Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/ib/paper-4/17b/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 17B a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
With the positive logarithmic fundamental solution used here, a Dirichlet Green function for an interior pole satisfiesEquivalently, is harmonic near the pole, is harmonic away from it, and it has the specified logarithmic singularity. Regularity up to the remaining boundary is understood; on an unbounded domain impose the appropriate condition at infinity as well.
Apply Green second identity with and . Since is a harmonic function, the volume integral is . The term vanishes on the boundary by the Dirichlet boundary condition. ThereforeOne may equivalently excise a small disc around the pole and take its radius to zero. The sign is positive because this question uses , not the alternative negative-Laplacian convention.
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