Observable sets for free Schrödinger equation on combinatorial graphs

Abstract: We study observability for the free Schrödinger equation $\partial_t u = iΔu$ on combinatorial graphs $G=(\mathcal{V},\mathcal{E})$. A subset $E\subset\mathcal{V}$ is observable at time $T>0$ if there exists $C(T,E)>0$ such that for all $u_0\in l^2(\mathcal{V})$, $$ |u_0|{l^2(\mathcal{V})}^2 \le C(T,E)\int_0^T |e^{itΔ}u_0|{l^2(E)}^2\,dt. $$ On the one-dimensional lattice $\mathbb{Z}$ we obtain a sharp threshold for thick sets: if $E\subset\mathbb{Z}$ is $γ$-thick with $γ\geq1/2$, then $E$ is observable at some time; conversely, for every $γ<1/2$ there exists a $γ$-thick set that is not observable at any time. This critical threshold marks the exact point where the discrete lattice departs from the real line: on the lattice it must be attained, whereas on $\R$ any $γ$-thick set with $γ>0$ already suffices. On $\mathbb{Z}^d$ we show that complements of finite sets are observable at any time $T>0$. This is a similar result to Euclidean space $\R^d$: any set that contains the exterior of a finite ball is observable at any time, in analogy with the free Schrödinger flow on $\mathbb{R}^d$. For finite graphs we give an equivalent characterization of observability in terms of the zero sets of Laplacian eigenfunctions. As an application, we construct unobservable sets of large density on discrete tori, in contrast with the continuous torus $\mathbb{T}^d$, where every nonempty open set is observable.