A well-posed Cauchy problem for an evolution equation with coefficients of low regularity

In the hyperbolic Cauchy problem, the well-posedness in Sobolev spaces is strictly related to the modulus of continuity of the coefficients. This holds true for p-evolution equations with real characteristics (p=1 hyperbolic equations, p=2 vibrating plate and Schrödinger type models, …). We show that, for p⩾2, a lack of regularity in t can be balanced by a damping of the too fast oscillations as the space variable x→∞. This cannot happen in the hyperbolic case p=1 because of the finite speed of propagation.