Global Continuation for Quasilinear Elliptic Systems on R-N and the Equations of Elastostatics

We consider quasilinear systems of second order elliptic equations on R-N. Using a continuation theorem based on the topological degree for C-1-Fredholm maps, we derive global properties of a maximal connected set of solutions which decay exponentially to zero at infinity. These results are used to treat a problem concerning the equilibrium of an elastic body occupying the whole space and subjected to a one parameter family of localized external forces.