The connection of the Green's function and the influence function for nonclassical problems (Q1780356)

To find the solutions \(u(x)\) (\(x\) in the volume of a part \(\Omega\) of the space) which satisfy a linear differential equation \[ Lu(x)=f(x),\qquad x\in \Omega,\tag{1} \] and some additional conditions \[ l(u)=0, \tag{2} \] is a typical problem in mathematical physics. It is well known that under suitable conditions these solutions \(u(x)\) can be represented in integral form \[ u(x)=\int_{\Omega} G(x,s)f(s)ds, \tag{3} \] where \(G(x,s)\) is the so-called Green's function. This approach requires that Green's function verifies some properties of continuity and differentiability as a map of two variables. These properties, in fact, define in an axiomatic way Green's function. Now, the authors propose a new and less restrictive definition of Green's function. According to the authors: ``We propose to call Green's function a function \(G(x,s)\) for which any solution of problem (1)--(2) can be represented in form (3). This preserves the fundamental physical sense of Green's function, as the influence function; the list of axioms turns into a collection of properties that hold to a greater or lesser extent.'' In order to present the advantages of this point of view for Green's function, and the defects of the axiomatic definition, the authors use the Sturm-Liouville problem in the interval. Moreover, among others, they present examples concerning Green's function of vector problems, and Green's function of the Sturm-Liouville problem on a network.