Past exam of the algebra 1 and differential equations 1 course of the University of Oxford / 2014 / 5 / d

For a real solution, $u^4\ge 0$, so $\Delta u\ge 0$. The maximum principle for subharmonic functions gives $u\le {\max }_{\partial D}u=0$. The additional nonnegativity condition gives $u\ge 0$. ThereforeThis function satisfies both the equation and boundary condition, so it is exactly the full set of nonnegative solutions. The sign restriction is used alongside the maximum principle, rather than treating the nonlinear equation as a linear uniqueness problem.