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An adjoint Green's function solves the corresponding adjoint point-source problem, with boundary or terminal conditions chosen so that integration by parts gives a representation for a solution of the original operator. For $L={\partial }_t-{\partial }_x^2+c$ on the real line, the formal adjoint is $L^{\ast }=-{\partial }_t-{\partial }_x^2+c$. The backward kernel with terminal Dirac delta at $(\xi ,\tau )$ is the translated heat kernel with constant absorption, defined for $t<\tau$. Its pairing with a homogeneous forward solution is constant in $t$; taking the terminal limit evaluates that solution at $(\xi ,\tau )$.

Use the Fourier transform convention $\hat{u}(k,t)={\int }_{\mathbb{R}}{e}^{-ikx}u(x,t)dx$. Then the equation and Dirac delta initial condition becomeso $\hat{u}=e^{-(k^2+1)t}$. The inverse Fourier transform givesComplete the square as $-t{k}^2+ikx=-t(k-ix/(2t){)}^2-x^2/(4t)$ and use the permitted complex-shift Gaussian integral. Thus the heat kernel with constant absorption isIts mass is $e^{-t}$, consistent with constant absorption, and it tends to the Dirac delta as a distribution as $t\downarrow 0$.

For a fixed observation point $(\xi ,\tau )$, use the backward adjoint Green function with $L^{\ast }=-{\partial }_t-{\partial }_x^2+1$. It satisfies $L^{\ast }G=0$ for $t<\tau$, decays with its spatial derivative as $|x|\to \infty$, and has terminal distribution $G(x,{\tau }^{-};\xi ,\tau )=\delta (x-\xi )$. Extending it by zero for $t>\tau$ gives $L^{\ast }G=\delta (x-\xi )\delta (t-\tau )$.

For $0<t<\tau$, integration by parts provesEvaluating this constant pairing at the initial and terminal times yieldsBy translating the heat kernel with constant absorption and reversing the time difference,The terminal singularity is understood as a distribution; the representation follows for smooth decaying data and extends to standard integrable data by the heat-kernel approximation argument.