Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-differential-equations-and-applications-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2011/b/5/a/solution
Past exam of the differential equations and applications course of the University of Oxford 2011 B 5 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Assume a classical solution continuous up to the relevant boundary. At an interior positive maximum, and , hence , a contradiction. At a positive maximum on the top edge , away from the spatial endpoints, the left time derivative satisfies , while again ; the same contradiction applies. Thus a positive maximum can occur only on the initial or lateral parabolic boundary.
For two solutions with the same data, their difference satisfies and vanishes on that parabolic boundary. The weak parabolic maximum principle prohibits a positive maximum of and also of . Therefore , proving at most one solution. The positive reaction term is what gives the immediate strict contradiction at a positive maximum.
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