The hyperbolic Cauchy problem (Q1189518)

This is a collection of highly technical lectures given by the authors on the question of existence and uniqueness of solution of the Cauchy problem for hyperbolic operators with multiple characteristics. Part I considers the Cauchy problem for hyperbolic operators in Gevrey classes while Part II treats the hyperbolic operators in \(C^ \infty\) classes. To overcome the difficulty which arises from the loss of derivatives of solutions in the theory of partial differential operators, the authors introduce the so-called Fourier integral operators with complex-valued phase function \(\varphi(x,\xi)=x\cdot\xi-i\Lambda(x,\xi)\), where \(\Lambda(x,\xi)\) is a real-valued function in a suitable class. For the Cauchy problem in Gevrey class \(E^{\{\kappa\}}(\kappa\geq 1)\), \(\Lambda(x,\xi)\) is chosen to satisfy \(\Lambda(x,\xi)=O(|\xi|^{1/\kappa})\) while in the \(C^ \infty\) class it is chosen to satisfy \(\Lambda(x,\xi)=O(\log|\xi|)\), as \(|\xi|\to\infty\). For \(\varphi=x\cdot\xi-i\Lambda(x,\xi)\), the authors define the Fourier integral operator \(I_ \varphi(x,D)u(x)=\int e^{i\varphi(x,\xi)}\hat u\hat d\xi\) for \(u\in C_ 0^ \infty(\mathbb{R}^ n)\times E^{\{\kappa\}}(\mathbb{R}^ n)\) (resp. \(C_ 0^ \infty(\mathbb{R}^ n))\), where \(u\) stands for the Fourier transform of \(u\) and \(d\xi=(2\pi)^{-n}d\xi\). If \(\exp\Lambda(x,\xi)\) is chosen to compensate for the loss of derivatives of solutions, then it can be expected that operators with loss of infinite (resp. finite) derivatives in Gevrey classes (resp. \(C^ \infty\) classes) will be transformed to ``good'' operators by conjugation with such a Fourier integral operator. For a pseudo-differential operator \(p(x,D)\), the authors define \(p_ \Lambda(x,D)=I^ R_{-\varphi}(x,D)p(x,D)I_ \varphi(x,D)\), where \(I^ R_{-\varphi}(x,D)\) denotes the reverse operator of \(I_{- \varphi}(x,D)\). The symbol \(p_ \Lambda(x,\xi)\) is thus given by \(p_ \Lambda(x,\xi)\sim p(x+i\Lambda_ \xi,\xi-i\Lambda_ x)+\cdots\), where \(p(x+iy,\xi-i\eta)\) is an almost analytic extension of \(p(x,\xi)\). The task of choosing a suitable \(\Lambda(x,\xi)\) so that one can derive a priori estimates for \(p_ \Lambda(x,D)\) leads to consideration of so- called special time functions, the properties of which are closely connected with the geometry of the bicharacteristics and the multiple characteristic set of \(p(x,\xi)\).