Stability of abstract coupled systems

Abstract

We study stability of abstract differential equations coupled by means of a general algebraic condition. Our approach is based on techniques from operator theory and systems theory, and it allows us to study coupled systems by exploiting properties of the components, which are typically much simpler to analyse. As our main results we establish resolvent estimates and decay rates for abstract boundary-coupled systems. We illustrate the power of the general results by using them to obtain rates of energy decay in coupled systems of one-dimensional wave and heat equations, and in a multi-dimensional wave equation with an acoustic boundary condition.