Determination of time dependent source terms for Stokes systems in unbounded domains

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of inverse source problems for Stokes systems in unbounded domains where the corresponding velocity flow is observed on a surface. Our main objective is to study the unique determination of general class of time-dependent and vector-valued source terms with potentially unknown divergence. Taking into account the challenges inherent in this class of inverse source problems, we aim to identify the most precise conditions that ensure their resolution. Motivated by various fluid motion problems, we explore several class of boundary measurements. Our proofs are based on different arguments, including unique continuation properties for Stokes systems, approximate controllability, complex analysis, and the application of explicit harmonic functions and explicit solutions for Stokes systems. This analysis is complemented by a reconstruction algorithm and examples of numerical computations.