Physical interpretation of initial conditions for fractional differential equations with Riemann-Liouville fractional derivatives

On a series of examples from the field of viscoelasticity we demonstrate that it is possible to attribute physical meaning to initial conditions expressed in terms of Riemann-Liouville fractional derivatives, and that it is possible to obtain initial values for such initial conditions by appropriate measurements or observations.Comment: LaTeX2e, 14 page

Modified Optimal Energy and Initial Memory of Fractional Continuous-Time Linear Systems

Fractional systems with Riemann-Liouville derivatives are considered. The initial memory value problem is posed and studied. We obtain explicit steering laws with respect to the values of the fractional integrals of the state variables. The Gramian is generalized and steering functions between memory values are characterized.Comment: Submitted 30/Nov/2009; Revised (major revision) 24/April/2010; Accepted (after minor revision) 22/July/2010; for publication in Signal Processin

Existence and uniqueness of a positive solution to generalized nonlocal thermistor problems with fractional-order derivatives

In this work we study a generalized nonlocal thermistor problem with fractional-order Riemann-Liouville derivative. Making use of fixed-point theory, we obtain existence and uniqueness of a positive solution.Comment: Submitted 17-Jul-2011; revised 09-Oct-2011; accepted 21-Oct-2011; for publication in the journal 'Differential Equations & Applications' (http://dea.ele-math.com

Coupled systems of fractional equations related to sound propagation: analysis and discussion

In this note we analyse the propagation of a small density perturbation in a one-dimensional compressible fluid by means of fractional calculus modelling, replacing thus the ordinary time derivative with the Caputo fractional derivative in the constitutive equations. By doing so, we embrace a vast phenomenology, including subdiffusive, superdiffusive and also memoryless processes like classical diffusions. From a mathematical point of view, we study systems of coupled fractional equations, leading to fractional diffusion equations or to equations with sequential fractional derivatives. In this framework we also propose a method to solve partial differential equations with sequential fractional derivatives by analysing the corresponding coupled system of equations

Boundary Conditions for Fractional Diffusion

This paper derives physically meaningful boundary conditions for fractional diffusion equations, using a mass balance approach. Numerical solutions are presented, and theoretical properties are reviewed, including well-posedness and steady state solutions. Absorbing and reflecting boundary conditions are considered, and illustrated through several examples. Reflecting boundary conditions involve fractional derivatives. The Caputo fractional derivative is shown to be unsuitable for modeling fractional diffusion, since the resulting boundary value problem is not positivity preserving

Fractional differential equations solved by using Mellin transform

In this paper, the solution of the multi-order differential equations, by using Mellin Transform, is proposed. It is shown that the problem related to the shift of the real part of the argument of the transformed function, arising when the Mellin integral operates on the fractional derivatives, may be overcame. Then, the solution may be found for any fractional differential equation involving multi-order fractional derivatives (or integrals). The solution is found in the Mellin domain, by solving a linear set of algebraic equations, whose inverse transform gives the solution of the fractional differential equation at hands.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure