Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/ib/paper-4/17c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ib Paper 4 17C Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Use the Fourier transform convention , with inverse factor . Splitting the inverse integral at zero givesThis is the Poisson kernel for the upper half-plane at height .
Take the Fourier transform in of the Laplace equation. The transformed boundary-value problem isFor the general solution is a linear combination of and ; the two conditions set their coefficients to zero and one respectively. At , the solution is the constant one. Inverting therefore givesThe upper boundary holds pointwise. At the lower boundary the Dirac delta function must be interpreted distributionally: the kernel has integral one and concentrates at zero, so for every continuous compactly supported test function , . This also specifies the solution in the assumed class admitting the stated Fourier transforms.
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