Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/paper-1/7/iv/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2010 Paper 1 7 iv Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For a harmonic function, put and . Since , its Hessian matrix isA nonzero determinant is therefore negative, and the two real Hessian eigenvalues are . At a stationary point the quadratic term of the Taylor expansion has both signs. Consequently every such nondegenerate stationary point is a saddle point. This is the nondegenerate stationary points of a planar harmonic function criterion. The same argument applies to , whose stationary points coincide with those of . A zero Hessian determinant is outside this second-order classification.
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