Global exact controllability for quasilinear hyperbolic systems of diagonal form with linearly degenerate characteristics

This paper deals with the global exact controllability for first-order quasilinear hyperbolic systems of diagonal form with linearly degenerate characteristics. When the system has no zero characteristics, we establish the global exact boundary controllability from one arbitrarily preassigned C1 data to another by means of a constructive method, in which the desired boundary controls can be acted either on both sides or only on one side. Sharp estimates on the exact controllable time are given in both cases. When the system has some zero characteristics, the global exact controllability is also established.