Bifurcation of positive solutions to scalar reaction-diffusion equations with nonlinear boundary condition

The bifurcation of non-trivial steady state solutions of a scalar reaction-diffusion equation with nonlinear boundary conditions is considered using several new abstract bifurcation theorems. The existence and stability of positive steady state solutions are proved using a unified approach. The general results are applied to a Laplace equation with nonlinear boundary condition and bistable nonlinearity, and an elliptic equation with superlinear nonlinearity and sublinear boundary conditions.