KTH/SU Mathematics Colloquium

November 30, 2005

Anders Mellin, LTH

The backscattering problem in quantum mechanics

ABSTRACT The back-scattering data of the Schr\"odinger operator, may be viewed as an 'echo' of the potential. Although the quantum mechanical representation of these data are quite complicated there is alternative way of presentation that uses simple properties of the wave equation $$ (\Delta _x -\p _t ^2 +v)u=f. $$ This may be solved by a simple iteration technique which will allow us to express the backscattering data as a function $$ Bv= \sum _1 ^\infty B_N(v), $$ where the $B_N$ are $N$-linear mappings >From $(C^\infty (\RRn ))^N $ to $C_0^\infty (\RRn)$ and the series, considered as a power series in $v$ has infinite radius of convergence. Each $B_N$ may be viewed as a singular integral operator, and the analysis of the continuity properties involves techniques from several areas of analysis. In the case $n=1$ the operator $v \to B(v)$ has the important property that it linearizes the Korteweg-de Vries equation. I will also discuss some aspect of the inversion problem, i.e. the recovery of $v$ from $B(v)$.