Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/paper-2/2/i/solution

For separation of variables, write . The exterior Laplace equation separates into
With , angular regularity at the poles selects and the Legendre polynomial . The radial equation is , an Euler-Cauchy equation with solutions . Decay at infinity excludes the first branch for every , including its constant case. Therefore
The expansion uses axisymmetric spherical harmonics. The written scalar boundary-value problem permits the term; any additional physical exclusion of that sector must be stated separately.

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