Loss of derivatives in evolution Cauchy problems (Q2465917)

The authors deal with the Cauchy problem in \([0,T]\times \mathbb{R}\) \[ \partial^2_tu+ \sum^{2p}_{j=0} a_j(t) D^j_x u=0,\quad u(0,x)= u_0,\quad \partial_t u(0,x)= u_1(x), \] with data in Sobolev spaces \(u_0\in H^s(\mathbb{R})\), \(u_1\in H^{s-p}(\mathbb{R})\), where \(D_x=- i\partial_x\) and \(p\geq 1\) is a positive integer. They prove that any modulus of continuity related to the coefficients \(a_j(t)\) satisfying certain conditions leads to well-posedness with an arbitrary small loss of derivatives. Moreover, the authors also show, by examples that the obtained classification is sharp.