Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 17B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Write the pole as with . The method of images uses three reflected poles with signs . ThusThe logarithms cancel in pairs on each axis. Only the original pole is in the interior, so this is the required Dirichlet Green function in a quadrant.
On the horizontal boundary the outward normal is . Differentiating the four logarithms givesMultiply by the horizontal Dirichlet boundary condition and integrate to obtainBy exchanging the axes, the vertical boundary contributes . The representation in part (a) consequently givesFor the unbounded-domain condition, the same expression is the Poisson integral after the conformal change of variables to the upper half-plane, with real-axis data . This continuous boundary function tends to zero at both ends. Its Poisson integral tends to zero as : split the data into a compact part, whose kernel integral tends to zero, and a tail uniformly smaller than any prescribed positive number. Hence the constructed function has the required decay, and its two boundary traces agree at the corner. The maximum principle for harmonic functions on expanding quarter-discs proves uniqueness among decaying solutions. The corner value is obtained by continuity as .