Positive and negative results on the internal controllability of parabolic equations coupled by zero and first order terms

Abstract

This paper is devoted to studying the null and approximate controllability of two linear coupled parabolic equations posed on a smooth domain of R^N (N>1) with coupling terms of zero and first orders and one control localized in some arbitrary nonempty open subset of the domain. We prove the null controllability under a new sufficient condition and we also provide the first example of a not approximately controllable system in the case where the support of one of the nontrivial first order coupling terms intersects the control domain.