Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 November 2011
The equation studied here is Lny +p(x)y = 0, where Ln is a disconjugate differential operator and p(x) is of a fixed sign. It is shown that certain minors of the wronskian of this equation satisfy a very similar differential equation Mnz +p(x)z =0. We prove that some properties of the original equation which are essential for oscillation theory are inherited by the solutions of the second one.