Laplacian in planar parabolic coordinates

ID: laplacian-in-planar-parabolic-coordinates

For planar parabolic coordinates and , the multivariable chain rule gives and . Differentiating once more and adding cancels the first partial derivatives and the mixed partial derivatives:
Consequently, on every local coordinate patch away from the origin, is a harmonic function if and only if is a harmonic function. The Laplacian changes by a positive scale factor, so solutions of the Laplace equation are preserved. The restriction away from the origin is needed to divide by the Jacobian determinant.

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