Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 16A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Put in the Laplace equation in cylindrical coordinates. Separation of variables first gives ; -periodicity forces , with angular factors (only the constant for ). Taking givesFor the separated modes are thereforeHere and are the Bessel function of the first kind and the Bessel function of the second kind. For the opposite sign , the modes instead involve , the modified Bessel functions, paired with . At zero separation constant use and for , or for . Superpositions over the integer angular orders and appropriate sums or integrals over the separation parameter give the general separated expansion; boundary conditions select its spectrum and coefficients. Regularity at the axis excludes terms.
For the specified decaying side data, bounded separated modes use . A particular solution isAll three denominators are nonzero. Each term satisfies the radial Bessel differential equation, is regular at the axis and bounded for , and substitution at gives the stated side values. The modes behave as at the axis, so their apparent angular dependence there causes no singularity.
There is an actual nonuniqueness in the printed problem: no values are specified at . If is the first positive zero of , then for every real ,is another bounded solution with the same side values. It remains smooth at the axis and even decays as . This explicitly proves that side boundary data do not determine a bounded harmonic function in a half-cylinder. Thus the boxed expression supplies a bounded solution; the phrase “the bounded solution” is not justified without an additional base boundary condition. The PDF has , whereas the TeX transcription displays .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ib Paper 2 16C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For an axisymmetric separated amplitude , Laplace equation in cylindrical coordinates becomesThe radial equation isIts solution regular at the axis is the Bessel function . The vertical equation is , and the bottom condition selectsup to an irrelevant constant multiplier. Finally, the sidewall condition givesTherefore the allowed positive wavenumbers areand