PHYS 5302, Take Home prob.

Consider Jackson’s equation 1.44 for the Dirichlet problem in a charge free
space, ρ(~x) = 0. We want to use this expression for calculating the scalar po-
tential, Φ(~x) in the space outside of a spherical shell of radius a with a scalar
potential Φ(~x0 ) specified on the surface of the shell.

Using the Green function described in Jackson’s equation 3.114 answer the
following:

(A) Is G(~x, ~x0 ) suitable for a Dirichlet problem? Does the Green
function vanish on the surface S identified in eqn 1.44?

(B) What is the expression ∂G0 |r0 =a for ~x0 on surface S in eqn 1.44?
∂n
(C) Suppose the potential on the surface Φ(~x0 ) = V0 cos(θ)
for 0 ≤ θ ≤ π. Find the potential at the distances x = 2a and x = 3a for
θ = 30◦ and 150◦ . You don’t need to use spherical harmonic functions
higher than l=4.