Observation estimate for kinetic transport equations by diffusion approximation

We study the unique continuation property for the neutron transport equation and for a simplified model of the Fokker-Planck equation in a bounded domain with absorbing boundary condition. An observation estimate is derived. It depends on the smallness of the mean free path and the frequency of the velocity average of the initial data. The proof relies on the well-known diffusion approximation under convenience scaling and on the basic properties of this diffusion. Eventually, we propose a direct proof for the observation at one time of parabolic equations. It is based on the analysis of the heat kernel. (C) 2017 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.