Thresholds for the existence of solutions to inhomogeneous elliptic equations with general exponential nonlinearity

Abstract In this paper we study the existence and the nonexistence of solutions to an inhomogeneous non-linear elliptic problem (P) −Δu+u=F(u)+κμ  in  RN, u>0  in  RN, u(x)→0  as  |x|→∞, - \Delta u + u = F(u) + \kappa \mu \quad {\kern 1pt} {\rm in}{\kern 1pt} \quad {{\bf R}^N},\quad u > 0\quad {\kern 1pt} {\rm in}{\kern 1pt} \quad {{\bf R}^N},\quad u(x) \to 0\quad {\kern 1pt} {\rm as}{\kern 1pt} \quad |x| \to \infty , where F = F(t) grows up (at least) exponentially as t → ∞. Here N ≥ 2, κ > 0, and μ∈Lc1(RN)\{0} \mu \in L_{\rm{c}}^1({{\bf R}^N})\backslash \{ 0\} is nonnegative. Then, under a suitable integrability condition on μ, there exists a threshold parameter κ* > 0 such that problem (P) possesses a solution if 0 < κ < κ* and it does not possess no solutions if κ > κ*. Furthermore, in the case of 2 ≤ N ≤ 9, problem (P) possesses a unique solution if κ = κ*.