Memory-Type Null Controllability of Parabolic Equations with Moving Controls: A Geometric Characterization

TL;DR

This paper establishes a geometric condition, called MGCC, under which linear parabolic equations with memory can be driven to zero using moving controls, by reformulating the problem as a coupled system and deriving an observability inequality.

Contribution

It introduces the Memory Geometric Control Condition (MGCC) for moving controls and proves its sufficiency for memory-type null controllability of parabolic equations with exponential kernels.

Findings

MGCC ensures null controllability with moving controls.

Derived a flow-adapted Carleman estimate for the coupled system.

Established an observability inequality explicitly accounting for memory variables.

Abstract

We study memory-type null controllability for linear parabolic equations with hereditary terms and time-dependent control regions. In contrast with classical null controllability, systems with memory require the simultaneous annihilation of both the state and the accumulated memory at the terminal time in order to prevent post-control reactivation of the dynamics. Assuming that the memory kernel is a finite sum of exponentials, we reformulate the problem as a coupled parabolic--ODE system. Within this framework, we introduce a geometric condition on moving control regions, referred to as the Memory Geometric Control Condition (MGCC), which requires that every spatial point be visited by the control region during the control horizon. Under MGCC, we establish an augmented observability inequality for the adjoint system by means of a flow-adapted Carleman estimate. This observability result, which explicitly accounts for the memory variables, allows us to derive memory-type null controllability via the Hilbert Uniqueness Method. We also discuss the limitations of the approach and explain why full geometric necessity results remain out of reach in the presence of memory effects. The analysis provides a rigorous sufficient geometric condition for memory-type null controllability of parabolic equations with exponential memory kernels and moving controls.