The method of characteristics for hyperbolic boundary value problems on the plane (Q1586976)

The authors study a hyperbolic system in a domain whose boundary includes a piecewise smooth part \(\Gamma\) such that the characteristics issuing downwards in the domain meet \(\Gamma\) at a nonzero angle. First, the following boundary value problem is posed: \[ Lu \equiv \frac{\partial u}{\partial t} + A(x)\frac{\partial u}{\partial s} + B(x)u = f(x,t),\quad u\left|_{\Gamma}\right. \text{is given}, \quad x = (s,t)\in \mathbb R^2, \] which is ill-posed in general. Here \(B\:\mathbb R^2\to\operatorname{Mat}(N,\mathbb C)\), \(A = \operatorname{diag}(a_1I_1,\dots, a_nI_n)\), \(I_k\) is the identity matrix of order \(N_k\), \(\sum N_{k}=N\). The authors establish necessary and sufficient conditions for unique solvability in terms of a system of integral equations in the components of the boundary vector-valued function. Under these conditions, an explicit representation is constructed for solutions (a generalized Riemann formula). In the case when \(\Gamma\) is the straight line \(t=0\), the solvability conditions are satisfied identically and the formula transforms into the formula for solutions to the Cauchy problem. Next, the authors study the mixed problem for the system \(Lu = f\) in the domains \(\{s > 0,\;t >0\}\) and \(\{0 < s< 1,\;t > 0\}\). Conditions for \(s = 0\) and \(s = 1\) linearly express the components of the boundary function corresponding to the ``outgoing'' characteristics in terms of the components corresponding to the ``incoming'' characteristics. The solvability conditions lead to a system of second-kind Volterra integral equations in the ``incoming'' components. Having solved this system, the authors construct a solution to the mixed problem by means of the generalized Riemann formula. Incidentally, a proof is obtained of the well-posedness of a mixed problem for a hyperbolic system in the plane.