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A real harmonic function on the unit disk has the displayed expansion, convergent locally uniformly with its derivatives in the interior. If its continuous boundary data have Fourier coefficients $A_0,A_n,B_n$ in the convention $f(\theta )=A_0/2+{\sum }_{n\ge 1}(A_n\cos (n\theta )+B_n\sin (n\theta ))$, its harmonic extension has $a_0=A_0/2$, $a_n=A_n$, $b_n=B_n$.

To obtain the radial factors, separation of variables in the Laplace equation in polar coordinates gives $r^2{R}^{\prime \prime }+r{R}^{\prime }-\lambda R=0$ and ${\Theta }^{\prime \prime }+\lambda \Theta =0$. Angular periodicity restricts nonconstant modes to $\lambda =n^2$ for positive integers $n$. The radial factors are $r^n,r^{-n}$, with $1,\log r$ for the constant angular mode. Boundedness at the origin removes $r^{-n}$ and $\log r$. Each surviving factor $r^n\cos (n\theta )$ or $r^n\sin (n\theta )$ is a harmonic polynomial, the real or imaginary part of $(x+iy{)}^n$. The expansion can also be derived from the Poisson integral on the unit disk for the disk.

For a velocity potential, $\mathbf{u}=\nabla \varphi$. The incompressible flow condition $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{u}=0$ therefore becomes Laplace equation ${\nabla }^2\varphi =0$. The Laplace equation in polar coordinates givesso positivity of $\gamma$ and $\lambda$ requiresThe velocity components areThe no-penetration boundary condition on both walls says $u_{\theta }=0$ at $\theta =0$ and $\theta =\alpha$, hence $\lambda \alpha =n\pi$. If $n\ge 2$, $\sin (n\pi \theta /\alpha )$ changes sign inside the wedge. The stated sign condition therefore selects $n=1$, and

Apply separation of variables to the Laplace equation in polar coordinates by writing $\varphi (r,\theta )=R(r)\Theta (\theta )$. Division by $R\Theta$ givesThe requirement that $\Theta$ be a real $2\pi$-periodic function restricts the separation constants to $n^2$, with angular factors $\cos (n\theta )$ and $\sin (n\theta )$. For $n\ge 1$, the radial ordinary differential equation is an Euler equation with solutions $r^n$ and $r^{-n}$. For the zero mode, $\Theta$ is constant andso $R=a_0+c_0\log r$. By linearity, superposition givesThis is the separated expansion of a harmonic function in a circular region.

For a nonzero separable solution of the Laplace equation in polar coordinates, write $T(r,\theta )=R(r)\Theta (\theta )$ with $r>0$. Multiplying the partial differential equation by $r^2$ and dividing where $R\Theta \ne 0$ giveswhere $\lambda$ is a real separation constant. The resulting ordinary differential equations areThe equations continue across zeros of the factors by continuity. The radial equation is a Cauchy-Euler equation; putting $s=\log r$ changes it to $d^{2}R/d{s}^2-\lambda R=0$.

For positive separation constant, write $\lambda =k^2$ with $k>0$. The radial factors are powers, while the angular factors are sine and cosine:For zero separation constant, each transformed equation has zero second derivative, givingFor negative separation constant, write $\lambda =-k^2$ with $k>0$. The radial factors oscillate in $\log r$, and the angular factors are exponential functions:These exhaust the nonzero real separated solutions before imposing angular periodicity or regularity at the origin. The zero solution is also allowed. Since Laplace's equation is linear, sums of these separated solutions are solutions wherever the sums and required derivatives converge appropriately.

Use separation of variables, $\Phi =F(r)H(\theta )$, in the Laplace equation in polar coordinates. Dividing by $FH/r^2$ givesSingle-valued $2\pi$-periodic angular factors have integer $n\ge 0$. For $n\ge 1$, they are $\cos n\theta ,\sin n\theta$, and the radial equation $r^2{F}^{\prime \prime }+r{F}^{\prime }-n^{2}F=0$ has solutions $r^n,r^{-n}$. The zero angular mode gives $F=a_0+b_0\log r$. These separated products give the requested solutions; arbitrary sums may use independent coefficients for each radial-angular combination.

Boundedness at the origin removes the logarithm and all negative radial powers. The boundary function is even, so its sine Fourier coefficients vanish. With the convention $f(\theta )=a_0+{\sum }_{n\ge 1}{a}_n\cos n\theta$, its Fourier coefficients areThus the bounded interior harmonic extension isFor $r<R$ the series and its derivatives converge locally uniformly, so it is harmonic. It is a rotated and scaled instance of the harmonic measure of a semicircle in a disk. For example, summing the power series for the complex arctangent, or differentiating the following expression, gives the equivalent real formThis also proves boundedness directly.

At the two jumps, the boundary interpretation matters. At every continuity point the radial limit equals the prescribed value. At $\theta =\pm \pi /2$, the radial limit is $C/2$, the midpoint of the two one-sided values. Consequently for $C\ne 0$ there is no harmonic solution continuous on the closed disk with exactly the printed boundary values. The standard bounded Dirichlet problem imposes the trace away from the jumps, or almost everywhere; assigning zero separately at those two boundary points does not alter the interior solution.

For uniqueness let $w=\tilde{\Phi }-\Phi$. Formally the divergence theorem applied to $w\nabla w$ givesFor continuous zero boundary data, this immediately forces $w=0$. With the actual discontinuous data, one should justify the two exceptional points rather than assume finite Dirichlet energy there. Let $|w|\le M$ and choose a cutoff ${\eta }_{ϵ}$ which is zero within ${ϵ}^2$ of those points, one beyond $ϵ$, and linear in logarithmic distance between. Its gradient satisfies $\int |\nabla {\eta }_{ϵ}{|}^2=O(1/|\log ϵ|)$. Applying the divergence theorem to ${\eta }_{ϵ}^{2}w\nabla w$ givesThe resulting energy tends to zero. Hence $\nabla w=0$ on every compact subset and $w$ is constant; its zero boundary trace on the open arcs makes it zero. This is the logarithmic cutoff proof of harmonic uniqueness with finitely many boundary exceptions.

For the exterior harmonic extension of disk boundary data, boundedness instead excludes $r^n$ and the logarithm. The same boundary coefficients giveThis is ${\Phi }_{\mathrm{in}}(R^2/r,\theta )$, using inversion in a circle. Its limit at infinity is $C/2$. To see why that value is forced independently of this construction, average any bounded exterior harmonic function over a circle. The mean satisfies $(r{\overline{\Phi }}^{\prime }{)}^{\prime }=0$, hence is $A+B\log r$. Boundedness forces $B=0$, and the boundary mean fixes $A=C/2$. A constant limit at infinity must therefore be $C/2$.

Finally suppose two bounded exterior solutions have this limit. Their difference $w$ tends to zero. Under planar inversion in a circle, it is bounded and harmonic near the origin, so the isolated point there is removable. Its local expansion gives $w=O(r^{-1})$, ${\partial }_{r}w=O(r^{-2})$ in the original exterior. Apply the preceding divergence theorem energy argument on $R<r<L$, with logarithmic cutoffs at the two boundary jumps. After removing those cutoffs, the inner boundary term vanishes; the outer one is ${\int }_{r=L}w{\partial }_{r}wds=O(L^{-2})$. Letting $L\to \infty$ forces $\nabla w=0$, and the zero limit gives $w=0$. Thus the bounded exterior solution is unique as well.

Write $\rho =|\mathbf{x}-\mathbf{y}|$. A rotationally symmetric fundamental solution of the Laplace equation is harmonic for $\rho >0$. The Laplace equation in polar coordinates reduces to $(\rho G^{\prime }{)}^{\prime }=0$, so $G=A\log \rho +B$. Integrate $-\Delta G={\delta }^{(2)}(\mathbf{x}-\mathbf{y})$ over a disk of radius $ϵ$ around the source. The divergence theorem givesTaking $B=0$ therefore givesChanging the reference length inside the logarithm merely adds a constant. Notice the sign convention: the potential equation in this question is $\Delta V=q{\delta }^{(2)}$, whereas this Green function satisfies $-\Delta G={\delta }^{(2)}$. Thus the point-source potential used below is $-qG=+(q/2\pi )\log \rho$.

For the two insulating walls, successive Euclidean reflections in $x=b$ and $x=-b$ generate sources of strength $q$ at $(2nb,0)$ for every integer $n$. Only $n=0$ lies inside the physical strip. This is the Neumann image lattice for a point source in a strip. SetThe raw sum of logarithmic potentials diverges by additive constants. A well-defined potential is obtained by pairing opposite images and subtracting their constant reference terms:Each paired summand is $O(n^{-2})$ on compact subsets away from the source. The series therefore has local uniform convergence, as do the required derivative series. It givesIn the corresponding $x$-derivative, the images pair as $n$ and $1-n$ at $x=b$, and as $n$ and $-1-n$ at $x=-b$. Their opposite horizontal separations make the derivatives cancel. Thus both homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions hold. The constructed solution is even in $y$; without a condition at infinity the side conditions alone would allow further homogeneous harmonic functions.

For fixed $y>0$, uniform convergence on $[-b,b]$ permits integration term by term. The $n$th term has integralHere $\arctan$ is the ordinary real inverse trigonometric function, taking values in $(-\pi /2,\pi /2)$. Summing from $-N$ to $N$ makes a telescoping series:The source flux splits equally between the upper and lower parts of the strip. The next two parts give the single-wall constructions that underlie the image lattice.

A single-valued potential must be $2\pi$-periodic in $\theta$. For a separated solution $\Phi =F(r)H(\theta )$, the Laplace equation in polar coordinates becomesThe periodic angular eigenvalue problem has $\mu =n^2$, $n\ge 0$: its nonconstant eigenfunctions are $\cos n\theta ,\sin n\theta$. Negative $\mu$ gives exponentials that cannot be periodic, and $\mu =0$ gives only a constant angular factor. For $n\ge 1$, the radial Cauchy-Euler equation $r^2{F}^{\prime \prime }+r{F}^{\prime }-n^{2}F=0$ gives $F=A{r}^n+B{r}^{-n}$. At $n=0$ the two radial solutions are $1$ and $\log r$. Superposition therefore givesThe expansion is interpreted on an annulus where the harmonic function is defined; particular boundary conditions determine its constants and convergence region. Single-valuedness is essential: allowing a cut in the angular domain would also permit nonperiodic angular solutions.

For the harmonic extension in a circular sector, write a separated harmonic function as $F(r)H(\theta )$. The Laplace equation in polar coordinates yieldsThe angular Dirichlet boundary conditions select the Fourier sine basisIndeed, the angular equation has no nonzero solution with nonpositive ${\nu }^2$: multiplying $-H^{\prime \prime }={\nu }^{2}H$ by $H$ and integrating gives $\int (H^{\prime }{)}^2={\nu }^2\int H^2$. The radial Cauchy-Euler equation has solutions $r^{{\nu }_n}$ and $r^{-{\nu }_n}$. Boundedness at the vertex excludes the latter, so superposition gives