Characterization of harmonic functions by the behavior of means at a single point (Q2216491)

The author presents some characterizations of harmonic functions by a mean value type property at a single point. The main result states that \(u\) is harmonic in a region \(\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^{n}\) provided that \(u\) is real analytic in \(\Omega\) and such that, for a fixed \(a\in\Omega\) and for all homogeneous polynomials \(p\) of degree \(k\), the function \[r\mapsto \int_{\mathbb{S}} u(a+r \omega) p(\omega)\,\mathrm{d}\omega\] is a polynomial of degree \(k\) at the most in some interval (possibly depending on \(p\)). The result does not hold when \(u\) is smooth, unless one assumes in addition that the interval is independent of \(p\). A similar characterization holds when \(u\) is a distribution. In place of the mean value type property, flow integrals around a single point are also considered.