A pointwise tracking optimal control problem for a fractional, semilinear PDE

Abstract

We analyze an optimal control problem with pointwise tracking for a fractional semilinear elliptic partial differential equation. The diffusion is characterized by the spectral fractional Laplacian $(-\Delta)^s$ with $s \in (1/2,1)$, a range that guarantees the well-posedness of point evaluations of the state. In addition to the nonconvexity of the control problem, the main difficulty is that the adjoint equation is a fractional partial differential equation with a singular right-hand side: a linear combination of Dirac measures. We establish the existence of optimal solutions and derive first-order as well as necessary and sufficient second-order optimality conditions.