An Inverse Problem for the Relativistic Boltzmann Equation

Abstract

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⊂M of a timelike path μ 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−)∩I−(x+)⊂M. The set I+(x−)∩I−(x+) is the intersection of the future of the point x− and the past of the point x+, and hence is the maximal set to where causal signals sent from x− can propagate and return to the point x+. The proof of the result is based on using the nonlinearity of the Boltzmann equation as a beneficial feature for solving the inverse problem.