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In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties.This is often written as = or =, where = = is the Laplace operator, [note 1] is the divergence operator (also symbolized "div"), is the gradient operator (also symbolized "grad"), and (,,) is a twice-differentiable real-valued function.
The free-space circular cylindrical Green's function (see below) is given in terms of the reciprocal distance between two points. The expression is derived in Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics. [1] Using the Green's function for the three-variable Laplace operator, one can integrate the Poisson equation in
Solutions of the Laplace equation, i.e. functions whose Laplacian is identically zero, thus represent possible equilibrium densities under diffusion. The Laplace operator itself has a physical interpretation for non-equilibrium diffusion as the extent to which a point represents a source or sink of chemical concentration, in a sense made ...
In mathematics, a Dirichlet problem asks for a function which solves a specified partial differential equation (PDE) in the interior of a given region that takes prescribed values on the boundary of the region. [1] The Dirichlet problem can be solved for many PDEs, although originally it was posed for Laplace's equation. In that case the ...
Green's functions are also useful tools in solving wave equations and diffusion equations. In quantum mechanics , Green's function of the Hamiltonian is a key concept with important links to the concept of density of states .
As is the case with spherical coordinates, Laplace's equation may be solved by the method of separation of variables to yield solutions in the form of prolate spheroidal harmonics, which are convenient to use when boundary conditions are defined on a surface with a constant prolate spheroidal coordinate (See Smythe, 1968).
Diagram illustrating the image method for Laplace's equation for a sphere of radius R. The green point is a charge q lying inside the sphere at a distance p from the origin, the red point is the image of that point, having charge −qR/p, lying outside the sphere at a distance of R 2 /p from the origin. The potential produced by the two charges ...
Once the fundamental solution is found, it is straightforward to find a solution of the original equation, through convolution of the fundamental solution and the desired right hand side. Fundamental solutions also play an important role in the numerical solution of partial differential equations by the boundary element method.