Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-v/5/a/i/solution

Let be the difference of two sufficiently regular solutions of the wave equation with the prescribed data. By linearity, has zero initial displacement, zero initial velocity, and homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. Define its wave energy by
For , differentiation under the integral sign and integration by parts yield
The boundary term vanishes because at both fixed endpoints implies there. The zero initial data give , so for all times. Thus is spatially constant, and its zero boundary values give . This proves uniqueness for the undamped wave equation.

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