Inverse problems for heat equations on compact intervals and on circles. I (Q1078780)

The author studies the uniqueness question for an ''inverse problem'' posed to the system formed by equation \[ \partial u/\partial t+(p(x)- \partial^ 2/\partial x^ 2)u=0,\quad for\quad u=u(x,t),\quad 0<t<\infty,\quad 0<x<1; \] with the initial condition \(u(x,0)=a(x)\), \(0<x<1\); and with the boundary conditions \((\partial u/\partial x-h_ su)|_{x=s}=0,\) \(0<t<\infty\), \(s=0,1.\) The question proposed is the following: when is it possible to uniquely determine the ''parameters'' \(p\in C^ 1[0,1]\), \(h_ 0,h_ 1\in {\mathbb{R}}\) and \(a\in L^ 2(0,1)\), when the ''data'' \(\{\) u(t,0),u(t,r)\(\}\) are given for \(0\leq t\leq T\leq \infty\), \(0\leq r\leq 1 ?\) For \(0\leq r<\) the problem is completely solved: uniqueness never holds. For \(1/2\leq r\leq 1\), some light is shed onto the matter but the obtained result isnot very practical as it stands: conditions are deduced upon the unknowns a and p. It becomes necessary now to discover how such conditions can be read off from the data \(\{\) u(t,r); \(r=0\) and \(<r\leq 1\}\).