Nonlinear scalar field equations, I existence of a ground state

1. The Main Result; Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 2. Necessary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 3. The Constrained Minimization Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 4. Further Properties of the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 5. The "Zero Mass" Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 6. The Case of Dimension N = 1 (Necessary and Sufficient Conditions) . . . . . 335 Appendix. Technical Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338