Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2012/ia/paper-3/12c/ii/b/solution

Every regular radial solution has outward normal derivative , which is nonzero since . Therefore there is no solution with the stated homogeneous Neumann boundary condition. This also follows without imposing spherical symmetry: the compatibility condition from part (i) would require
which is impossible. Thus the full-ball Poisson equation has no classical solution for these boundary data, radial or otherwise. A singular term could formally cancel the derivative at , but would introduce a source at the origin and violate the problem's equation there.

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