Wave decay on manifolds with bounded Ricci tensor, and related estimates (Q2347936)

Let \((M,g)\) be a compact Riemannian manifold. In this very interesting paper, the author studies the energy decay of solutions to the Cauchy problem \[ \partial_t^2u-\Delta_gu+a(x)\partial_tu=0,\,\,u\bigl|_{t=0}=f\in H^1(M),\,\,\partial_tu\bigl|_{t=0}=g\in L^2(M),\leqno(CP) \] where \(\Delta_g\) is the (negative) Laplace-Beltrami operator associated with the metric \(g\), and \(a\geq 0\) is the damping coefficient. Suppose that the metric \(g\) has log-Lipschitz gradient, that is, \(M\) has a coordinate cover on which the coefficients \(g_{jk}\) satisfy \[ |\nabla g_{jk}(x)-\nabla g_{jk}(y)|\leq C|x-y|\log\frac{1}{|x-y|},\leqno(LL) \] for \(|x-y|\) small. Then, the Hamilton vector field associated with the principal symbol \(\sum_{jk}g^{jk}(x)\xi_j\xi_k\) of \(-\Delta_g\) is Lipschitz and generates a flow. A very important class of Riemannian manifolds for which the latter is the case is the class where \((M,g)\) has a bounded Ricci tensor, that in this case condition \((LL)\) is fulfilled in local harmonic coordinates. The author supposes that there exists an open \(U\subset M\) such that \(a(x)\geq a_0>0\) for all \(x\in U\), and introduces also a control condition, namely that there exists \(0<T_0<+\infty\) such that each geodesic in \(M\) of length \(T_0\) intersects \(U\). He proves the following exponential decay rate result of the energy \[ E(u;t)=\frac12\int\Bigl(|\nabla_xu(t,x)|^2+|\partial_tu(t,x)|^2\Bigr)d\mathrm{Vol}(x) \] of \(u\). Theorem. Suppose that \(0\leq a\in C^{r-1}(M)\), for some \(r>1\). Then, one has a uniform exponential decay rate of the energy \(E(u;t)\), for all solutions \(u\) to \((CP)\). The author's approach to the theorem makes use of a propagation of singularities result for operators with rough coefficients.