Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/paper-2/2/a/solution

For an axisymmetric harmonic function, put in the Laplacian in spherical coordinates and multiply by . Separation of variables gives
With , the angular equation becomes the Legendre differential equation. Regularity at both poles selects the Legendre polynomials with integer ; the singular second solutions are excluded. The radial Euler-Cauchy equation has solutions and . Superposition therefore gives
with coefficients chosen to ensure convergence and the required boundary regularity. The axisymmetric harmonic extension from a sphere gives these coefficients directly from boundary data.

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