Inverse problem for the subdiffusion equation with fractional Caputo derivative

Abstract

The inverse problem of determining the right-hand side of the subdiffusion equation with the fractional Caputo derivative is considered. The right-hand side of the equation has the form $f(x)g(t)$ and the unknown is function $f(x)$. The condition $ u (x,t_0)= \psi (x) $ is taken as the over-determination condition, where $t_0$ is some interior point of the considering domain and $\psi (x) $ is a given function. It is proved by the Fourier method that under certain conditions on the functions $g(t)$ and $\psi (x) $ the solution of the inverse problem exists and is unique. An example is given showing the violation of the uniqueness of the solution of the inverse problem for some sign-changing functions $g(t)$. For such functions $g(t)$, we find necessary and sufficient conditions on the initial function and on the function from the over-determination condition, which ensure the existence of a solution to the inverse problem.