Uniqueness in the Cauchy problem for the heat equation (Q4487696)

The main result of the paper is a uniqueness theorem for the solutions to the Cauchy problem for the heat equation. The author shows that if \(u\) is a continuous function on \({\mathbb R}^n\times [0,T]\) satisfying the heat equation in \({\mathbb R}^n\times (0,T)\) and such that \(u(x,0)=0\) for all \(x\in {\mathbb R}^n\) then \(u\) is identically zero in \({\mathbb R}^n\times [0,T]\) provided the following growth condition on \(u\): there exist \(a>0\), \(0<\alpha<1\) and \(C>0\) such that \[ |u(x,t)|\leq C \exp\big(({a/ t})^\alpha\big)\exp (a|x|^2)\quad\text{ in} {\mathbb R}^n\times(0,T). \] This result is a generalization of a classical theorem proved by \textit{A. N. Tychonoff} [Rec. Math. Moscou 42, 199-215 (1935; Zbl 0012.35501)] in which the growth condition appears without the term \(\exp\big(({a/t})^\alpha\big) \). The proof is based on the theory of the Gevrey ultradistributions and can be used to obtain also some uniqueness results for non-continuous solutions to the heat equation. Finally the author shows with an example that the constraints for the value of the constant \(\alpha\) in the growth condition cannot be improved.