Fractional derivatives and time-fractional ordinary differential equations in $L^p$-space

Abstract

We define fractional derivatives $\pppa$ in Sobolev spaces based on $L^p(0,T)$ by an operator theory, and characterize the domain of $\pppa$ in subspaces of the Sobolev-Slobodecki spaces $W^{\alpha,p}(0,T)$. Moreover we define $\pppa u$ for $u\in L^p(0,T)$ in a sense of distribution. Then we discuss initial value problems for linear fractional ordinary differential equations by means of such $\pppa$ and establish several results on the unique existence of solutions within specified classes according to the regularity of the coefficients and the non-homogeneous terms in the equations.