Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2005 / Paper 2 / 2

Set $\varphi =R(r)\Theta (\theta )$ in Laplace's equation. Separation gives ${\Theta }^{\prime \prime }+n^2\Theta =0$ and $r^2{R}^{\prime \prime }+r{R}^{\prime }-n^{2}R=0$. Single-valued angular periodicity requires integer $n\ge 0$. For $n>0$ the radial factors are $r^n,r^{-n}$; for $n=0$ they are $1,\ln r$. A term linear in $\theta$ is excluded by periodicity. Thus the harmonic Fourier expansions in planar concentric domains have the general formFor $0<a<b$, the specified boundaries contain only a constant mode and a first cosine mode. The two-boundary annular harmonic interpolation givesAt $r=a$, the cosine term vanishes and the logarithmic term is $U$; at $r=b$, the first term vanishes and the cosine amplitude is $V$. Each component is harmonic, and the maximum principle ensures uniqueness for these continuous Dirichlet boundary conditions.