1 Introduction

In 1960, the stability problem of functional equations originated from the question of Ulam [1, 2] concerning the stability of group homomorphisms. The famous Ulam stability problem was partially solved by Hyers [3] in Banach spaces. Later, Aoki [4] and Bourgin [5] considered the stability problem with unbounded Cauchy differences. Rassias [69] provided a generalization of Hyers’ theorem by proving the existence of unique linear mappings near approximate additive mappings. On the other hand, Rassias [10, 11] considered the Cauchy difference controlled by a product of different powers of norm. The above results have been generalized by Forti [12] and Gǎvruta [13], who permitted the Cauchy difference to become arbitrary unbounded. Gajda and Ger [14] showed that one can get analogous stability results for subadditive multifunctions. Gruber [15] remarked that Ulam’s problem is of particular interest in probability theory and in the case of functional equations of different types. Recently, Baktash et al. [16], Cho et al. [1720], Gordji et al. [2124], Lee et al. [25, 26], Najati et al. [27, 28], Park et al. [29], Saadati et al. [30] and Savadkouhi et al. [31] have studied and generalized several stability problems of a large variety of functional equations.

The most famous functional equation is the Cauchy equation

f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y),

any solution of which is called additive. It is easy to see that the function f:RR defined by f(x)=c x 2 , where c is an arbitrary constant, is a solution of the functional equation

f(x+y)+f(xy)=2f(x)+2f(y).
(1.1)

Thus it is natural that each equation is said to be a quadratic functional equation. In particular, every solution of the quadratic equation (1.1) is said to be a quadratic function.

Lee et al. [32] considered the following functional equation:

f(2x+y)+f(2xy)=4f(x+y)+4f(xy)+24f(x)6f(y).
(1.2)

The functional equation (1.2) clearly has f(x)=c x 4 as a solution when f is a real valued function of a real variable. So, it is said to be a quartic functional equation.

Before we present our results, we introduce here some basic facts concerning quasi-β-normed space and preliminary results. Let β be a real number with 0<β1, and K be either R or C. Let X be a linear space over C. A quasi-β-norm is a real-valued function on X satisfying the following:

  1. (1)

    x0 for all xX and x=0 if and only if x=0;

  2. (2)

    λx= | λ | β x for all and xX;

  3. (3)

    There is a constant K1 such that x+yK(x+y) for all x,yX.

Then (X,) is called a quasi-β-normed space if is a quasi-β-norm on X. The smallest possible K is called the module of concavity of . A quasi-β-Banach space ia a complete quasi-β-normed space.

A quasi-β-norm is called a (β,p)-norm (0<p1) if x + y p x p + y p for all x,yX. In this case, a quasi-β-Banach space is called a (β,p)-Banach space.

In [33], Tabor investigated a version of the Hyers-Rassias-Gajda theorem in quasi-Banach spaces. For further details on quasi-β normed spaces and (β,p)-Banach space, we refer to the papers [3437].

In this paper, we consider the following functional equations:

(1.3)
(1.4)

and discuss the generalized Hyers-Ulam-Rassias stability problem in quasi-β-normed spaces and then the stability by using subadditive and subquadratic functions for the functional equations (1.3) and (1.4) in (β,p)-Banach spaces.

2 Stability of radical functional equations

Using an idea of Gǎvruta [13], we prove the generalized stability of (1.3) and (1.4) in the spirit of Ulam, Hyers and Rassias.

In [38], Khodaei et al. proved the following result:

Lemma 2.1 Let X be a real linear space and f:RX be a function. Then we have the following:

  1. (1)

    If f satisfies the functional equation (1.3), then f is quadratic.

  2. (2)

    If f satisfies the functional equation (1.4), then f is quartic.

Proof We will only prove (2). Letting x=y=0 in (1.4), we get f(0)=0. Setting x=x in (1.4), we have

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) +f ( | x 2 y 2 | ) =2f(x)+2f(y)
(2.1)

for all x,yR. If we compare (1.4) with (2.1), we obtain that f(x)=f(x) for all xR. Letting y=x in (1.4) and then using f(0)=0 and the evenness of f, we have f( 2 x)=4f(x) for all xR. Putting y= 2 x in (1.4) and using f( 2 x)=4f(x), we get f( 3 x)=9f(x) for all xR. By induction, we lead to f( n x)= n 2 f(x) for all xR and n Z + . We obtain f( x n )= 1 n 2 f(x), and so f( m n x)= m 2 n 2 f(x) for all xR and m,n Z + . So, we have

f( r x)= r 2 f(x)
(2.2)

for all xR and all r Q + . Replacing x and y by x+y and xy in (1.4) respectively, we obtain

f ( 2 x 2 + 2 y 2 ) +f ( | 4 x y | ) =2f(x+y)+2f(xy)
(2.3)

for all x,yR. Setting y= x 2 + y 2 in (1.4) and using the evenness of f, we get

f ( 2 x 2 + y 2 ) 2f ( x 2 + y 2 ) =2f(x)f(y)
(2.4)

for all x,yR. Putting x=2x in (2.3) and using (2.2), we get

2f ( 4 x 2 + y 2 ) +32f ( | x y | ) =f(2x+y)+f(2xy)
(2.5)

for all x,yR. Setting x= 2 x in (1.4) and using (2.2), we get

f ( 4 x 2 + y 2 ) 2f ( 2 x 2 + y 2 ) =8f(x)f(y)
(2.6)

for all x,yR. It follows from (2.2), (2.3), (2.4) and (2.6) that

f ( 4 x 2 + y 2 ) +16f ( | x y | ) =2f(x+y)+2f(xy)+12f(x)3f(y)
(2.7)

for all x,yR. So it follows from (2.5) and (2.7) that f satisfies (1.2). Therefore, f is quartic. This completes the proof. □

Let X be a quasi-β-Banach space with the quasi-β-norm X and K be the modulus of concavity of X . Let ϕ,ψ: R 2 R + {0} be functions. A function f:RX is said to be ϕ-approximatively radical quadratic if

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) f ( x ) f ( y ) X ϕ(x,y)
(2.8)

and a function f:RX is said to be ψ-approximatively radical quartic if

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) + f ( | x 2 y 2 | ) 2 f ( x ) 2 f ( y ) X ψ(x,y)
(2.9)

for all x,yR.

Theorem 2.2 Let f:RX be a ϕ-approximatively radical quadratic function with f(0)=0. If a function ϕ: R 2 R + {0} satisfies

ϕ ˆ (x):= j = 0 ( K 2 β ) j ( ϕ ( 2 j 2 x , 2 j 2 x ) + ϕ ( 2 j + 1 2 x , 0 ) ) <

and lim n 1 2 β n ϕ( 2 n 2 x, 2 n 2 y)=0 for all x,yR, then the limit F(x):= lim n 1 2 n f( 2 n 2 x) exists for all xR and a function F:RX is unique quadratic satisfying the functional equation (1.3) and the inequality

f ( x ) F ( x ) X K 2 β ϕ ˆ (x)
(2.10)

for all xR.

Proof Replacing x and y by x + y 2 and x y 2 in (2.8) respectively, we get

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) f ( x + y 2 ) f ( x y 2 ) X ϕ ( x + y 2 , x y 2 )
(2.11)

for all x,yR. It follows from (2.8) and (2.11) that

f ( x ) + f ( y ) f ( x + y 2 ) f ( x y 2 ) X K ( ϕ ( x , y ) + ϕ ( x + y 2 , x y 2 ) )
(2.12)

for all x,yR. Setting y=x in (2.12), it follows from f(0)=0 that

2 f ( x ) f ( 2 x ) X K ( ϕ ( x , x ) + ϕ ( 2 x , 0 ) )
(2.13)

and so

f ( x ) 1 2 f ( 2 x ) X K 2 β ( ϕ ( x , x ) + ϕ ( 2 x , 0 ) )
(2.14)

for all xR. For any integers m, k with m>k0,

1 2 k f ( 2 k 2 x ) 1 2 m f ( 2 m 2 x ) X K 2 β j = k m 1 ( K 2 β ) j ( ϕ ( 2 j 2 x , 2 j 2 x ) + ϕ ( 2 j + 1 2 x , 0 ) )
(2.15)

for all xR. Then a sequence { 1 2 n f( 2 n 2 x)} is a Cauchy sequence in a quasi-β-Banach space X and so it converges. We can define a function F:RX by F(x):= lim n 1 2 n f( 2 n 2 x) for all xR. From (2.8), the following inequality holds:

for all x,yR. Then F( x 2 + y 2 )F(x)F(y)=0 and, by Lemma 2.1, F is a quadratic function. Taking the limit m in (2.15) with k=0, we find that a function F satisfies (2.10) near the approximate function f of the functional equation (1.3).

Next, we assume that there exists another quadratic function G:RX which satisfies the functional equation (1.3) and (2.10). Since G satisfies (1.3), it easy to show that G( 2 n 2 x)= 2 n G(x) for all xR and n1. Then we have

F ( x ) G ( x ) = 1 2 n F ( 2 n 2 x ) 1 2 n G ( 2 n 2 x ) K 2 β n ( F ( 2 n 2 x ) f ( 2 n 2 x ) + f ( 2 n 2 x ) G ( 2 n 2 x ) ) K 2 n 2 β 1 k = n ( K 2 β ) k ( ϕ ( 2 k 2 x , 2 k 2 x ) + ϕ ( 2 k + 1 2 x , 0 ) )

for all xR. Letting n, we establish F(x)=G(x) for all xR. This completes the proof. □

Theorem 2.3 Let f:RX be a ϕ-approximatively radical quadratic function. If a function ϕ: R 2 R + {0} satisfies

ϕ ˆ (x):= j = 1 ( K 2 β ) j ( ϕ ( 2 j 2 x , 2 j 2 x ) + ϕ ( 2 1 j 2 x , 0 ) ) <

and lim n 2 β n ϕ( 2 n 2 x, 2 n 2 y)=0 for all x,yR, then the limit F(x):= lim n 2 n f( 2 n 2 x) exists for all xR and a function F:RX is unique quadratic satisfying the functional equation (1.3) and the inequality

f ( x ) F ( x ) X K 2 β ϕ ˆ (x)

for all xR.

Proof If x is replaced by 2 1 2 x in the inequality (2.13), then the proof follows from the proof of Theorem 2.2. □

Corollary 2.4 Let r,s R + {0} and ε0. If a function f:RX satisfies the following inequality:

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) f ( x ) f ( y ) X { ε ; ε | x | r | y | s

for all x,yR, then there exists a unique quadratic function F:RX satisfying the functional equation (1.3) and the following inequality:

f ( x ) F ( x ) X { 2 ε K 2 β K , K < 2 β ; ε K | x | r + s 2 β K 2 r + s , r + s < 2 β 2 log 2 K

for all xR.

Corollary 2.5 Let r,s R + {0} and ε0. If a function f:RX satisfies the following inequality:

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) f ( x ) f ( y ) X ε ( | x | r + | y | s )

for all x,yR, then there exists a unique quadratic function F:RX satisfying the functional equation (1.3) and the following inequality:

f ( x ) F ( x ) X εK ( ( 1 + 2 r ) | x | r 2 β K 2 r + | x | s 2 β K 2 s ) ,r,s<2β2 log 2 K

for all xR.

Now, we give an example to illustrate that the functional equation (1.3) is not stable for r=2=s in a quasi-1-Banach space with K=1.

Example 2.6 Let be defined by

ϕ(x):={ x 2 for | x | < 1 ; 1 for | x | 1 .

Consider the function by the formula

f(x):= m = 0 1 4 m ϕ ( 2 m x )

for all . It is clear that f is bounded by 4 3 on . We prove that

|f ( x 2 + y 2 ) f(x)f(y)|16 ( | x | 2 + | y | 2 )
(2.16)

for all . To see this, if | x | 2 + | y | 2 =0 or | x | 2 + | y | 2 1 4 , then we have (2.16). Now suppose that 0< | x | 2 + | y | 2 < 1 4 . Then there exists a positive integer k such that

1 4 k + 1 < | x | 2 + | y | 2 < 1 4 k ,
(2.17)

so that 2 m |x|, 2 m |y|, 2 m x 2 + y 2 (1,1) for all m=0,1,,k1. It follows from the definition of f and (2.17) that

for all with | x | 2 + | y | 2 < 1 4 . Thus, the condition (2.16) holds true.

Next, we claim that the quadratic equation (1.3) is not stable for r=2=s. Assume that there exist a quadratic function and a positive constant μ such that |f(x)F(x)|μ | x | 2 for all . Then there exists a constant such that F(x)=c x 2 for all . So we have

| f ( x ) | ( μ + | c | ) | x | 2
(2.18)

for all . But, we can choose a λ Z + with λ>μ+|c|. If x(0, 2 λ ), then 2 j x(0,1) for all j=0,1,,λ1. For this x, we obtain

|f(x)|=| j = 0 ϕ ( 2 j x ) 4 j | j = 0 λ 1 ϕ ( 2 j x ) 4 j =λ x 2 > ( μ + | c | ) | x | 2 ,

which contradicts (2.18). Therefore, the quadratic equation (1.3) is not stable for r=2=s in Corollary 2.5.

Theorem 2.7 Let f:RX be a ψ-approximatively radical quartic function with f(0)=0. If the function ψ: R 2 R + {0} satisfies

ψ ˆ (x):= j = 0 ( K 4 β ) j ( ψ ( 2 j 2 x , 2 j 2 x ) + 1 2 ψ ( 2 j + 1 2 x , 0 ) ) <

and lim n 1 4 β n ψ( 2 n 2 x, 2 n 2 y)=0 for all x,yR, then the limit H(x):= lim n 1 4 n f( 2 n 2 x) for all xR exists and a function H:RX is unique quartic satisfying the functional equation (1.4) and the inequality

f ( x ) H ( x ) X K 2 2 3 β 1 ψ ˆ (x)
(2.19)

for all xR.

Proof Replacing x and y by 2 x and 2 y in (2.9) respectively, we have

f ( 2 x 2 + 2 y 2 ) + f ( | 2 x 2 2 y 2 | ) 2 f ( 2 x ) 2 f ( 2 y ) X ψ( 2 x, 2 y)
(2.20)

for all x,yR. Again, replacing x and y by x+y and xy in (2.9) respectively, we get

f ( 2 x 2 + 2 y 2 ) + f ( | 4 x y | ) 2 f ( x + y ) 2 f ( x y ) X ψ(x+y,xy)
(2.21)

for all x,yR. It follows from (2.20) and (2.21) that

(2.22)

for all x,yR. Setting y=0 in (2.22) and f(0)=0, we have

2 f ( 2 x ) f ( 2 x 2 ) 4 f ( x ) X K ( ψ ( x , x ) + ψ ( 2 x , 0 ) )
(2.23)

for all xR. Setting y=x in (2.9), we have

f ( 2 x 2 ) 4 f ( x ) X ψ(x,x)
(2.24)

for all xR. It follows from (2.23) and (2.24) that

2 f ( 2 x ) 8 f ( x ) X K 2 ( 2 ψ ( x , x ) + ψ ( 2 x , 0 ) )
(2.25)

for all xR. Since f(0)=0, it follows from (2.24) and (2.25) that

f ( x ) 1 4 f ( 2 x ) X K 2 2 3 β 1 ( ψ ( x , x ) + 1 2 ψ ( 2 x , 0 ) )
(2.26)

for all xR. Hence we have

(2.27)

for all xR and m>k0. Then a sequence { 1 4 n f( 2 n 2 x)} is a Cauchy sequence in X, and so it converges to a point in X. We can define a function H:RX by H(x):= lim n 1 4 n f( 2 n 2 x) for all xR. From (2.9), the following inequality holds:

H ( x 2 + y 2 ) + H ( | x 2 y 2 | ) 2 H ( x ) 2 H ( y ) X lim n 1 4 β n ψ ( 2 n 2 x , 2 n 2 y ) =0

for all x,yR. Then, we have H( x 2 + y 2 )+H( | x 2 y 2 | )2H(x)2H(y)=0, and by Lemma 2.1, H is quartic. Taking the limit m in (2.27) with k=0, we obtain that a function H satisfies (2.19) near the approximate function f of the functional equation (1.4). The remaining assertion is similar to the corresponding part of Theorem 2.2. This completes the proof. □

Corollary 2.8 If there exist r,s,t R + {0} and ε0; if a function f:RX satisfies the inequality

f ( x 2 + y 2 ) + f ( | x 2 y 2 | ) 2 f ( x ) 2 f ( y ) X { ε ; ε | x | r | y | s ; ε ( | x | r + | y | s )

for all x,yR, then there exists a unique quartic function H:RX which satisfies (1.4) and the inequality

f ( x ) H ( x ) X { 3 ε K 2 2 3 β 2 β K , K < 4 β ; ε K 2 | x | r + s 2 2 β 2 r + s , r + s < 4 β 2 log 2 K ; ε K 2 2 β 1 ( 2 + 2 r 2 | x | r 4 β K 2 r + | x | s 4 β K 2 s ) , r , s < 4 β 2 log 2 K

for all xR.

We recall that a subadditive function is a function ϕ:AB having a domain A and a codomain (B,) that are both closed under addition with the following property:

ϕ(x+y)ϕ(x)+ϕ(y)

for all x,yA. Also, a subquadratic function is a function ψ:AB with ψ(0)=0 and the following property:

ψ(x+y)+ψ(xy)2ψ(x)+2ψ(y)

for all x,yA.

Let {1,1} be fixed. If there exists a constant L with 0<L<1 such that a function ϕ:AB satisfies

ϕ(x+y) L ( ϕ ( x ) + ϕ ( y ) )

for all x,yA, then we say that ϕ is contractively subadditive if =1 and ϕ is expansively superadditive if =1. It follows by the last inequality that ϕ satisfies the following properties:

ϕ ( 2 x ) 2 Lϕ(x),ϕ ( 2 k x ) ( 2 L ) k ϕ(x)

for all xA and k1.

Similarly, if there exists a constant L with 0<L<1 such that a function ψ:AB with ψ(0)=0 satisfies

ψ(x+y)+ψ(xy)2 L ( ψ ( x ) + ψ ( y ) )

for all x,yA, then we say that ψ is contractively subquadratic if =1 and ψ is expansively superquadratic if =1. It follows from the last inequality that ψ satisfies the following properties:

ψ ( 2 x ) 4 Lψ(x),ψ ( 2 k x ) ( 4 L ) k ψ(x)

for all xA and k1.

From now on, we establish the modified Hyers-Ulam-Rassias stability of the equations (1.3) and (1.4) in a (β,p)-Banach space Y.

Theorem 2.9 Let f:RY be a ϕ-approximatively radical quadratic function with f(0)=0. Assume that the function ϕ is contractively subadditive with a constant L satisfying 2 1 2 β L<1. Then there exists a unique quadratic function F:RY which satisfies (1.3) and the inequality

f ( x ) F ( x ) Y Φ ˆ ( x ) 4 β p ( 2 L ) p p
(2.28)

for all xR, where

Φ ˆ (x):= K 2 ( 2 β ( ϕ ( x , x ) + ϕ ( 2 x , 0 ) ) + ϕ ( 2 x , 2 x ) + ϕ ( 2 x , 0 ) ) .

Proof Using (2.13) in the proof of Theorem 2.2, we get

f ( x ) 1 4 f ( 2 x ) Y 1 4 β Φ ˆ (x)
(2.29)

for all xR. Thus it follows from (2.29) that

1 4 k f ( 2 k x ) 1 4 m f ( 2 m x ) Y p 1 4 β p j = k m 1 ( 1 4 β ) j p ( 2 L ) j p Φ ˆ ( x ) p Φ ˆ ( x ) p 4 β p j = k m 1 ( 2 1 2 β L ) j p
(2.30)

for all xR and integers m>k0. Then a sequence { 1 4 n f( 2 n x)} is a Cauchy sequence in a (β,p)-Banach space Y p , and so we can define a function F:RY by F(x):= lim n 1 4 n f( 2 n x) for all xR. Then, we get

for all x,yR, and so, by Lemma 2.1, F is a quadratic function. Taking m in (2.30) with k=0, we have

f ( x ) F ( x ) Y Φ ˆ ( x ) 4 β p ( 2 L ) p p .

Next, we assume that there exists a quadratic function G:RY which satisfies the functional equation (1.3) and (2.28). Then we have

G ( x ) 1 4 n f ( 2 n x ) Y p 1 4 β n p G ( 2 n x ) f ( 2 n x ) Y p Φ ˆ ( x ) p 4 β p ( 2 L ) p ( 2 1 2 β L ) n p

for all xR. Letting n, we have the uniqueness of F(x). This completes the proof. □

Theorem 2.10 Let f:RY be a ϕ-approximatively radical quadratic function with f(0)=0. Assume that the function ϕ is expansively superadditive with a constant L satisfying 2 2 β 1 L<1. Then there exists a unique quadratic function F:RY which satisfies (1.3) and the inequality

f ( x ) F ( x ) Y Φ ˆ ( x ) ( 2 L 1 ) p 4 β p p

for all xR.

Proof From (2.29) in the proof of Theorem 2.9, we get

4 k f ( 2 k x ) 4 k + 1 f ( 2 k 1 x ) Y 4 β k Φ ˆ ( 2 k 1 x )

for all xR. For integers k, m with m>k0, we get

4 k f ( 2 k x ) 4 m f ( 2 m x ) Y p Φ ˆ ( x ) p 4 β p j = k + 1 m ( 2 2 β 1 L ) j p .

The remaining part follows as the proof of Theorem 2.9. This completes the proof. □

Theorem 2.11 Let f:RY be a ψ-approximatively radical quadratic function with f(0)=0. Assume that the function ψ is contractively subquadratic with a constant L satisfying 2 2 4 β L<1. Then there exists a unique quartic function H:RY which satisfies (1.4) and the inequality

f ( x ) H ( x ) Y Ψ ˆ ( x ) 2 β 16 β p ( 4 L ) p p ,
(2.31)

where

Ψ ˆ (x)=2 K 3 ( 4 β ( ψ ( x , x ) + 1 2 ψ ( 2 x , 0 ) ) + ψ ( 2 x , 2 x ) + 1 2 ψ ( 2 x , 0 ) )

for all xR.

Proof Using (2.26) in the proof of Theorem 2.7, we get

f ( x ) 1 16 f ( 2 x ) Y Ψ ˆ ( x ) 2 5 β
(2.32)

for all xR. Then it follows from (2.32) that

(2.33)

for all xR and m>k0. Then { 1 16 n f( 2 n x)} is a Cauchy sequence in Y, and it converges to a point in Y. We can define a function H:RX by

H(x):= lim n 1 16 n f ( 2 n x )

for all xR. From (2.9), the following inequality holds:

for all x,yR. Thus the function H is quartic. Taking the limit m in (2.33) with k=0, H satisfies (2.31) near the approximate function f of the functional equation (1.4). The remaining proof is similar to that of Theorem 2.9. This completes the proof. □

Theorem 2.12 Let f:RY be a ψ-approximatively radical quadratic function with f(0)=0. Assume that the function ψ is expansively superquadratic with a constant L satisfying 2 4 β 2 L<1. Then there exists a unique quartic function H:RY which satisfies (1.4) and the inequality

f ( x ) H ( x ) Y Ψ ˆ ( x ) 2 β ( 4 L 1 ) p 16 β p p

for all xR.