Unique ergodicity for a class of stochastic hyperbolic equations with additive space-time white noise

Abstract: In this paper, we consider a certain class of second order nonlinear PDEs with damping and space-time white noise forcing, posed on the $d$-dimensional torus. This class includes the wave equation for $d=1$ and the beam equation for $d\le 3$. We show that the Gibbs measure of the equation without forcing and damping is the unique invariant measure for the flow of this system. Since the flow does not satisfy the Strong Feller property, we introduce a new technique for showing unique ergodicity. This approach may be also useful in situations in which finite-time blowup is possible.