A mixed type identification problem related to a phase-field model with memory

Abstract

In this paper we consider an integro-differential system consisting of a parabolic and a hyperbolic equation related to phase transition models. The first equation is integro-differential and of hyperbolic type. It describes the evolution of the temperature and also accounts for memory effects through a memory kernel $k$ via the Gurtin-Pipkin heat flux law. The latter equation, governing the evolution of the order parameter, is semilinear, parabolic and of the fourth order (in space). We prove a local in time existence result and a global uniqueness result for the identification problem consisting in recovering the memory kernel $k$ appearing in the first equation.