Stability estimate for an inverse boundary coefficient problem in thermal imaging

We establish a stability estimate for an inverse boundary coefficient problem in thermal imaging. The inverse problem under consideration consists in the determination of a boundary coefficient appearing in a boundary value problem for the heat equation with Robin boundary condition (we note here that the initial condition is assumed to be a priori unknown). Our stability estimate is of logarithmic type and it is essentially based on a logarithmic estimate for a Cauchy problem for the Laplace equation.     

Conditional stability estimation for an inverse boundary problem with non-smooth boundary in

In this paper, we investigate an inverse problem of determining a shape of a part of the boundary of a bounded domain in by a solution to a Cauchy problem of the Laplace equation. Assuming that the unknown part is a Lipschitz continuous surface, we give a logarithmic conditional stability estimate in determining the part of boundary under reasonably a priori information of an unknown part. The keys are the complex extension and estimates for a harmonic measure.

     

The three dimensional inverse scattering problem for acoustic waves

We consider the inverse scattering problem for an acoustically soft obstacle in R³. By assuming a priori that the unknown scattering obstacle is starlike and has its boundary lying in a compact family of Hölder continuously differentiable surfaces, it is shown that an optimal solution can be constructed which depends continuously on the measured far field data. Remarks are made on the numerical approximation of the optimal solution.     

Stability estimates for the solutions of control problems for the stationary magnetohydrodynamic equations

We study control problems for the stationary magnetohydrodynamic equations. In these problems, one has to find an unknown vector function occurring in the boundary condition for the magnetic field and the solution of the boundary value problem in question by minimizing a performance functional depending on the velocity and pressure. We derive new a priori estimates for the solutions of the original boundary value problem and the extremal problem and prove theorems on the local uniqueness and stability of solutions for specific performance functionals.     

Light scattering by a homogeneous sphere near a plane boundary II

ABSTRACT

The problem of light scattering by a homogeneous sphere above a plane boundary is considered in this paper. Hankel transformation and Erdélyi's formula are used to satisfy the boundary conditions on the plane and the determination of the unknown coefficients in the scattered field is achieved by matching the electromagnetic boundary conditions on the surface of the sphere. Existence and uniqueness of the solution involving these unknown coefficients are shown and the extinction efficiency factor is presented.     

The variational contact problem for elastic objects of different dimensions

We consider the variational free boundary problem describing the contact of an elastic plate with a thin elastic obstacle. The contact domain is unknown a priori and should be determined. The problem is described by a variational inequality for a fourth-order operator. The constraint on the displacement is given on a set of dimension less than that of the solution domain. We find the boundary conditions on the set of the possible contact and their exact statement. We justify the mixed statement of the problem and analyze the limit cases corresponding to the unbounded increase of the elasticity coefficients of the contacting bodies.     

On the uniqueness and stability of solutions of extremal problems for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations

We consider inverse extremal problems for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations. In these problems, one seeks an unknown vector function occurring in the Dirichlet boundary condition for the velocity and the solution of the considered boundary value problem on the basis of the minimization of some performance functional. We derive new a priori estimates for the solutions of the considered extremal problems and use them to prove theorems of the local uniqueness and stability of solutions for specific performance functionals.     

On a non-linear geometrical inverse problem of Signorini type: identifiability and stability

This paper deals with a non-linear inverse problem of identification of unknown boundaries, on which the prescribed conditions are of Signorini type. We first prove an identifiability result, in both frameworks of thermal and elastic testing. Local Lipschitz stability of the solutions with respect to the boundary measurements is also established, in case of unknown boundaries which are parts of 𝒞^{1, β} Jordan curves, with β>0. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A variational approach to the reconstruction of cracks by boundary measurements

We consider a conducting body which presents some (unknown) perfectly insulating defects, such as cracks or cavities, for instance. We aim to reconstruct the defects by performing measurements of current and voltage type on a (known and accessible) part of the boundary of the conductor. A crucial step in this reconstruction is the determination of the electrostatic potential inside the conductor, by the electrostatic boundary measurements performed. Since the defects are unknown, we state such a determination problem as a free-discontinuity problem for the electrostatic potential in the framework of special functions of bounded variation. We provide a characterisation of the looked for electrostatic potential and we approximate it with the minimum points of a sequence of functionals, which take also in account the error in the measurements. These functionals are related to the so-called Mumford–Shah functional, which acts as a regularizing term and allows us to prove existence of minimizers and Γ-convergence properties.     

Existence and Blow-up for a Parabolic System from?Combustion Theory

We study the stability of the Solid Fuel Model, which represents a thermal reaction of a solid material. This model corresponds to a nonlinear eigenvalue problem of two strongly coupled nonlinear reaction–diffusion equations, with different boundary conditions on each unknown. We obtain a strong bifurcation criterion for the steady problem and estimates for the blow-up time in the unsteady case. In addition, numerical solutions of both the steady and unsteady problem are presented to illustrate the results.     

Global Stability and Decay for the Classical Stefan Problem

The classical one‐phase Stefan problem describes the temperature distribution in a homogeneous medium undergoing a phase transition, such as ice melting to water. This is accomplished by solving the heat equation on a time‐dependent domain whose boundary is transported by the normal derivative of the temperature along the evolving and a priori unknown free boundary. We establish a global‐in‐time stability result for nearly spherical geometries and small temperatures, using a novel hybrid methodology, which combines energy estimates, decay estimates, and Hopf‐type inequalities.© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Optimal Shape Problems for Eigenvalues

ABSTRACT

We consider the first Dirichlet eigenvalue for nonhomogeneous membranes. For given volume we want to find the domain which minimizes this eigenvalue. The problem is formulated as a variational free boundary problem. The optimal domain is characterized as the support of the first eigenfunction. We prove enough regularity for the eigenfunction to conclude that the optimal domain has finite parameter. Finally an overdetermined boundary value problem on the regular part of the free boundary is given.     

Stable determination of an inhomogeneous inclusion by local boundary measurements

We deal with the problem of determining an inclusion within an electrostatic conductor from boundary measurements. Under mild a priori assumptions we establish optimal stability estimates. Measurements are performed on a portion of the boundary of the conductor.     

Stability of incompressible current-vortex sheets

We revisit the study in [Y. Trakhinin, On the existence of incompressible current-vortex sheets: study of a linearized free boundary value problem, Math. Methods Appl. Sci. 28 (2005) 917–945] where an energy a priori estimate for the linearized free boundary value problem for planar current-vortex sheets in ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics was proved for a part of the whole stability domain found a long time ago in [S.I. Syrovatskij, The stability of tangential discontinuities in a magnetohydrodynamic medium, Zh. Eksper. Teor. Fiz. 24 (1953) 622–629 (in Russian); W.I. Axford, Note on a problem of magnetohydrodynamic stability, Canad. J. Phys. 40 (1962) 654–655]. In this paper we derive an a priori estimate in the whole stability domain. The crucial point in deriving this estimate is the construction of a symbolic symmetrizer for a nonstandard elliptic problem for the small perturbation of total pressure. This symmetrizer is an analogue of Kreiss' type symmetrizers. As in hyperbolic theory, the failure of the uniform Lopatinski condition, i.e., the fact that current-vortex sheets are only weakly (neutrally) stable yields loss of derivatives in the energy estimate. The result of this paper is a necessary step to prove the local-in-time existence of stable nonplanar incompressible current-vortex sheets by a suitable Nash–Moser type iteration scheme.     

A moving pseudo‐boundary method of fundamental solutions for void detection

We propose a new moving pseudo‐boundary method of fundamental solutions (MFS) for the determination of the boundary of a void. This problem can be modeled as an inverse boundary value problem for harmonic functions. The algorithm for imaging the interior of the medium also makes use of radial polar parametrization of the unknown void shape in two dimensions. The center of this radial polar parametrization is considered to be unknown. We also include the contraction and dilation factors to be part of the unknowns in the resulting nonlinear least‐squares problem. This approach addresses the major problem of locating the pseudo‐boundary in the MFS in a natural way, because the inverse problem in question is nonlinear anyway. The feasibility of this new method is illustrated by several numerical examples. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013     

ALMOST OPTIMAL LOCAL WELL-POSEDNESS OF THE MAXWELL-KLEIN-GORDON EQUATIONS IN 1 + 4 DIMENSIONS

Abstract

We study strong solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations for nonhomogeneous incompressible fluids in Ω ? R ³. Deriving higher a priori estimates independent of the lower bounds of the density, we prove the existence and uniqueness of local strong solutions to the initial value problem (for Ω =R ³) or the initial boundary value problem (for Ω ? ? R ³) even though the initial density vanishes in an open subset of Ω, i.e., an initial vacuum exists. As an immediate consequence of the a priori estimates, we obtain a continuation theorem for the local strong solutions.     

Boundary value problems for a class of elliptic operator pencils

In this paper operator pencilsA(x, D, ) are studied which act on a manifold with boundary and satisfy the condition of N-ellipticity with parameter, a generalization of the notion of ellipticity with parameter as introduced by Agmon and Agranovich-Vishik. Sobolev spaces corresponding to the Newton polygon are defined and investigated; in particular it is possible to describe their trace spaces. With respect to these spaces, an a priori estimate is proved for the Dirichlet boundary value problem connected with an N-elliptic pencil.Supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and by Russian Foundation of Fundamental Research, Grant 00-01-00387.     

An a priori error analysis for the coupling of local discontinuous Galerkin and boundary element methods

In this paper we analyze the coupling of local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) and boundary element methods as applied to linear exterior boundary value problems in the plane. As a model problem we consider a Poisson equation in an annular polygonal domain coupled with a Laplace equation in the surrounding unbounded exterior region. The technique resembles the usual coupling of finite elements and boundary elements, but the corresponding analysis becomes quite different. In particular, in order to deal with the weak continuity of the traces at the interface boundary, we need to define a mortar-type auxiliary unknown representing an interior approximation of the normal derivative. We prove the stability of the resulting discrete scheme with respect to a mesh-dependent norm and derive a Strang-type estimate for the associated error. Finally, we apply local and global approximation properties of the subspaces involved to obtain the a priori error estimate in the energy norm.

     

Lipschitz stability estimate in the inverse Robin problem for the Stokes system

We are interested in the inverse problem of recovering a Robin coefficient defined on some non-accessible part of the boundary from available data on another part of the boundary in the non-stationary Stokes system. We prove a Lipschitz stability estimate under the a priori assumption that the Robin coefficient lives in some compact and convex subset of a finite dimensional vectorial subspace of the set of continuous functions. To do so, we use a theorem proved by L. Bourgeois and which establishes Lipschitz stability estimates for a class of inverse problems in an abstract framework.