Asymptotic profiles for wave equations with strong damping (Q2250585)

The author is interested in both sided decay estimates of \(\|u(t,\cdot)\|_{L^2}\) of solutions to the Cauchy problem for the wave equation with strong or viscoelastic damping \[ u_{tt} - \Delta u -\Delta u_t=0,\,\,\,u(0,x)=u_0(x),\,\,\,u_t(0,x)=u_1(x). \] Using the asymptotic behavior of the characteristic roots of the operator for small and large frequencies the author derives a representation of solutions by Fourier multipliers. He is able to determine the basic terms and the remainders without having any influence on the desired both-sided estimates. In the basic terms one can feel on the one hand the influence of the visco-elastic damping and on the other hand the relation to classical waves. Finally, the supposed additional weighted \(L^1\) regularity allows a clever splitting of the data and so a different study of localized Fourier multipliers. The main both sided estimates are sharp.