Lyapunov-Razumikhin pairs in the instability problem for infinite delay equations

Some theorems on complete instability of the zero solution relative to a set for nonautonomous nonlinear equations with infinite delay are provided. The right-hand side of the equation is assumed to be defined in a fading memory space and to satisfy conditions that allow the construction of limiting equations. We use conceptions of Lyapunov-Razumikhin pairs and limiting equations to obtain new instability results, which are applicable, in particular, to autonomous, periodic and almost periodic in t delay differential equations. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.