On Inverse Problems with Pointwise Overdetermination for Mathematical Models of Heat and Mass Transfer

This article is a survey devoted to inverse problems of recovering sources and coefficients (parameters of a medium) in mathematical models of heat and mass transfer. The main attention is paid to well-posedness questions of the inverse problems with pointwise overdetermination conditions. The questions of this type arise in the heat and mass transfer theory, in environmental and ecology problems, when describing diffusion and filtration processes, etc. As examples, we note the problems of determining the heat conductivity tensor or sources of pollution in a water basin or atmosphere. We describe three types of problems. The first of them is the problem of recovering point or distributed sources. We present conditions for existence and uniqueness of solutions to the problem, show non-uniqueness examples, and, in model situations, give estimates on the number of measurements that allow completely identify intensities of sources and their locations. The second problem is the problem of recovering the parameters of media, in particular, the heat conductivity. The third problem is the problem of recovering the boundary regimes, i. e. the flux through a surface or the heat transfer coefficient.