Special solutions for linear functional differential equations and asymptotic behaviour

Abstract

The present paper deals with special solutions for linear functional differential equations with small delays. The importance of special solutions relies on the fact that, under some conditions, they can be used to describe the asymptotic behaviour of all solutions. Sufficient conditions for the existence of special solutions for nonautonomous equations in $\mathbb R^n$ are given. For autonomous equations in $\mathbb R^n$, results relating special solutions and characteristic values are presented. We also consider linear autonomous functional differential equations in Banach spaces, and use special solutions to study the asymptotic behaviour of their solutions. Several applications are given.