Incomplete inverse problem for Sturm-Liouville type differential equation with constant delay (Q2275298)

The boundary value problems \(L_k\), \(k = 0, 1\), for the Sturm-Liouville equation with a constant delay are considered: \[ -y''(x) + q(x)y(x - \tau) = \lambda y(x), x \in (0, \pi), \] \[ y(0) = y^{(k)}(\pi) = 0, \] where \(q(x)\) is the complex-valued potential from the class \(L^2(0, \pi)\), \(\tau \in \left( \frac{\pi}{3}, \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)\) is a constant delay, \(q(x) \equiv 0\) on \([0, \tau]\), \(\lambda\) is the spectral parameter. It is well-known that the problems \(L_k\), \(k = 0, 1\), have purely discrete countable spectra. The authors obtain the uniqueness theorem for the following incomplete inverse problem. They suppose that the potential \(q(x)\) on the interval \(\left(\frac{3\tau}{2}, \frac{\pi}{2} + \frac{\tau}{4} \right)\) and the integral \(\int_{\frac{\pi}{2} + \frac{\tau}{4}}^{\pi - \tau} q(s) \, ds\) are known a priori. The problem consists in recovering the potential \(q(x)\) on the remaining part of the interval \((\tau, \pi)\) from two spectra of \(L_k\), \(k = 0, 1\). Such inverse problems with some a priori information on differential expression coefficients are also called partial inverse problems, half-inverse problems and inverse problems by mixed data. The proof of the uniqueness theorem is based on integral representations for characteristic functions.