On energy decay rate for linear damped systems (Q1848979)

The author considers the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the linear damped problem \[ u''(t)+ Au(t)+ Bu'(t)= 0,\quad t\geq 0,\quad u(0)= u_0,\quad u'(0)= u_1, \] in a Hilbert space, where \(A\) (the ``elastic operator'') and \(B\) (the ``dissipation operator'') are nonnegative, selfadjoint operators and \(A\) is injective. In particular, an energy decay rate for solutions is derived. Before proving the main results, the author first builds up the necessary spectral theory. Finally, an application to study the energy decay for a problem involving a partial differential equation is given. These results cover theorems in the literature such as [\textit{F. Huang}, Acta Math. Sci. 10, No. 3, 319-326 (1990; Zbl 0721.73001)], in which the basic approach is different from that of this article. The author conjectures that his method could be extended to study the energy rate of other problems.