# Positivity of the fundamental solution for fractional diffusion and wave equations

## TL;DR

This paper characterizes when the fundamental solution of fractional diffusion and wave equations remains positive, depending on the orders of derivatives and spatial dimension, using properties of special functions.

## Contribution

It provides a complete characterization of the positivity of the fundamental solution for fractional equations based on derivative orders and dimension.

## Key findings

- Fundamental solution is not positive for all α in (1,2) with certain β and d.
- Positivity holds in other parameter regimes, depending on α, β, and d.
- The proof utilizes properties of Fox H-functions and Mittag-Leffler functions.

## Abstract

We study the question of positivity of the fundamental solution for fractional diffusion and wave equations of the form, which may be of fractional order both in space and time. We give a complete characterization for the positivity of the fundamental solution in terms of the order of the time derivative $\alpha\in(0,2)$, the order of the spatial derivative $\beta\in (0,2]$ and the spatial dimension $d$. It turns out that the fundamental solution fails to be positive for all $\alpha\in (1,2)$, and either $\beta\in (0,2]$ and $d\ge 2$ or $\beta<\alpha$ and $d=1$, whereas in the other cases it remains positive. The proof is based on delicate properties of the Fox H-functions and the Mittag-Leffler functions.