textit{weak solution} of 
problem \eqref{e1.1} if
$$
\int_{\Omega}|\nabla u|^{p(x)-2}\nabla u\nabla
v\,dx+\int_{\Omega}a(x)|u|^{p(x)-2} u v\,dx
=\lambda\int_{\partial\Omega}f(x,u)v\,d\sigma
$$
for all $v\in X$.

We cite the very recent monograph by Krist\'aly et al.
\cite{KrisRadVar} as a general reference for the basic notions used
in the paper.

\section{Main results}

In this section we present our main results. First, we
 establish the existence of one non-trivial solution for the problem \eqref{e1.1}.

\begin{theorem}\label{the3.1}
Let $f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ be a
Carath\'{e}odory function satisfying {\rm (F0)}. Assume that there
exist $d\geq 1$ and $c\geq m$ with
$d^{p^+}\|a\|_1<\frac{p^-}{p^+}(\frac{c}{m})^{p^-}$, such
that
\begin{equation}\label{e3.1}
\frac{\int_{\partial\Omega}\max_{|t|\leq
c}F(x,t)d\sigma}{\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}}
<\frac{p^-\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,d)d\sigma}{p^+d^{p^+}\|a\|_1}.
\end{equation}
Then, for each
\begin{equation}\label{e3.2}
\lambda\in\Lambda:=\Big]\frac{d^{p^+}\|a\|_1}{p^-\int_{\partial\Omega}
F(x,d)d\sigma},\frac{\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}}{p^+\int_{\partial\Omega}\max_{|t|\leq
c}F(x,t)d\sigma}\Big[,
\end{equation}
problem \eqref{e1.1} admits at least one non-trivial weak
solution $\bar{u}_{1}\in X$ such that
$$
\max_{x\in\Omega}|\bar{u}_{1}(x)|<c.
$$
\end{theorem}


\begin{proof}
Our aim is to apply Theorem \ref{the2.1} to \eqref{e1.1}. To this
end, for each $u\in X$, let the functionals
$\Phi,\Psi:X\to\mathbb{R}$ be defined by
\begin{gather*}
\Phi(u):=\int_\Omega\frac{1}{p(x)}\left(|\nabla
u|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u|^{p(x)}\right)dx,\\
\Psi(u):=\int_{\partial\Omega} F(x,u(x))d\sigma,
\end{gather*}
and put
$$
I_{\lambda}(u):=\Phi(u)-\lambda\Psi(u),\quad u\in X.
$$
Note that the weak solutions of \eqref{e1.1} are exactly the
critical points of $I_{\lambda}$. The functionals $\Phi$ and $\Psi$
satisfy the regularity assumptions of Theorem \ref{the2.1}. Indeed,
by standard arguments, we have that $\Phi$ is G\^{a}teaux
differentiable and its G\^{a}teaux derivative at the point $u\in X$
is the functional $\Phi'(u)\in X^\ast$, given by
$$
\Phi'(u)(v)=\int_\Omega\Big(|\nabla u|^{p(x)-2}\nabla u \nabla
v+a(x)|u|^{p(x)-2}uv\Big)dx
$$
for every $v\in X$. Moreover, $\Phi$ is sequentially weakly lower
semicontinuous and its inverse derivative is continuous (since it is
a continuous convex functional) and, thanks to Lemma \ref{lem2.3},
the functional $\Phi$ turns out to be coercive. On the other hand,
by Theorem \ref{the2.4}, the functional $\Psi$ is well defined,
continuously G\^{a}teaux differentiable and with compact derivative,
whose G\^{a}teaux derivative at the point $u\in X$ is given by
$$
\Psi'(u)(v)=\int_{\partial\Omega}f(x,u(x))v(x) d\sigma
$$
for every $v\in X$. So, owing to \cite[Proposition 2.1]{Bonanno1},
the functional $I_{\lambda}$ satisfies the
${\rm(PS)}^{[r]}$-condition for all $r\in\mathbb{R}$.

We will verify condition \eqref{e2.1} of Theorem \ref{the2.1}. Let
$w$ be the function defined by $w(x):=d$ for all $x\in\bar{\Omega}$
and put
$$
r:=\frac{1}{p^+}\Big(\frac{c}{m}\Big)^{p^-}.
$$
Clearly, $w\in X$ and from our assumption one has
$$
0<\Phi(w)=\int_\Omega\frac{1}{p(x)}a(x)d^{p(x)}dx
\leq\frac{1}{p^-}\|a\|_1d^{p^+}<r.
$$
For all $u\in X$ with $\Phi(u)<r$, owing to Lemma \ref{lem2.3},
definitively one has
$$
\min\big\{\|u\|_a^{p^+},\|u\|_a^{p^-}\big\}<rp^+.
$$
Then
$$
\|u\|_a<\max\big\{(p^+r)^{\frac{1}{p^+}},
(p^+r)^{\frac{1}{p^-}}\big\}=\frac{c}{m},
$$
and so, by \eqref{e2.3},
$$
\max_{x\in\Omega}|u(x)|\leq m\|u\|_a<c.
$$
Therefore,
$$
\frac{\sup_{u\in\Phi^{-1}(]-\infty,r[)}\Psi(u)}{r}
\leq\frac{\int_{\partial\Omega}\max_{|t|\leq c}F(x,t)d\sigma}
{\frac{1}{p^+}\big(\frac{c}{m}\big)^{p^-}}
$$
On the other hand, taking into account that
$$
\Phi(w)\leq\frac{1}{p^-}d^{p^+}\|a\|_1,
$$
we have
$$
\frac{\Psi(w)}{\Phi(w)}\geq\frac{\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,d)d\sigma}
{\frac{1}{p^-}d^{p^+}\|a\|_1}.
$$
Therefore, by the assumption \eqref{e3.1}, condition \eqref{e2.1} of
Theorem \ref{the2.1} is verified.

Therefore, all the assumptions of Theorem \ref{the2.1} are
satisfied. So, for each
$$
\lambda\in\Lambda\subseteq\Big]\frac{\Phi(w)}{\Psi(w)},\frac{r}
{\sup_{u\in\Phi^{-1}(]-\infty,r[)}\Psi(u)}\Big[,
$$
the functional $I_\lambda$ has at least one non-zero critical point
$\bar{u}_{1}\in X$ such that\linebreak
$\max_{x\in\Omega}|\bar{u}_{1}(x)|<c$ that is the weak solution of
the problem \eqref{e1.1}.
\end{proof}


The following result, in which the global Ambrosetti-Rabinowitz
condition is also used,  ensures the existence at least two weak
solutions.


\begin{theorem}\label{the3.2}
Assume that all the assumptions of Theorem \ref{the3.1} hold.
Furthermore, suppose that $f(\cdot,0)\neq 0$ in $\partial\Omega$,
and
\begin{itemize}
\item[(AR)] there exist two constants $\mu>p^+$ and $R>0$ such that
for all $x\in\partial\Omega$ and $|s|\geq R$,
$$
0<\mu F(x,s)\leq s  f(x,s).
$$
\end{itemize}
Then, for each $\lambda\in\Lambda$, where $\Lambda$ is given by
\eqref{e3.2}, the problem \eqref{e1.1} has at least two non-trivial
weak solutions $\bar{u}_{1},\ \bar{u}_{2}\in X$ such that
$$
\max_{x\in\Omega}|\bar{u}_{1}(x)|<c.
$$
\end{theorem}

\begin{proof}
Fix $\lambda$ as in the conclusion. So, Theorem \ref{the3.1} ensures
that the problem \eqref{e1.1} admits at least one non-trivial weak
solution $\bar{u}_1$ which is a local minimum of the functional
$I_\lambda$.

Now, we prove the existence of the second local minimum distinct
from the first one. To this end, we must show that the functional
$I_\lambda$ satisfies the hypotheses of the mountain pass theorem.

Clearly, the functional $I_\lambda$ is of class $C^1$ and
$I_\lambda(0)=0$.

We can assume that $\bar{u}_1$ is a strict local minimum for
$I_\lambda$ in $X$. Therefore, there is $\rho>0$ such that
$\inf_{\|u-\bar{u}_1\|=\rho}I_\lambda(u)>I_\lambda(\bar{u}_1)$, so
condition \cite[$(I_1)$, Theorem 2.2]{Rab} is verified.

From (AR), by standard computations, there is a positive constant
$C$ such that
\begin{equation}\label{e3.3}
F(x,s)\geq C|s|^\mu
\end{equation}
for all $x\in \partial\Omega$ and $|s|>R$. In fact, setting
$\gamma(x)=\min_{|\xi|=R}F(x,\xi) $ and
\begin{equation}\label{e3.4}
\varphi_s(t)=F(x,ts)\quad \forall t>0,
 \end{equation}
by (AR), for every $ x\in \partial\Omega$ and  $|s|>R$ one has
$$
0<\mu\varphi_s(t)=\mu F(x,ts)\leq ts f(x,ts)=t\varphi'_s(t)\quad
\forall t>0.
$$
Therefore,
$$
\int_{R/|s|}^1\frac{\varphi'_s(t)}{\varphi_s(t)}dt\geq
\int_{R/|s|}^1\frac{\mu}{t}dt.
$$
Then
$$
\varphi_s(1)\geq \varphi_s\Big(\frac{R}{|s|}\Big)|s|^\mu.
$$
Taking into account  \eqref{e3.4}, we obtain
$$
F(x,s)\geq F\Big(x,\frac{R}{|s|}s\Big)|s|^\mu\geq
\gamma(x)|s|^\mu\geq C|s|^\mu,
$$
and \eqref{e3.3} is proved. Now, by choosing any $u\in
X\setminus\{0\}$ and $t>1$, one has
\begin{align*}
I_\lambda(tu)&=(\Phi-\lambda\Psi)(tu)\\
&=\int_\Omega\frac{t^{p(x)}}{p(x)}\left(|\nabla
u|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u|^{p(x)}\right)dx
-\lambda\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,tu(x))d\sigma\\
&\leq t^{p^+}\int_\Omega\frac{1}{p(x)}\left(|\nabla
u|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u|^{p(x)}\right)dx
-Ct^\mu\lambda\int_{\partial\Omega}|u(x)|^\mu d\sigma.
\end{align*}
Since $\mu>p^+$, the functional $I_\lambda$ is unbounded from below.
So, condition \cite[$(I_2)$, Theorem 2.2]{Rab} is verified.
Therefore, $I_\lambda$ satisfies the geometry of mountain pass.

Now, to verify the (PS)-condition it is sufficient to prove that any
(PS)-sequence is bounded. To this end, suppose that
$\{u_{n}\}\subset X$ is a (PS)-sequence; i.e., there is $M>0$ such
that
$$
\sup|I_\lambda(u_{n})|\leq M,\quad I'_\lambda(u_{n})\to
0\quad\text{ as } n\to +\infty.
$$
Let us show that $\{u_{n}\}$ is bounded in $X$. Using hypothesis
(AR), since $I_\lambda(u_n) $ is bounded, we have for $n$ large
enough:
\begin{align*}
M+1 &\geq I_\lambda(u_n)-\frac{1}{\mu}\langle
I'_\lambda(u_n),u_n\rangle
+\frac{1}{\mu}\langle I'_\lambda(u_n),u_n\rangle\\
&=\int_{\Omega}\frac{1}{p(x)}\left(|\nabla
u_n|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u_n|^{p(x)}\right)dx
-\lambda\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,u_n(x))d\sigma\\
&\quad-\frac{1}{\mu}\Big[\int_{\Omega}\left(|\nabla
u_n|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u_n|^{p(x)}\right)dx-\lambda\int_{\partial\Omega}f(x,u_n(x))u_n(x)
d\sigma\Big]\\
&\quad+\frac{1}{\mu}\langle I'_\lambda(u_n),u_n\rangle\\
&\geq\big(\frac{1}{p^{+}}-\frac{1}{\mu}\big)\|u_n\|_a^{p^{-}}-\frac{1}{\mu}
\|I'_\lambda(u_n)\|_{X^\ast}\|u_n\|_a-c_1\\
&\geq\big(\frac{1}{p^{+}}-\frac{1}{\mu}\big)\|u_n\|_a^{p^{-}}
-\frac{c_2}{\mu}\|u_n\|_a-c_1,
\end{align*}
where $c_1$ and $c_2$ are two positive constants. Since $\mu>p^+$,
from the above inequality we know that $\{u_n\}$ is bounded in $X$.
Hence, the classical theorem of Ambrosetti and Rabinowitz ensures a
critical point $\bar{u}_2$ of $I_\lambda$ such that
$I_\lambda(\bar{u}_2)>I_\lambda(\bar{u}_1)$. So, $\bar{u}_1$ and
$\bar{u}_2$ are two distinct weak solutions of \eqref{e1.1} and the
proof is complete.
\end{proof}

Here we give the following result as a direct consequence of Theorem
\ref{the3.2} in the autonomous case.

\begin{theorem}\label{the3.3}
Let $f:\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ be a continuous function satisfying
$f(0)\neq 0$ and $|f(s)|\leq \alpha+b|s|^{\beta-1}$ for all $s\in
\mathbb{R}$, where $\alpha>0$, $b\geq 0$ and $1<\beta<p^{-}$ are
three constants. Put $F(t):=\int_0^t f(\xi)d\xi$ for all
$t\in\mathbb{R}$. Under the following conditions
\begin{itemize}
\item[(i)] there exist $d\geq 1$ and $c\geq m$ with
$d^{p^+}\|a\|_1<\frac{p^-}{p^+}\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}$, such
that
$$
\frac{\max_{|t|\leq c}F(t)}{\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}}
<\frac{p^-F(d)}{p^+d^{p^+}\|a\|_1};
$$
\item[(ii)] there exist two constants $\mu>p^+$ and $R>0$ such that for
all $|s|\geq R$, $$0<\mu F(s)\leq sf(s),
$$
\end{itemize}
and for each
$$
\lambda\in\Big]\frac{d^{p^+}\|a\|_1}{p^-|\partial\Omega|
F(d)},\frac{\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}}{p^+|\partial\Omega|\max_{|t|\leq
c}F(t)}\Big[,
$$
the problem
\begin{gather*}
\Delta_{p(x)} u=a(x)|u|^{p(x)-2}u \quad \text{in } \Omega,\\
|\nabla u|^{p(x)-2}\frac{\partial u}{\partial
\nu}=\lambda f(u) \quad \text{on } \partial\Omega,
\end{gather*}
admits at least two non-trivial weak solutions
$\bar{u}_{1},\bar{u}_{2}\in X$ such that
$$
\max_{x\in\Omega}|\bar{u}_{1}(x)|<c.
$$
\end{theorem}

Now, we point out the following result of three weak solutions.

\begin{theorem}\label{the3.4}
Let $f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ be a
Carath\'{e}odory function satisfying {\rm (F0)}. Assume that there
exist $d\geq 1$ and $c\geq m$ with
$d^{p^-}\|a\|_1>\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}$, such that the
assumption \eqref{e3.1} in Theorem \ref{the3.1} holds. Then, for
each $\lambda\in\Lambda$, where $\Lambda$ is given by \eqref{e3.2},
the problem \eqref{e1.1} has at least three weak solutions.
\end{theorem}

\begin{proof}
Our goal is to apply Theorem \ref{the2.2}. The functionals $\Phi$
and $\Psi$ defined in the proof of Theorem \ref{the3.1} satisfy all
regularity assumptions requested in Theorem \ref{the2.2}. So, our
aim is to verify (i) and (ii). Arguing as in the proof of Theorem
\ref{the3.1}, put $r:=\frac{1}{p^+}\big(\frac{c}{m}\big)^{p^-}$ and
$w(x):=d$ for all $x\in\bar{\Omega}$, bearing in mind that
$d^{p^-}\|a\|_1>(\frac{c}{m})^{p^-}$, we have
$$
\Phi(w)=\int_\Omega\frac{1}{p(x)}a(x)d^{p(x)}dx
\geq\frac{1}{p^+}d^{p^-}\|a\|_1>r>0.
$$
Therefore, the assumption (i) of Theorem \ref{the2.2} is satisfied.

We prove that the functional $I_\lambda$ is coercive for all
$\lambda>0$. If $u\in X$, then by condition \eqref{e2.4} and the
embedding theorem (see \cite[Theorem 2.1]{Deng}) we have 
$u\in L^{\beta(x)}(\partial\Omega)$. Then there is some constant $C>0$
such that
$$
\|u\|_{L^{\beta(x)}(\partial\Omega)}\leq C\|u\|_a,\quad\forall u\in
X.
$$
Now, by using H\"{o}lder inequality (see \cite{FanZhao}) and
condition {\rm (F0)}, for all $u\in X$ such that $\|u\|_a\geq 1$,
we have
\begin{align*}
\Psi(u)&=\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,u(x))d\sigma
=\int_{\partial\Omega}\Big(\int_{0}^{u(x)}f(x,t)dt\Big)d\sigma\\
&\leq \int_{\partial\Omega}\Big(\alpha(x)|u(x)|+\frac{b}{\beta(x)}|u(x)|^{\beta(x)}\Big)d\sigma \\
&\leq 2\|\alpha\|_{L^{\frac{\beta(x)}{\beta(x)-1}}(\partial\Omega)}
\|u\|_{L^{\beta(x)}(\partial\Omega)}
+\frac{b}{\beta^{-}}\int_{\partial\Omega}|u(x)|^{\beta(x)}d\sigma\\
&\leq 2C\|\alpha\|_{L^{\frac{\beta(x)}{\beta(x)-1}}(\partial\Omega)}
\|u\|_a+\frac{b}{\beta^{-}}\int_{\partial\Omega}|u(x)|^{\beta(x)}d\sigma.
\end{align*}
On the other hand, there is a constant $C'>0$ such that
\[
\int_{\partial\Omega}|u(x)|^{\beta(x)}d\sigma\leq
\max\left\{\|u\|_{L^{\beta(x)}(\partial\Omega)}^{\beta^{+}},
\|u\|_{L^{\beta(x)}(\partial\Omega)}^{\beta^{-}}\right\}\leq
C'\|u\|_a^{\beta^{+}}.
\]
Then,
$$
\Psi(u)\leq
2C\|\alpha\|_{L^{\frac{\beta(x)}{\beta(x)-1}}(\partial\Omega)}
\|u\|_a+\frac{b}{\beta^{-}}C'\|u\|_a^{\beta^{+}}.
$$
Since
\[
\Phi(u)=\int_{\Omega}\frac{1}{p(x)}\left(|\nabla
u|^{p(x)}+a(x)|u|^{p(x)}\right)dx\geq\frac{1}{p^{+}}\|u\|_a^{p^{-}},
\]
for every $\lambda>0$ we have
$$
I_\lambda(u)\geq\frac{1}{p^{+}}\|u\|_a^{p^{-}}-2\lambda
C\|\alpha\|_{L^{\frac{\beta(x)}{\beta(x)-1}}(\partial\Omega)}\|u\|_a
-\frac{\lambda b C'}{\beta^{-}}\|u\|_a^{\beta^{+}}.
$$
Since $p^{-}>\beta^{+}$, the functional $I_\lambda$ is coercive.
Then also condition (ii) holds. So, for each $\lambda\in\Lambda$,
the functional $I_\lambda$ admits at least three distinct critical
points that are weak solutions of problem \eqref{e1.1}.
\end{proof}

\begin{remark}\label{rem3.5}\rm{
If we assume that
$f:\partial\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ is a
non-negative Carath\'{e}odory function satisfying (F0), then
the previous theorems guarantee the existence of non-negative weak
solutions. In fact, let $\bar{u}$ be a weak solution of the problem
\eqref{e1.1}. We claim that it is non-negative. Arguing by
contradiction and setting $A:=\{x\in\bar{\Omega} : \bar{u}(x)<0\}$,
one has $A\neq\emptyset$. Put $\bar{v}:=\min\{\bar{u},0\}$, one has
$\bar{v}\in X$. So, taking into account that $\bar{u}$ is a weak
solution and by choosing $v=\bar{v}$, one has
$$
\int_A|\nabla\bar{u}|^{p(x)}dx+\int_A
a(x)|\bar{u}|^{p(x)}dx=\lambda\int_{\partial\Omega}
f(x,\bar{u}(x))\bar{u}(x)d\sigma\leq 0,
$$
that is, $\|\bar{u}\|_{W^{1,p(x)}(A)}=0$ which is absurd. Hence, our
claim is proved.

Also, when $f$ is a non-negative function, condition \eqref{e3.1}
becomes
$$
\frac{\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,c)d\sigma}{\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}}
<\frac{p^-\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,d)d\sigma}{p^+d^{p^+}\|a\|_1}.
$$
In this case, the previous theorems ensure the existence of
non-negative solutions to the problem \eqref{e1.1} for each
$$
\lambda\in\Big]\frac{d^{p^+}\|a\|_1}{p^-\int_{\partial\Omega}
F(x,d)d\sigma},\frac{\left(\frac{c}{m}\right)^{p^-}}{p^+\int_{\partial\Omega}F(x,c)d\sigma}\Big[.
$$}
\end{remark}

\begin{remark}\label{rem3.6}\rm{
Theorems \ref{the3.1} and \ref{the3.4} ensure more precise
conclusions rather than \cite[Theorems 1.1 and 1.3]{AlElOu}. In
fact, Theorem 1.1 of \cite{AlElOu} proves that for any
$\lambda\in]0,+\infty[$, the problem \eqref{e1.1}, when $a\equiv 1$,
has at least a non-trivial weak solution. Also, Theorem 3.1 of
\cite{AlElOu} establishes that there exists an open interval
$\Lambda\subset]0,+\infty[$ such that, for every
$\lambda\in\Lambda$, the problem \eqref{e1.1}, when $a\equiv 1$,
admits at least three solutions. Hence, a location of the interval
$\Lambda$ in $]0,+\infty[$ is not established.}
\end{remark}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem \ref{t1.1}]
Fix $\lambda>\lambda^\star:=\frac{d^p\|a\|_1}{p|\partial\Omega|
F(d)}$ for some $d\geq 1$ such that $F(d)>0$. Since
$$
\liminf_{\xi\to 0}\frac{F(\xi)}{\xi^{p}}=0,
$$
there is a sequence $\{c_n\}\subset]0,+\infty[$ such that
$\lim_{n\to +\infty} c_{n}=0$ and
$$
\lim _{n\to +\infty}\frac{F(c_n)}{c_n^{p}}=0.
$$
Therefore, there exists $\overline{c}\geq m$ such that
$$
\frac{F(\overline{c})}{\overline{c}^{p}}<
\min\big\{\frac{F(d)}{(md)^{p}\|a\|_{1}},\frac{1}{p|\partial\Omega|m^{p}
\lambda}\big\}
$$
and $\overline{c}<md\|a\|_{1}^{{1}/{p}}.$ Also, by the assumption
$$
\limsup_{|\xi|\to+\infty}\frac{F(\xi)}{\xi^{p}}=0,
$$
the functional $I_\lambda$ is coercive. Hence, by taking Remark
\ref{rem3.5} into account, the conclusion follows from Theorem
\ref{the3.4}.
\end{proof}

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\end{document}
