\documentclass[reqno]{amsart} 
\begin{document} 
{\noindent\small {\em Electronic Journal of Differential Equations},
Vol.~2000(2000), No.~55, pp.~1--8.\newline
ISSN: 1072-6691. URL: http://ejde.math.swt.edu or http://ejde.math.unt.edu
\newline ftp ejde.math.swt.edu \quad ejde.math.unt.edu (login: ftp)}
\thanks{\copyright 2000 Southwest Texas State University  and 
University of North Texas.} 
\vspace{1cm}

\title[\hfilneg EJDE--2000/55\hfil A generalization of Gordon's theorem]
{ A generalization of Gordon's theorem and applications to quasiperiodic 
  Schr\"odinger operators } 

\author[ D. Damanik \& G. Stolz \hfil EJDE--2000/55\hfilneg]
{ David Damanik \&  G\"unter Stolz }

\address{David Damanik \hfill\break
Department of Mathematics 253--37, California Institute of Technology \hfill\break
Pasadena, CA 91125, USA \hfill\break
and Fachbereich Mathematik, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universit\"at \hfill\break
60054 Frankfurt, Germany}
\email{damanik@its.caltech.edu} 

\address{G\"unter Stolz \hfill\break
Department of Mathematics, University of Alabama at Birmingham \hfill\break
Birmingham, AL 35294, USA}
\email{stolz@math.uab.edu}

\date{}
\thanks{Submitted May 12, 2000. Published July 18, 2000.}
\thanks{(D. D.) Supported by the German Academic Exchange Service 
through  \hfill\break\indent
 Hochschulsonderprogramm III (Postdoktoranden). \hfill\break\indent
 (G. S.) Partially supported by NSF Grant DMS 9706076.}
\subjclass{34L05, 34L40, 81Q10}
\keywords{ Schr\"odinger operators, eigenvalue problem, quasiperiodic potentials}

\begin{abstract}
 We present a criterion for absence of eigenvalues for one-dimensional 
 Schr\"odinger operators. This criterion can be regarded as an $L^1$-version of 
 Gordon's theorem and it has a broader range of application. 
 Absence of eigenvalues is then established for quasiperiodic potentials 
 generated by Liouville frequencies and various types of functions such as 
 step functions, H\"older continuous functions and functions with power-type 
 singularities. The proof is based on Gronwall-type a priori estimates for 
 solutions of Schr\"odinger equations.
\end{abstract}

\maketitle
\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section]
\newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma}
\newtheorem{prop}[theorem]{Proposition}
\newtheorem{coro}[theorem]{Corollary}
\newcommand{\tr}{\operatorname{\rm tr}}
\newcommand{\osc}{\operatorname{\rm osc}}


\section{Introduction}
In this paper we study one-dimensional Schr\"odinger operators of the form
\begin{equation}\label{operator}
H = -\frac{d^2}{dx^2} + V ( x ),
\end{equation}
acting on $L^2({\mathbb R})$, with some real-valued $L^1_{\rm loc}$-potential $V$. 
We will be particularly interested in potentials of the form
\begin{equation}\label{potential}
V ( x ) = V_1 ( x )  + V_2 ( x \alpha + \theta ),
\end{equation}
where we assume that $V_1$ and $V_2$ are $1$-periodic and locally integrable, 
and $\alpha , \theta \in [0,1)$. If $\alpha = \frac{p}{q}$ is rational, 
then the potential $V$ is $q$-periodic
and $H$ has purely absolutely continuous spectrum. If $\alpha$ is irrational, 
then the potential is quasiperiodic and the spectral theory of $H$ is far from 
trivial; compare \cite{e,fk1,fk2,fsw,k,ss}.

We want to study the eigenvalue problem for $H$. More precisely, we are 
interested in methods that allow one to exclude the presence of eigenvalues. 
A notion that has proved to be useful in
this context is the following. A bounded potential $V$ on $(-\infty, \infty)$ 
is called a \textit{Gordon potential} if there exist $T_m$-periodic potentials 
$V^{(m)}$ such that $T_m\rightarrow \infty$ and for every $m$, 
$$ \sup_{-2T_m \le x \le 2T_m} |V(x) - V^{(m)}(x)| \le C m^{-T_m} $$ 
for some suitable constant $C$. It has been shown by Gordon \cite{g} 
(see also Simon \cite{s1}) that $H$ has no eigenvalues if $V$ is a Gordon 
potential. For discrete Schr\"odinger operators, certain variants of this 
result have been established by Delyon and Petritis
\cite{dp} and by S\"ut\H{o} \cite{s2}; see \cite{d} for a survey of the 
applications of criteria in this spirit. The applications in the discrete 
case include in particular results for models that are generated by 
discontinuous functions, for example, step functions. The interest in 
such models stems from the theory of one-dimensional quasicrystals; 
compare \cite{d}. It is clear that in the continuum case, these functions 
are outside the scope of Gordon's result. This motivates our attempt to find 
a more general criterion for absence of eigenvalues.

Let us call $V$ a \textit{generalized Gordon potential} if 
$V \in L^1_{{\rm loc,unif}}({\mathbb R})$, that is,
$$
\|V\|_{1,{\rm unif}} = \sup_{x\in{\mathbb R}} \int_x^{x+1} |V(x)| dx < \infty
$$
and there exist $T_m$-periodic potentials $V^{(m)}$ such that 
$T_m \rightarrow \infty$ and for
every $C < \infty$, we have
\begin{equation}\label{ggpcond}
\lim_{m \rightarrow \infty} \exp(C T_m) \cdot \int_{-T_m}^{2T_m} 
|V(x) - V^{(m)}(x)| dx = 0.
\end{equation}
Clearly, every Gordon potential is a generalized Gordon potential. 
Our main result is the following:

\begin{theorem}\label{main}
Suppose $V$ is a generalized Gordon potential. Then the operator $H$ in 
\eqref{operator} has empty point spectrum.
\end{theorem}

As in the classical case \cite{g,s1}, the proof gives the stronger
result that for every energy $E$, the solutions of
\begin{equation}\label{ode}
-u'' (x) + V(x) u(x) = E  u(x)
\end{equation}
do not tend to zero as $|x| \rightarrow \infty$, that is, $|u(x_n)|^2 
+ |u'(x_n)|^2 \ge D$ for some constant $D > 0$ and a sequence 
$(x_n)_{n \in {\mathbb N}}$ which obeys $|x_n| \rightarrow
\infty$ as $n \rightarrow \infty$. Thus there are no $L^2$-solutions since 
$u\in L^2({\mathbb R})$ would imply $|u(x)|^2+|u'(x)|^2 \rightarrow 0$ as 
$|x| \rightarrow \infty$ by Harnack's inequality (see \cite{semi}). 
Note that this uses $V\in L^1_{{\rm loc,unif}}({\mathbb R})$, which also guarantees 
that the operator $H$ can be defined by form methods or via Sturm-Liouville 
theory.

Let us now discuss the application of Theorem \ref{main} to quasiperiodic $V$ 
given by \eqref{potential}. Given some irrational $\alpha \in [0,1)$, 
we consider its continued fraction expansion
$$
\alpha = \cfrac{1}{a_1+ \cfrac{1}{a_2+ \cfrac{1}{a_3 + \cdots}}}
$$
with uniquely determined $a_m \in {\mathbb N}$ and the continued fraction approximants 
$\alpha_m = p_m/q_m$ defined by
\begin{alignat*}{3}
p_0 &= 0, &\quad    p_1 &= 1,   &\quad  p_m &= a_m p_{m-1} + p_{m-2},\\
q_0 &= 1, &     q_1 &= a_1, &       q_m &= a_m q_{m-1} + q_{m-2};
\end{alignat*}
compare \cite{khin,lang}. Recall that $\alpha$ is called a 
\textit{Liouville number} if
\begin{equation}\label{liouville}
| \alpha - \alpha_m | \le B m^{-q_m}
\end{equation}
for some suitable $B$, and that the set of Liouville numbers is a dense 
$G_\delta$-set of zero Lebesgue measure. Given $V$ as in \eqref{potential}, 
we consider the $q_m$-periodic approximants $V^{(m)}$ defined by
\begin{equation}\label{approximants}
V^{(m)} ( x ) = V_1 ( x )  + V_2 ( x \alpha_m + \theta ).
\end{equation}

We immediately obtain the following corollary to Theorem \ref{main}.

\begin{coro}
Suppose that for every $C$, we have
\begin{equation}\label{condition}
\lim_{m \rightarrow \infty} \exp(C q_m) \int_{-q_m}^{2q_m} |V_2( x
\alpha + \theta ) - V_2 ( x \alpha_m + \theta)| dx = 0 .
\end{equation}
Then $V$ {\rm (}as given by \eqref{potential}{\rm )} is a generalized Gordon 
potential and $H$ {\rm (}as given by \eqref{operator}{\rm )} has empty point 
spectrum.
\end{coro}

Note that for $\alpha,\theta$ fixed, the class of functions $V_2$ obeying 
\eqref{condition} is a linear space, that is, it is closed under taking 
finite sums and under multiplication by constants. Moreover, we shall show 
that condition \eqref{condition} is satisfied, for example, if $V_2$ is a 
H\"older continuous function, a step function, or a function with power-type 
singularities, and $\alpha$ is Liouville and $\theta$ arbitrary. 

The organization of this paper is as follows. In Section 2 we establish 
estimates on solutions of \eqref{ode} which will imply Theorem \ref{main}. 
The examples for condition (\ref{condition}) are
discussed in Section 3.


\section{Gronwall-Type Solution Estimates and Proof of Theorem \ref{main}}

In this section we study the solutions to the eigenvalue equations associated 
to two potentials. These two potentials will later be given by a generalized 
Gordon potential and one of its approximants. We assume that the solutions 
have the same initial conditions at $0$. By an a priori estimate for the 
equivalent first order systems, found by a standard application of Gronwall's 
lemma (e.g., \cite{Walter}), we can bound the distance of the two solutions 
by an integral expression involving the distance of the potentials. 
It is this estimate which allows us to use $L^1$ rather than 
$L^{\infty}$-bounds in (\ref{ggpcond}). Theorem \ref{main} follows from this 
bound combined with some useful properties of solutions to periodic 
eigenvalue equations.

Fix two potentials $W_1 \in L^1_{{\rm loc,unif}}({\mathbb R})$, 
$W_2 \in L^1_{{\rm loc}}({\mathbb R})$ and some energy $E$ and consider the solutions 
$u_1,u_2$ of
$$
-u_1''(x) + W_1 (x) u_1 (x) = E u_1 (x), \; -u_2''(x) + W_2 (x) u_2 (x) 
= E u_2 (x),
$$
subject to
$$
u_1(0) = u_2(0), \; u_1'(0) = u_2'(0), \; |u_1(0)|^2 + |u_1'(0)|^2 
= |u_2(0)|^2 + |u_2'(0)|^2 = 1.
$$

\begin{lemma}\label{estimate}
There exists $C = C(\|W_1-E\|_{1,{\rm unif}})$ such that for every $x$,
we have
\begin{equation} \label{u1u2est}
\left \| \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1(x)\\u_1'(x) \end{array} \right) 
- \left( \begin{array}{c} u_2(x)\\u_2'(x) \end{array} \right) \right\| 
\le C \exp(C |x| ) \int_{\min(0,x)}^{\max(0,x)}
|W_1(t) - W_2(t)| \cdot |u_2(t)| dt.
\end{equation}
\end{lemma}

\noindent\textit{Proof.} We consider the case $x \ge 0$ (the modifications for 
$x < 0$ are obvious). We have
\begin{align*}
\left( \begin{array}{c} u_1(x) - u_2(x) \\ u_1'(x) - u_2'(x) \end{array} 
\right) = & \int_0^x \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1'(t) - u_2'(t) \\
 (W_1(t) - E)u_1(t) - (W_2(t) - E)u_2(t) \end{array}
\right) dt\\
= & \int_0^x \left( \begin{array}{c} 0 \\ (W_1(t) - W_2(t)) u_2(t) \end{array} 
\right) dt \, + \\
& + \int_0^x \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1'(t) - u_2'(t) \\ (W_1(t) - E) (u_1(t) 
-
u_2(t)) \end{array} \right) dt\\
= & \int_0^x \left( \begin{array}{c} 0 \\ (W_1(t) - W_2(t)) u_2(t) \end{array} 
\right) dt \, +\\
& + \int_0^x \left( \begin{array}{cc} 0 & 1 \\ W_1(t) - E & 0 \end{array} 
\right) \cdot \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1(t) - u_2(t) \\ u_1'(t) - u_2'(t) 
\end{array} \right) dt.
\end{align*}

Hence
\begin{align*}
\left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1(x) - u_2(x) \\ u_1'(x) - u_2'(x) 
\end{array} \right) \right\| \le & \int_0^x | (W_1(t) - W_2(t))| \cdot |u_2(t)|
 dt \, +\\
& + \int_0^x \left\| \left( \begin{array}{cc} 0 & 1 \\ W_1(t) - E & 0 
\end{array} \right) \right\| \cdot \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1(t) 
- u_2(t) \\ u_1'(t) - u_2'(t) \end{array} \right) \right\| dt.
\end{align*}
By Gronwall's lemma \cite{Walter} we therefore get
\begin{align*}
\left \| \left( \begin{array}{c} u_1(x)\\u_1'(x) \end{array} \right) 
- \left( \begin{array}{c} u_2(x)\\u_2'(x) \end{array} \right) \right\| 
\le & \int_0^x | (W_1(t) - W_2(t))| \cdot
|u_2(t)| dt \, \times\\
& \times \exp \left( \int_0^x \left\| \left( \begin{array}{cc} 0 & 1 \\ 
W_1(t) - E & 0 \end{array} \right) \right\| dt \right) .
\end{align*}
Choosing $C$ suitably, the assertion of the lemma follows. \hfill $\Box$
\medskip

We see that we can control the difference of the solutions in terms of an 
integral condition involving the difference of the potentials. The other key 
ingredient in the proof of Theorem \ref{main} is the fact that for periodic 
potentials, we have some knowledge about the norm of the solution vector 
$(u(x),u'(x))^T$ at certain points $x$. This is made explicit in the 
following lemma which is essentially well known (particularly in the discrete 
case \cite{d,dp}).

\begin{lemma}\label{perestimate}
Suppose $W$ is $p$-periodic and $E$ is some arbitrary energy. Then every 
solution of
\begin{equation}\label{help}
-u''(x) + W(x) u(x) = E u(x),
\end{equation}
normalized in the sense that
\begin{equation}\label{normal}
|u(0)|^2 + |u'(0)|^2 = 1,
\end{equation}
obeys the estimate
$$
\max \left( \; \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(-p)\\u'(-p) \end{array} 
\right) \right\| , \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(p)\\u'(p) \end{array} 
\right) \right\| , \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(2p)\\u'(2p) \end{array} 
\right) \right\| \; \right) \ge \frac{1}{2}.
$$
\end{lemma}

\noindent\textit{Proof.} This follows by the same reasoning as in the discrete 
case; compare \cite{d,dp}. For the reader's convenience, we sketch the 
argument briefly. Consider the solutions $u$ of \eqref{help}. 
For $x,y \in {\mathbb R}$, $x < y$, the mapping
\begin{equation}\label{transfer}
M(x,y) : \left( \begin{array}{c} u(x)\\u'(x) \end{array} \right)
\mapsto \left( \begin{array}{c} u(y)\\u'(y) \end{array} \right)
\end{equation}
is clearly linear and depends only on the energy $E$ and the potential on the 
interval $(x,y)$. Thus, since $W$ is $p$-periodic, we have
\begin{equation}\label{repeat}
M(-p,0) = M(0,p) = M(p,2p) =: M.
\end{equation}

Moreover, by the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, we have
\begin{equation}\label{cht}
M^2 - \tr (M) M + I = 0.
\end{equation}
If $|\tr (M)| \le 1$, we apply this equation to $(u(0),u'(0))^T$ obeying 
\eqref{normal} and obtain, using \eqref{repeat}, 
$$
\max \left( \;  \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(p)\\u'(p) \end{array} \right)
 \right\| , \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(2p)\\u'(2p) \end{array} \right) 
 \right\| \; \right) \ge \frac{1}{2},
$$
since $(u(0),u'(0))^T$ has norm one. If $|\tr (M)| > 1$, we apply \eqref{cht} 
along with \eqref{repeat} to $(u(-p),u'(-p))^T$ and obtain
$$
\max \left( \; \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(-p)\\u'(-p) \end{array} \right)
 \right\| , \left\| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(p)\\u'(p) \end{array} \right) 
 \right\| \;
\right) \ge \frac{1}{2},
$$
again since the vector $(u(0),u'(0))^T$ has norm one. Put together, we obtain 
the claimed result. \hfill $\Box$


We are now in a position to prove the main result. 

\medskip

\noindent\textit{Proof of Theorem \ref{main}.} Let $V$ be a generalized Gordon 
potential and let $V^{(m)}$ be the $T_m$-periodic approximants obeying 
\eqref{ggpcond}. Fix some $m$
and apply Lemma \ref{estimate} with $W_1 = V$ and $W_2 = V^{(m)}$. We obtain
\begin{equation} \label{uumest}
\left \| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(x)\\u'(x) \end{array} \right) 
- \left( \begin{array}{c} u_m (x)\\u_m'(x) \end{array} \right) \right\| 
\le C_1 \exp(C_1 |x| ) \int_{\min(0,x)}^{\max(0,x)} |V(t) - V^{(m)}(t)| 
|u_m(t)| dt,
\end{equation}
where $u$  solves $-u''(x) + V(x) u(x) = E u(x)$,  $u_m$ solves 
$-u_m''(x) + V^{(m)}(x) u_m(x) = E u_m(x)$), and $u,u_m$ are both normalized 
at the origin and obey the same boundary
condition there. We conclude from \eqref{ggpcond} that 
$\|V^{(m)}\|_{1,{\rm unif}}$ is bounded in $m$. Thus a second application of 
Lemma \ref{estimate} with $W_1 = V^{(m)}$ and $W_2 = 0$, noting that the 
constant in \eqref{u1u2est} only depends on the $L^1_{{\rm loc,unif}}$-norm of 
$W_1-E$, leads to
$$
\left \| \left( \begin{array}{c} u_m(x)\\u_m'(x) \end{array} \right) - \left(
\begin{array}{c} u_0 (x)\\u_0'(x) \end{array} \right) \right\| \le C_2 
\exp(C_2 |x|) \int_{\min(0,x)}^{\max(0,x)} |V^{(m)}(t)| |u_0(t)| dt,
$$
where $C_2$ does not depend on $m$ and $u_0$ is a normalized solution of 
$-u_0''=Eu_0$. Noting that $u_0$ is exponentially bounded, this gives
$$
|u_m(x)| \le C_3 \exp(C_3 |x|)
$$
with $C_3$ independent of $m$. This and \eqref{uumest} yield
$$
\left \| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(x)\\u'(x) \end{array} \right) 
- \left( \begin{array}{c} u_m (x)\\u_m'(x) \end{array} \right) \right\| 
\le C \exp(C|x|) \int_{\min(0,x)}^{\max(0,x)}
|V(t) - V^{(m)}(t)| dt.
$$

By \eqref{ggpcond} we find some $m_0$ such that for $m \ge m_0$, we have
$$
\left \| \left( \begin{array}{c} u(x)\\u'(x) \end{array} \right) - \left(
\begin{array}{c} u_m (x)\\u_m' (x) \end{array} \right) \right\|
\le \frac{1}{4}
$$
for every $x$ with $-T_m \le x \le 2T_m$. Combining this with Lemma 
\ref{perestimate}, we can conclude the proof. \hfill $\Box$


\section{Examples of Generalized Gordon Potentials}

In this section we give examples of functions $V_2$ that obey condition 
\eqref{condition} for Liouville frequencies $\alpha$ and hence induce 
quasiperiodic functions $V$ by \eqref{potential} which are generalized Gordon 
potentials. These will include H\"older continuous functions, step functions, 
functions with local singularities, and linear combinations thereof.

Let us observe the following:

\begin{prop}
For fixed $\alpha,\theta$, the class of functions $V_2$ obeying 
\eqref{condition} is a linear space, that is, it is closed under taking finite 
sums and under multiplication by constants.
\end{prop}

\noindent\textit{Proof.} This is obvious. \hfill $\Box$

\medskip

Define for some $1$-periodic function $f$,
$$
\osc_{f,\varepsilon}(x) = \sup_{y,z \in (x - \varepsilon, x 
+ \varepsilon)} | f(y) - f(z) |.
$$
Then we have the following proposition.

\begin{prop}\label{boundex}
{\rm (a)} If there are $0 < \delta , D < \infty$ such that
\begin{equation} \label{osc}
\int_0^1 \osc_{V_2,\varepsilon}(x) dx \le D \varepsilon^\delta
\end{equation}
for all sufficiently small $\varepsilon > 0$, then for every Liouville number 
$\alpha \in [0,1)$ and every $\theta \in [0,1)$, condition \eqref{condition} 
is satisfied.\\[1mm]
{\rm (b)} Condition \eqref{osc} holds for all H\"older continuous functions 
and for all step functions.
\end{prop}

\noindent\textit{Proof.} (a) Fix some $C$. Then by \eqref{liouville} and 
\eqref{osc}, we have
\begin{align*}
\limsup_{m \rightarrow \infty} \exp(C q_m) \int_{-q_m}^{2 q_m} | 
& V_2(x \alpha + \theta) - V_2(x \alpha_m + \theta)| dx \le \\
 & \le \limsup_{m \rightarrow \infty} \exp(C q_m) 
 \frac{3 q_m \alpha + 1}{\alpha} \int_0^1 \osc_{V_2,2 q_m |\alpha - \alpha_m|} 
 (x) dx\\
& \le \limsup_{m \rightarrow \infty} \exp(C q_m) \frac{3 q_m \alpha + 1}{\alpha}
 D (2 q_m |\alpha - \alpha_m|)^\delta\\
& \le \limsup_{m \rightarrow \infty} \exp(C q_m) \frac{3 q_m \alpha + 1}{\alpha}
 D 2^\delta q_m^\delta B^\delta m^{-\delta q_m}\\
& = 0.
\end{align*}
(b) This is straightforward. \hfill $\Box$

\medskip

The class for which \eqref{condition} was established in Proposition 
\ref{boundex} contains only bounded potentials. We finally provide an example 
which shows that the use of generalized Gordon potentials allows one to exclude
 eigenvalues for some unbounded quasiperiodic potentials. We will exhibit some 
 $V_2$ that has an integrable power-like singularity and which satisfies 
 \eqref{condition}, and therefore $H$ defined by \eqref{operator} and 
 \eqref{potential} has empty point spectrum. Note that by linearity this also 
 gives examples with negative singularities and multiple singularities with 
 different values for $\gamma$.

\begin{prop}
Let $0<\gamma<1$ and $V_2(x)$ be the $1$-periodic potential which for 
$-1/2 \le x \le 1/2$ is given by $V_2(x) = |x|^{-\gamma}$.  Then for every 
Liouville number $\alpha \in [0,1)$ and every $\theta \in [0,1)$, condition 
\eqref{condition} is satisfied.
\end{prop}
\noindent\textit{Proof.} For simplicity, we will only establish 
\eqref{condition} for $\theta = 0$. The calculations for general $\theta$ are 
similar but slightly more tedious. Start by writing
\begin{equation} \label{split}
\int_{-q_m}^{2q_m} |V_2(\alpha x) - V_2(\alpha_m x)| dx = \frac{q_m}{p_m} 
\sum_{n=-p_m}^{2p_m - 1} \int_n^{n+1} \left|V_2 \left( \frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} 
y \right) - V_2(y) \right| dy
\end{equation}
and
\begin{equation} \label{shift}
\int_n^{n+1} \left| V_2 \left( \frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} y \right) - V_2(y) 
\right| dy = \int_0^1 \left| V_2 \left( y+ \left( \frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} 
-1 \right) (y+n) \right) - V_2(y) \right| dy.
\end{equation}

We have $|\frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m}-1| |y+n| \le 2p_m |\frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} -1| 
=: \delta < 1/4$ for $m$ sufficiently large and can estimate
\begin{eqnarray} \label{halfest}
& & \int_0^{1/2} \left| V_2 \left(y+ \left( \frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} -1 \right) 
(y+n) \right) - V_2(y) \right| dy\\
& & \le C\delta + C \delta^{1-\gamma} + \left| \int_0^{1/2} \left( V_2 
\left( y+ \left( \frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} -1 \right)(y+n) \right) - V_2(y) \right)
 dy \right|, \nonumber
\end{eqnarray}
where the $\delta^{1-\gamma}$ term arises from the singularity of $V_2$ at $0$, 
and the monotonicity of $V_2$ in $[0,1/2]$ was used to take the absolute value 
outside the integral. The integral on the right can be calculated explicitly, 
which eventually leads to an estimate 
$C(p_m |\frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m}-1|)^{1-\gamma}$ for its absolute value and thus 
also for \eqref{halfest}.

In a similar way we get the same estimate for the integral from $1/2$ to $1$ 
on the right hand side of \eqref{shift}. Inserting into \eqref{split} 
we finally find
$$
\int_{-q_m}^{2q_m} \left| V_2(\alpha x) - V_2(\alpha_m x) \right| dx 
\le C p_m^{2-\gamma} \left| \frac{\alpha q_m}{p_m} -1 \right|^{1-\gamma}.
$$
In view of \eqref{liouville} this suffices to imply \eqref{condition}. 


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\end{document}