Applied Mathematics Letters 67 (2017) 16–20

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Mathematics Letters

www.elsevier.com/locate/aml

Optimal decay for coupled waves with Kelvin–Voigt damping

Higidio Portillo Oquendoa, *, Patricia Sánez Pacheco b
a
Department of Mathematics, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil
b
Department of Mathematics, Federal Technological University of Paraná, Brazil

article info abstract

Article history: We consider a system of two coupled waves where one is conservative and the other
Received 15 September 2016 is dissipative. When the dissipation is caused by an internal friction, Alabau et
Received in revised form 18 al. (2002), showed the polynomial decay of the associated semigroup with decay
November 2016 rate t−1/2 . In this paper, we substitute the friction damping by another one. This
Accepted 20 November 2016
damping is of Kelvin–Voigt type, and for this system, we show that the semigroup
Available online 2 December 2016
loses speed and decays with the rate t−1/4 . Moreover, we prove that this decay rate
Keywords: is optimal.
Frictional damping © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Kelvin–Voigt damping
Coupled waves
Optimal decay

1. Introduction

In several areas of the science, many vibratory problems are modeled by wave equations. To stabilize
those vibrations to their equilibrium state, some dissipative mechanism is often introduced. When an elastic
body occupies a bounded region Ω of Rn , some of these problems can be modeled by the equation

vtt − ∆v + Lv = 0, x ∈ Ω , t > 0,

satisfying Dirichlet boundary conditions, that is v = 0 on ∂Ω . Here, Lv denotes a mechanism that stabilizes
those vibrations. In those conditions, the semigroup decays to zero with a rate that depends on the properties
of this dissipative mechanism. For instance, when the wave has the frictional damping Lv = βvt , it is well-
known that the semigroup decays exponentially. On the other hand, when the damping is as strong as the
Kelvin–Voigt type Lv = −β∆vt , the semigroup has better properties: it is analytic. Consequently, it decays
exponentially.
The situation is similar for coupled waves when both are dissipative, but it is completely different if one
wave is dissipative and the other does not. This fact is evidenced by Alabau et al. in [1]. They studied the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: higidio@ufpr.br (H.P. Oquendo), patricias@utfpr.edu.br (P.S. Pacheco).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aml.2016.11.010
0893-9659/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
17 H.P. Oquendo, P.S. Pacheco / Applied Mathematics Letters 67 (2017) 16–20

coupled waves with partial frictional damping

utt − ∆u + αv = 0, x ∈ Ω , t > 0,
vtt − ∆v + αu + βvt = 0, x ∈ Ω , t > 0,

subjected to Dirichlet boundary conditions. For this system, the semigroup is not exponentially stable, but
it decays at least polynomially with the rate t−1/2 . The optimality of that decay rate was recently shown
by Lobato et al. in [2].
In this work, we are interested in the asymptotic behavior of the semigroup of coupled waves with partial
Kelvin–Voigt damping given by the equations
utt − ∆u + αv = 0, x ∈ Ω , t > 0,
(1)
vtt − ∆v + αu − β∆vt = 0, x ∈ Ω , t > 0,
with the Dirichlet boundary conditions

u = 0, v=0 on ∂Ω . (2)

For this equations system, although the damping is stronger than the frictional one, we show that the
semigroup loses speed and it decays polynomially with the slower rate t−1/4 . We also show that this decay
rate is the best.
In the literature, there are several studies involving differences between frictional damping and Kelvin–
Voigt type damping for some partially dissipative systems, they can be found in [3–9].
For the coupled waves equations system (1)–(2), we will assume that Ω is a bounded open set of Rn with
smooth boundary ∂Ω , the damping coefficient, β, is positive and the coupling coefficient, α, satisfies

0 < α < γ1 , (3)

where γ1 is the first eigenvalue of the Laplacian operator −∆ : H 2 (Ω ) ∩ H01 (Ω ) ⊂ L2 (Ω ) → L2 (Ω ). The

results obtained in this paper continue valid for α negative satisfying the condition 0 < |α| < γ1 .
The next sections are organized as follows: in Section 2, the system (1)–(2) is written in a semigroup
approach. Finally, in Section 3, we state and prove the main result of this paper.

2. The semigroup setting

If we denote by U (t) = (u, v, ut , vt ), the solution of the coupled system (1)–(2) can be written in an
abstract framework
dU
= AU,
dt
where the operator A is given by
( )
AU = u̇, v̇, ∆u − αv, div(∇v + β∇v̇) − αu ,

for U = (u, v, u̇, v̇). Here, the point on top of the functions is only a notation, it does not mean a time
derivative. The differential operator A will be defined in an appropriate subspace of the Hilbert space

X = H01 (Ω ) × H01 (Ω ) × L2 (Ω ) × L2 (Ω ),

endowed with the inner product

∫ ∫ ∫
⟨U1 , U2 ⟩X = (∇u1 · ∇u2 + ∇v1 · ∇v 2 ) dx + α u1 v 2 + v1 u2 dx + (u̇1 u̇2 + v̇1 v̇ 2 ) dx,
Ω Ω Ω
18 H.P. Oquendo, P.S. Pacheco / Applied Mathematics Letters 67 (2017) 16–20

where Ui = (ui , vi , u̇i , v̇i ), i = 1, 2. Thus, the domain of the operator A is defined by

D(A) = {U ∈ X : u̇, v̇ ∈ H01 (Ω ), u ∈ H 2 (Ω ), div(∇v + β∇v̇) ∈ L2 (Ω )},

where U = (u, v, u̇, v̇).

We know that the system (1)–(2) is well-posed if A is the generator of a C0 -semigroup. To verify this
property, it is sufficient to check the conditions of Theorem 1.2.4 in [10], that is, A is a dissipative operator
densely defined and 0 belongs to the resolvent set ρ(A). A simple computation shows that
∫
Re⟨AU, U ⟩ = −β |∇v̇|2 dx, ∀ U ∈ D(A), (4)
Ω

so the operator A is dissipative. It is not difficult of showing that 0 ∈ ρ(A), thus A is the generator of a
C0 -semigroup of contractions etA on the space X. Therefore, the solution of the system (1)–(2) with initial
data U0 ∈ D(A) is given by etA U0 .
In the next section, we will show the polynomial decay for the solutions of the system (1)–(2). To do this,
we will need to use the following result due to Borichev and Tomilov.

Theorem 1 (see [11]). Let A be the generator of a C0 -semigroup of bounded operators on a Hilbert space
X such that iR ⊂ ρ(A). Then, we have the polynomial decay
C 1
∥etA U0 ∥ ≤ ∥U0 ∥D(A) , t > 0, if and only if, lim sup ∥(iλ − A)−1 ∥ < ∞.
t1/θ |λ|→∞ |λ|θ

3. Optimal rate of decay

In what follows, C will denote a positive constant that assumes different values in different places. The
main result of this paper is given by the following theorem:

Theorem 2. The semigroup of the coupled system (1)–(2) decays polynomially as

C
∥etA U0 ∥ ≤ ∥U0 ∥D(A) , t > 0.
t1/4
Moreover, this rate of decay t−1/4 is optimal in the following sense: the semigroup does not decay with the
rate t−s for s > 1/4.

Proof . We will show this theorem by verifying the conditions of Theorem 1. Let λ ∈ R and F = (f, g, f˙, ġ) ∈
X. The solution U = (u, v, u̇, v̇) ∈ D(A) of the stationary system (iλI − A)U = F can be written by

iλu − u̇ = f, iλu̇ − ∆u + αv = f˙, (5)

iλv − v̇ = g, iλv̇ − div(∇v + β∇v̇) + αu = ġ. (6)

Now, we will simultaneously prove that iλ ⊂ ρ(A) and ∥U ∥ ≤ Cλ4 ∥F ∥. From the identity (4), we have
∫
β |∇v̇|2 dx = Re⟨(iλI − A)U, U ⟩ ≤ ∥F ∥∥U ∥. (7)
Ω

Multiplying the second equations of (5) and (6) by u and v respectively, and integrating by parts, we have
∫ ∫ ∫ ∫
2
|∇u| dx = 2
|u̇| dx − α vu dx + (f˙u + f u̇) dx,
∫Ω ∫Ω ∫ Ω ∫Ω ∫
2 2
|∇v| dx = |v̇| dx − α uv dx + (ġv + g v̇) dx − β ∇v̇ · ∇v dx.
Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω
19 H.P. Oquendo, P.S. Pacheco / Applied Mathematics Letters 67 (2017) 16–20

2 2
Summing the above equations, applying Young’s inequality, Poincaré’s inequality γ1 ∥w∥L2 ≤ ∥∇w∥L2 , and
taking in account (3) and (7), we obtain
∫ {∫ }
2 2 2 2
(|∇u| + |∇v| ) dx ≤ C (|u̇| + |v̇| ) dx + ∥F ∥∥U ∥ . (8)
Ω Ω

Now, we multiply the second equation of (5) and (6) by v and u, respectively. Performing an integration by
parts and taking the real part we obtain
∫ ∫ ∫
Re (∇u · ∇v − u̇v̇) dx + α |v|2 dx = Re (f˙v + g u̇) dx,
∫Ω ∫Ω ∫Ω
2
Re (∇v · ∇u − v̇ u̇) dx + α |u| dx = Re (ġu + f v̇ − β∇v̇ · ∇u) dx.
Ω Ω Ω

The difference of the above equations gives us

∫ ∫ ∫ ∫
α 2
|u| dx = α 2
|v| dx − βRe ∇v̇ · ∇u dx + Re (ġu + f v̇ − f˙v − g u̇) dx.
Ω Ω Ω Ω
2
Multiplying this equation by λ and applying Hölder’s inequality, we get
∫ {∫ ∫ }
|λu|2 dx ≤ C |λv|2 dx + λ2 |∇v̇||∇u| dx + λ2 ∥F ∥∥U ∥ . (9)
Ω Ω Ω

On the other hand, from the first equations of (5) and (6), we have the inequalities
∫ {∫ } ∫ {∫ }
2 2 2 2 2 2
|u̇| dx ≤ 2 |λu| dx + ∥F ∥ , |λv| dx ≤ 2 |v̇| dx + ∥F ∥ .
Ω Ω Ω Ω

Combining these inequalities with (9), we obtain

∫ {∫ ∫ }
|u̇|2 dx ≤ C |v̇|2 dx + λ2 |∇v̇||∇u| dx + λ2 ∥F ∥∥U ∥ + ∥F ∥2 .
Ω Ω Ω

From this inequality, inequality (8), Poincaré’s inequality and the estimate (7), we obtain
{ ∫ }
2 2 2 2
∥U ∥ ≤ C λ |∇v̇||∇u| dx + λ ∥F ∥∥U ∥ + ∥F ∥ .
Ω

Finally, by applying Young’s inequality, we conclude that

∥U ∥2 ≤ C (1 + λ4 )∥F ∥∥U ∥ + ∥F ∥2 .
{ }

This fundamental inequality implies the following conclusions: (i) if we take F = 0, then we obtain U = 0.
This means iλ is not an eigenvalue of A, and as this closed operator is densely defined and it has compact
{ }
resolvent, we conclude that iR ⊂ ρ(A). (ii) Taking |λ| large we obtain ∥U ∥2 ≤ C λ4 ∥F ∥∥U ∥ + ∥F ∥2 ,
from where follows that ∥U ∥ ≤ Cλ4 ∥F ∥. Therefore, λ−4 ∥(iλI − A)−1 ∥ is bounded. From Theorem 1, the
semigroup decays polynomially with the rate t−1/4 .
Optimality of the decay rate. We consider the eigenvalues γk of the Laplacian operator −∆ : H 2 (Ω ) ∩
H01 (Ω ) ⊂ L2 (Ω ) → L2 (Ω ) and their corresponding unitary eigenvectors wk . That is,

−∆wk = γk wk , ∥wk ∥L2 = 1, k ∈ N.

We set Fk = (0, 0, −wk , 0) ∈ X. Thus, for λ ∈ R, the solution U = (u, v, u̇, v̇) of the system (iλI − A)U = Fk
given by Eqs. (5)–(6), satisfies u̇ = iλu, v̇ = iλv, and

λ2 u + ∆u − αv = wk , (10)
2
λ v + div(∇v + iβλ∇v) − αu = 0. (11)
20 H.P. Oquendo, P.S. Pacheco / Applied Mathematics Letters 67 (2017) 16–20

In this point, let us see when these equations admit solutions in the form: u = µwk and v = ηwk for some
complex numbers µ and η. Substituting these terms in the above equations, we have that µ and η must be
solutions of the algebraic linear system

(λ2 − γk )µ − αη = 1, −αµ + (λ2 − γk − iβγk λ)η = 0.

These equations are satisfied if

H(λ) α
µ= , η= ,
D(λ) D(λ)
where

H(λ) = λ2 − γk − iβγk λ, D(λ) = λ4 − 2γk λ2 + γk2 − α2 − iβγk λ(λ2 − γk ).

√
Setting λ = λk := γk we have H(λk ) = −iβλ3k and D(λk ) = −α2 . Consequently,

iβ 3
µ = µk = λ .
α2 k
Now, if Uk = (u, v, u̇, v̇) denotes the solution of the system (iλk I − A)U = Fk , then we have
β 4
∥Uk ∥ ≥ ∥u̇∥ = ∥λk u∥ = ∥λk µk wk ∥ = λ . (12)
α2 k
The optimality of the decay rate is obtained from the following argument: If the semigroup had a decreasing
−1
rate t−s with s > 1/4, then, by applying Theorem 1, we should have λk s ∥Uk ∥ bounded, but from (12) we
obtain that
−1 β 4− 1s
λk s ∥Uk ∥ ≥ λ → ∞.
α2 k
This is contradictory with the boundedness of this term, so t−1/4 is the optimal rate of decay. □

References

[1] F. Alabau, P. Cannarsa, V. Komornik, Indirect internal stabilization of weakly coupled evolution equations, J. Evol. Equ.
2 (2002) 127–150.
[2] R.F.C. Lobato, S.M.S. Cordeiro, M.L. Santos, D.S. Almeida Júnior, Optimal polynomial decay to coupled wave equations
and its numerical properties, J. Appl. Math. (2014) Art. ID 897080, 9 pp.
[3] M. Afilal, F. Ammar Khodja, Stability of coupled second order equations, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 19 (2000) 91–107.
[4] L. Aloui, M. Daoulatli, Stabilization of two coupled wave equations on a compact manifold with boundary, J. Math. Anal.
Appl. 436 (2016) 944–969.
[5] M. Alves, J.M. Rivera, M. Sepúlveda, O.V. Villagrán, M.Z. Garay, The asymptotic behavior of the linear transmission
problem in viscoelasticity, Math. Nachr. 287 (2014) 483–497.
[6] M. Alves, J.M. Rivera, M. Sepúlveda, O.V. Villagrán, The lack of exponential stability in certain transmission problems
with localized Kelvin-Voigt dissipation, SIAM J. Appl. Math. 74 (2014) 345–365.
[7] Z. Liu, Q. Zhang, A note on the polynomial stability of a weakly damped elastic abstract system, Z. Angew. Math. Phys.
66 (2015) 1799–1804.
[8] H.P. Oquendo, Frictional versus Kelvin-Voigt damping in a transmission problem, 2016, submitted for publication.
[9] A. Soufyane, Uniform stability of displacement coupled second-order equations, Electron. J. Differential Equations (25)
(2001) 10 pp.
[10] Z. Liu, S. Zheng, Semigroups Associated with Dissipative Systems, Chapman & Hall, 1999.
[11] A. Borichev, Y. Tomilov, Optimal polynmial decay of functions and operator semigroups, Math. Ann. 347 (2010) 455–478.