A Hölder stability estimate for a 3D coefficient inverse problem for a hyperbolic equation with a plane wave

Abstract

Abstract A 3D coefficient inverse problem for a hyperbolic equation with non-overdetermined data is considered. The forward problem is the Cauchy problem with the initial condition being the delta function concentrated at a single plane (i.e. the plane wave). A certain associated operator is written in finite differences with respect to two out of three spatial variables, i.e. “partial finite differences”. The grid step size is bounded from below by a fixed number. A Carleman estimate is applied to obtain, for the first time, a Hölder stability estimate for this problem. Another new result is an estimate from below the amplitude of the first term of the expansion of the solution of the forward problem near the characteristic wedge.