MHB Dirichlet Problem for Laplace's Equation Outside of a Disc

Click For Summary
The discussion focuses on deriving the Dirichlet problem solution for Laplace's equation in the exterior of a disc, building on the Poisson Integral Formula for the interior. The established formula for the interior solution is presented, emphasizing the bounded nature of the solution. The challenge arises in determining the appropriate form for the exterior solution, with the suggestion that the transformation \( r \to \frac{1}{r} \) may be a useful starting point. Participants express uncertainty about justifying the choice of solution form, indicating a need for further exploration of the series representation. The conversation highlights the complexities involved in transitioning from interior to exterior solutions in this mathematical context.
davesface
Messages
97
Reaction score
2
The Poisson Integral Formula is a representation of the bounded solution of the Dirichlet problem for Laplace's equation in the interior of the disc. Derive the corresponding formula
for the Dirichlet problem in the exterior of the disc, again assuming that the solution is bounded.So we derived the expression for the interior part of a disc in class: $u(r,\theta)=\frac{1}{2\pi}\int_0^{2\pi}g(\phi) \frac{b^2-r^2}{b^2-2brcos(\theta-\phi)+r^2} d\phi$, where b is the radius of the disc and $u(b,\theta)=g(\theta)$. It was fairly straightforward, except that we were able to just assume the form of the solution $u(r,\theta)=\frac{1}{2}\gamma_0 +\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} (\frac{r}{b})^n[\gamma_ncos(n\theta)+\delta_nsin(n\theta)]$, where $\gamma_n=\frac{1}{\pi}\int_{0}^{2\pi}g(\phi)cos(n\phi)d\phi$ and $\delta_n=\frac{1}{\pi}\int_{0}^{2\pi}g(\phi)sin(n\phi)d\phi$. We then played around with the sums of the series of sin and cos and took the real part of that to get our answer.

Now, for the exterior of the disc, I'm just not sure how to start off with the form of the solution. It seems like the $(\frac{r}{b})^n$ should really be the only difference, but I can't justify randomly picking a form. Any suggestions?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
My first thought is to try the transformation $r \to \dfrac{1}{r}$ and see where that takes you.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 33 ·
2
Replies
33
Views
5K
  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
5K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
8
Views
4K
Replies
8
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K