Propagation of singularities in the Cauchy problem for a class of degenerate hyperbolic operators (Q2474971)

The authors are interested in the propagation of singularities for a second-order hyperbolic operator. We have for strictly hyperbolic operators with smooth coefficients general propagation results of micro-local singularities along the null-bicharacteristics. Thus the authors are forced to study non-standard hyperbolic operators. They are interested in \(\bullet\) strictly hyperbolic pseudo-differential operators of second-order with low regular coefficients in time, \(\bullet\) weakly hyperbolic differential operators of second-order with smooth coefficients in all variables. At first they are interested in \(H^\infty\) or \(H^{-\infty}\) well-posedness of the Cauchy problem because such results motivate the study of \(H^\infty\) micro-local singularities. The authors describe critical cases for both classes of operators, explain the meaning of effective hyperbolicity and of Levi conditions. They even consider weakly hyperbolic operators interpolating the case of effective hyperbolic operators and the case of operators with sharp Levi condition. The goal is to study the propagation of micro-local singularities by the aid of the fundamental solution to the hyperbolic operators which are under consideration. The authors give a summary of their approach which was developed in previous papers and which bases on factorization, regularization of the characteristic roots of the principal symbol, diagonalization and study of the remainder. The construction of the fundamental solution bases on the method of multi-products of Fourier integral operators. The fundamental solution is used to investigate the propagation of singularities. The flux of singularities may change bicharacteristic curves only at times \(t\) where the symbol of the strictly hyperbolic operator is not smooth in \(t\) or where the characteristic roots of the symbol coincide in the weakly hyperbolic case. Thus the concept of composed bicharacteristics allows to describe the propagation of singularities. In the case of strictly hyperbolic operators with smooth coefficients the authors get the well-known propagation result along simple bicharacteristics.