Null boundary controllability of a one-dimensional heat equation with an   internal point mass and variable coefficients
  In this paper we consider a linear hybrid system which composed by two non-homogeneous rods connected by a point mass and generated by the equation\bea\left\{   \begin{array}{ll}   \rho_{1}(x)u_{t}=(\sigma_{1}(x)u_{x})_{x}-q_{1}(x)u,& x\in(-1,0),~t>0,   \rho_{2}(x)v_{t}=(\sigma_{2}(x)v_{x})_{x}-q_{2}(x)v,& x\in(0,1), ~~~t>0,   M z_{t}(t)=\sigma_{2}(0)v_{x}(0,t)-\sigma_{1}(0)u_{x}(0,t), &t>0, \end{array}   \right. \eea with Dirichlet boundary condition on the left end $x=-1$ and a boundary control acts on the right end $x=1$. We prove that this system is null controllable with Dirichlet or Neumann boundary controls. Our approach is mainly based on a detailed spectral analysis together with the moment method. In particular, we show that the associated spectral gap in both cases (Dirichlet or Neumann boundary controls) are positive without further conditions on the coefficients $\rho_{i}$, $\sigma_{i}$ and $q_{i}$ $(i=1,2)$ other than the regularities. 
Jamel Ben Amara and Hedi Bouzidi
math.OC