Abstract
In this paper, we study an inverse problem for an inhomogeneous time-fractional diffusion equation in the one-dimensional real-positive semiaxis domain. Such a problem is obtained from the classical diffusion equation by replacing the first-order time derivative by the Caputo fractional derivative. After we show that the inverse problem is severely ill posed, we apply a modified regularization method based on the solution in the frequency domain to solve the inverse problem. A convergence estimate is also derived. We present two numerical examples to show the efficiency of the method.


















Similar content being viewed by others
References
Caputo M (1967) Linear models of diffusion whose \(Q\) is almost frequency independent, part II. Geophys J R Astron Soc 13:529–539
Chen QZ, Meerschaert MM, Nane E (2012) Space-time fractional diffusion on bounded domains. J Math Anal Appl 393:479–488
Cheng H, Fu C-L (2012) An iteration regularization for a time-fractional inverse diffusion problem. Appl Math Model 36:5642–5649
Eidelman SD, Ivasyshen SD, Kochubei AN (2004) Analytic methods in the theory of differential and pseudo-differential equations of parabolic type. Birkhäuser, Basel
Kilbas AA, Srivastava HM, Trujillo JJ (2006) Theory and applications of fractional differential equations. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Li M, Xi XX, Xiong X-T (2014) Regularization for a fractional sideways heat equation. J Comput Appl Math 255:28–43
Murio DA (2007) Stable numerical solution of a fractional-diffusion inverse heat conduction problem. Comput Math Appl 53(10):1492–1501
Oldham KB, Spanier J (1972) A general solution of the diffusion equation for semiinfinite geometries. J Math Anal Appl 39:655–669
Podlubny I (1999) Fractional differential equations: an introduction to fractional derivatives, fractional differential equations, to methods of their solution and some of their applications. Mathematics in science and engineering, vol 198. Academic Press Inc., San Diego
Press WH et al (1996) Numerical recipes in Fortran 90, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, New York
Trong DD, Quan PH, Khann TV, Tuan NH (2007) A nonlinear case of the 1-D backward heat problem: regularization and error estimate. Z Anal Anwend 26:231–245
Tuan NH, Kirane M, Luu VCH, Mohsin BB (2016) A regularization method for time-fractional linear inverse diffusion problems. Electron J Differ Equ 290:1–18
Xiong X, Guo H, Liu X (2012) An inverse problem for fractional diffusion equation in 2-dimensional case: stability analysis and regularization. J Math Anal Appl 393:185–199
Zheng GH, Wei T (2010a) Spectral regularization method for a Cauchy problem of the time fractional advection–dispersion equation. J Comput Appl Math 233:2631–2640
Zheng GH, Wei T (2010b) Spectral regularization method for the time fractional inverse advection–dispersion equation. Math Comput Simul 81:37–51
Zheng GH, Wei T (2011a) A new regularization method for the time fractional inverse advection–dispersion problem. SIAM J Numer Anal 49(5):1972–1990
Zheng GH, Wei T (2011b) A new regularization method for solving a time-fractional inverse diffusion problem. J Math Anal Appl 378:418–431
Zheng GH, Wei T (2011c) Spectral regularization method for solving a time-fractional inverse diffusion problem. Appl Math Comput 218:396–405
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the referee for his/her very careful reading and for pointing out several mistakes as well as for the useful comments and suggestions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Domingo Alberto Tarzia.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tuan, N.H., Hoan, L.V.C. & Tatar, S. An inverse problem for an inhomogeneous time-fractional diffusion equation: a regularization method and error estimate. Comp. Appl. Math. 38, 32 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40314-019-0776-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40314-019-0776-x