Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 June 2012
We prove a new global stability estimate for the Gel’fand–Calderón inverse problem on a two-dimensional bounded domain. Specifically, the inverse boundary value problem for the equation ${- }\Delta \psi + v\hspace{0.167em} \psi = 0$ on $D$ is analysed, where $v$ is a smooth real-valued potential of conductivity type defined on a bounded planar domain $D$. The main feature of this estimate is that it shows that the smoother a potential is, the more stable its reconstruction is. Furthermore, the stability is proven to depend exponentially on the smoothness, in a sense to be made precise. The same techniques yield a similar estimate for the Calderón problem for electrical impedance tomography.