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arXiv · 2609.29059

Time optimal control for the heat equation with inverse-square potentials

Le Lu·Ke Wu·Can Zhang
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Abstract

This paper studies the time optimal control problem for the heat equation with singular inverse-square potentials under the Hardy critical condition. We first establish an observability inequality for the singular parabolic equation from general space-time measurable sets of positive Lebesgue measure. Rather than depending on the still-unknown Lebeau-Robbiano spectral inequality for the underlying singular operator, our proof combines Carleman-based observability results over open cylinders, real-analyticity estimates of solutions away from the singular origin, propagation of smallness estimates for real-analytic functions, and a telescoping-series technique. Using this observability result, we derive the null-controllability with controls supported on measurable subsets. Finally, we prove that the corresponding time optimal control is unique and obeys the bang-bang property almost everywhere over the control domain.

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Le Lu, Ke Wu, Can Zhang. 2026-09-24. Time optimal control for the heat equation with inverse-square potentials. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.29059

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