On Volterra integro-differential equations with kernels representable by Stieltjes integrals (Q2027304)

A second-order abstract hyperbolic differential equation is here perturbed by an abstract integral term. In fact, the nonlocal term is split in two parts involving the abstract operators \(A\) and \(B\), and the convolution kernels \(K\) and \(Q\) respectively, giving rise to a hyperbolic Volterra equation. The considered abstract equation arises in the context of viscoelasticity dynamics: its solution stands for the displacements of a viscoelastic hereditary isotropic medium. The paper focuses on the well-posedness of such an equation in the framework of Sobolev spaces, under proper assumptions. In fact the convolution kernels are required to be the Laplace transform of positive measures, and the operators \(A\) and \(B\) are positive self-adjoint and symmetric non-negative operators respectively. A remarkable reference related to Volterra equations and their applications in viscoelasticity is [\textit{J.~Prüss}, Evolutionary integral equations and applications. Basel: Birkhäuser (1993; Zbl 1258.45008)].