An Inverse Problem for the Relativistic Boltzmann Equation

2020

We consider an inverse problem for the Boltzmann equation on a globally hyperbolic Lorentzian spacetime $(M,g)$ with an unknown metric $g$. We consider measurements done in a neighbourhood $V\subset M$ of a timelike path $\mu$ that connects a point $x^-$ to a point $x^+$. The measurements are modelled by a source-to-solution map, which maps a source supported in $V$ to the restriction of the solution to the Boltzmann equation to the set $V$. We show that the source-to-solution map uniquely determines the Lorentzian spacetime, up to an isometry, in the set $I^+(x^-)\cap I^-(x^+)\subset M$. The set $I^+(x^-)\cap I^-(x^+)$ is the intersection of the future of the point $x^-$ and the past of th…