Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/paper-2/2/b/solution

Let . In the mixed Dirichlet-Neumann problem in an elliptic annulus, the angular Fourier modes separate. The outer data excite the mode, while the inner derivative excites .
For the first mode, a radial factor with zero derivative at is . Normalizing its outer value gives . For the second mode, a radial factor vanishing at is . Its derivative at must be , fixing the coefficient to . Therefore
Each term satisfies Laplace's equation; at the second term vanishes and the first is . At , differentiating gives , as required. All other modes, including the constant mode, vanish by the homogeneous mixed conditions. Alternatively, integration by parts applied to the difference of two solutions gives a zero integral of , proving uniqueness.
Boundary convention. The calculation follows the explicitly printed coordinate derivative . In elliptic coordinates, the scale factor is and the outward unit normal at the inner boundary points toward decreasing . A physical normal derivative there would be . Thus the phrase “normal derivative” in the source must be understood in its displayed coordinate sense; imposing the same numerical data on a unit-normal derivative would be a different problem.

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