Carleman Estimates for Second Order Elliptic Operators with Limiting Weights, an Elementary Approach

By using some deep tools from microlocal analysis, the authors of the papers (Ann. of Math., 165 (2007), 567--591, J. Amer. Math. Soc., 23 (2010), 655--691; Invent. Math., 178 (2009), 119--171; Duke Math. J., 158(2011), 83--120) have successfully established various Carleman estimates for elliptic operators that possess limiting Carleman weight. In this study, we revisit these problems and present a unified and fundamental approach for deriving these estimates. The main tool we employ is an elementary pointwise estimate for second-order elliptic operators.