Local energy decay for hyperbolic systems in exterior domains (Q1096082)

The results on local energy decay problems of authors, e.g., C. S. Morawetz, W. A. Strauss, E. C. Zachmanoglou, C. O. Bloom and N. D. Kazarinoff etc., have been generalized in two aspects. First, we deal with more general problems, namely hyperbolic systems of second-order equations with coefficients depending upon both the time and spatial variables. Second, the systems are defined on the exterior domains of bodies in \(R^ 3\) whose boundary can be illuminated from their exterior by a boundary of a convex body. This kind of exterior domain contains all of the exterior domains of bodies whose boundary can be illuminated from their interior by a boundary of a convex body. The technique developed here lies in the consideration of the properties of the illuminating surface. More precisely, an exterior illuminating surface can be enlarged so that it approaches to a sphere, and therefore we can estimate some difficult terms appearing in the energy inequality and establish an algebraic rate of decay.