Fourier-integral-operator product representation of solutions to first-order symmetrizable hyperbolic systems (Q2655705)

The author considers the Cauchy problem \[ \begin{gathered} \partial_z u+ a(z,x,D_x)u= 0,\quad 0< z\leq Z,\quad n\in\mathbb{R}^n,\\ u|_{z=0}= u_0,\end{gathered}\tag{\(*\)} \] with \(Z> 0\), \(u(z,x)\in \mathbb{C}^k\) and \(a(z,n,\xi)\) a \(k\times k\) matrix with entries continuous w.r.t. \(z\) with values in the symbol space \(S^1(\mathbb{R}^n\times \mathbb{R}^n)\). The principal part \(a_1\) of \(a\) is assumed homogeneous of degree one and symmetricable in the sense that there exists a matrix \(L(z,n,\xi)\) with entries in \(S^0(\mathbb{R}^n\times \mathbb{R}^n)\), with \(z\) or a parameter, such that \[ a_1(z,x,\xi)= L(z,x,\xi)\alpha_1(z,x,\xi)(L(z,x,\xi))^{-1}, \] and \(\alpha_1(z,x,\xi)=-i\beta_1(z,x,\xi)+ \gamma_1(z,x,\xi)\), where \(\beta_1\) and \(\gamma_1\) are Hermitian symmetric \(k\times k\) matrices, \(\gamma_1\geq 0\). He obtains a representation of the solution operator \(U(z',z)\) of the Cauchy problem \((*)\) as an infinite product of Fourier integral operators with complex matrix phases with kernel \[ G_{(z'z)}(x',x)= \int e^{i\langle x'-x,\xi\rangle} e^{-(z'-z)a_0(z,x',\xi)} e^{-(z'- z)a_1(z,x',\xi)} d\xi,\;a_0:= a- a_1. \] Such a result is achieved by first proving a precise estimate of the Sobolev operator norm of the propagator \(G_{(z',z)}\) in the symmetric case, \(L(z,x,\xi)= I_k\). In this way the author extends some of his own results in the scalar case \(k=1\) (published in other articles), but the extension is intricate mainly because he has to deal with matrix symbols and phases that do not commute in general.