Continuity, compactness, fixed points, and integral equations

Abstract

An integral equation, $x(t)=a(t)-\int^t_{-\infty} D(t,s)g(x(s))ds$ with $a(t)$ bounded, is studied by means of a Liapunov functional. There results an a priori bound on solutions. This gives rise to an interplay between continuity and compactness and leads us to a fixed point theorem of Schaefer type. It is a very flexible fixed point theorem which enables us to show that the solution inherits properties of $a(t)$, including periodic or almost periodic solutions in a Banach space.