Inverse source problem for a space-time fractional diffusion equation

Abstract

This paper is concerned with an inverse source problem for a space-time fractional diffusion equation. We aim to identify an unknown source term from partially observed data. The employed model involves the Caputo fractional derivative in time and the non-local fractional Laplacian operator in space. The well-posedness of the forward problem is discussed. The considered ill-posed inverse source problem is formulated as a minimization one. The existence, uniqueness and stability of the solution of the minimization problem are examined. An iterative process is developed for identifying the unknown source term. A numerical implementation of the proposed approach is performed. The convergence of the discretized fractional derivatives is analyzed. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed identification algorithm are confirmed by some numerical experiments.