Reconstruction of the Initial Condition for a Non-Homogeneous Heat Equation from Finite Measurements
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We address the inverse problem of reconstructing the initial temperature distribution in a one-dimensional non-homogeneous heat equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions from a finite number of pointwise-in-time measurements at a single spatial location. We propose an explicit approximation scheme that incorporates the source term and utilizes a refined sequence of measurement times. Unlike previous approaches that often rely on exponentially growing observation times, our chosen time sequence allows for efficient recovery within a fixed time horizon. We establish algebraic convergence rates under suitable regularity assumptions on the initial data and the forcing, and we validate the theoretical sharpness with numerical experiments for varying numbers of measurements.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institution: Indiana University East
Language: English
Subfield: Mathematical Physics
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W7214361701