Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2003 / iii / Paper 9 / 1 / b

The Harnack inequality on the unit disk states that a nonnegative harmonic function satisfiesOne proof applies the Poisson integral on the unit disk on a circle of radius $R>|z|$: the Poisson kernel on the circle lies between $(R-|z|)/(R+|z|)$ and its reciprocal. The mean value property for harmonic functions identifies the mean boundary value with $u(0)$; let $R\uparrow 1$.

A harmonic conjugate on the simply connected unit disc makes $H=u+iv$ holomorphic. The Carathéodory derivative bound for the right half-plane gives $|H^{\prime }(0)|\le 2u(0)$. The Cauchy-Riemann equations give $|H^{\prime }|=|\nabla u|$, so $|\nabla u(0)|\le 2u(0)$. For a fixed $z$, use the disk automorphismThe chain rule and conformality multiply the gradient length by $|{\psi }^{\prime }(0)|$. Applying the estimate at zero to $u\circ \psi$ proves the sharp gradient bound for positive harmonic functions:Sharpness follows from $u(\zeta )=\mathrm{Re}[(1+\zeta )/(1-\zeta )]$, which has equality at zero, and then composing with ${\psi }^{-1}$. These extremizers are positive multiples of the Poisson kernel on the circle with its boundary pole fixed at one point.