Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / iii / Paper 105 / 4 / a / i

For each $t$, letA weak energy solution of a variable-coefficient wave equation is a function $u\in H^1(U_T)$ with zero lateral trace, equivalently $u\in L^2(0,T;H_0^1(U))$, whose time trace satisfies $u(0)={\psi }_0$ in $L^2(U)$ and for whichfor every $v\in H^1(U_T)$ with zero lateral trace and $v(T)=0$. Here $u\in H^1(0,T;L^2(U))$ has a continuous $L^2$ representative, so the displacement trace is well defined.

The velocity condition is encoded by the boundary term in time; an arbitrary space-time $H^1$ function need not have an $L^2$ trace of $u_t$. The equation implies $u_{tt}=f-L(t)u\in L^2(0,T;H^{-1}(U))$, hence $u_t$ has a continuous $H^{-1}$ representative and $u_t(0)={\psi }_1$ in that sense. This is the weak formulation obtained by integration by parts once in time and once in space.