Identification of an unknown coefficient in KdV equation from final time measurement (Q318187)

The authors consider a dispersive model \(u_t+u_{xxx}+(c(x)u)_x=0\), related to the Korteweg-de Vries equation, arising in physical systems with variable topography. They solve the inverse problem of reconstructing the wave speed coefficient \(c(x)\) from the surface elevation of water waves given at some final time \(t = T\). Uniqueness and stability of the solution are discussed for the associated optimization problem.