Inverse space-dependent source problem for a time-fractional diffusion equation by an adjoint problem approach

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we consider an inverse space-dependent source problem for a time-fractional diffusion equation by an adjoint problem approach; that is, to determine the space-dependent source term from a noisy final data. Based on the series expression of the solution for the direct problem, we improve the regularity of the weak solution for the direct problem under strong conditions, and we provide the existence and uniqueness for the adjoint problem. Further, we use the Tikhonov regularization method to solve the inverse source problem and provide a conjugate gradient algorithm to find an approximation to the minimizer of the Tikhonov regularization functional. Numerical examples in one-dimensional and two-dimensional cases are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.