On the inverse conductivity problem in the half space (Q4452342)

The following problem has many applications in medicine, geophysics and industry. Let \(\Omega\) be a simply connected region in \(\mathbb{R}^3.\) The conservation of current density implies that the electric potential \(\Phi(x)\) and the isotropic electrical conductivity \(\sigma(x)\) satisfy the equation \[ \nabla(\sigma(x)\nabla \Phi(x))=0, \, x \in \Omega. \tag{1} \] Let an information on some functionals of \(\Phi\) and \(\sigma\) on a part \(\partial \Omega_0\) of the boundary \(\partial \Omega\) of the domain \(\Omega\) be known. It is necessary to restore the functions \(\Phi(x)\) and \(\sigma(x)\) in the domain \(\Omega.\) In the paper this task is considered for the lower half space. The lower half space is approximated by a finite cylindrical region, whose intersection with the surface \(z=0\) is the disk \(D_0=((x,y,z), \, r=\sqrt{x^2+y^2} \leq a, \, z=0).\) On the disk the normal derivatives of the functions \(\Phi\) and \(\sigma\) are known. For a determination of the values \(\Phi(x)\) and \(\sigma(x)\) inside the cylindrical region the task (1) is transformed to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. An approximate method for the solution of this integral equation is given, and the stability of the approximate solution is proved. Numerical examples are presented.