Green's function in some contributions of 19th century mathematicians (Q5953251)

The paper starts with a problem formulated by Dirichlet in his lectures on potential theory 1856/57: Dirichlet tried to find a harmonic function \(V(x,y,z)\) in a closed connected region \(R\) with given continuous boundary conditions (Dirichlet's Problem). Its solution is stated on an existence principle (Dirichlet's Principle): \(V\) making \(\int_R\Delta V dv\) a minimum is the solution of \(\nabla^2 V = 0\) (Laplace equation, characterizing the harmonicity of \(V\)). However, many mathematicians doubted the validity of Dirichlet's Principle in the sequel after Weierstrass, in 1870, had exhibited a counterexample to a similar variational example. Even before that, many mathematicians realized difficulties with Dirichlet's Principle and developed alternative methods. One of these is Green's method from 1828 which consists in finding a (Green's) function appearing in the analytical solution of the Dirichlet problem under consideration. Helmholtz, Riemann, Lipschitz, Carl and Franz Neumann, and Betti deduced functions similar to the Green's one in solving problems in acoustics, electrodynamics, magnetism, heat and elasticity. The corresponding contributions are disucssed in detail here. The paper ends with the conclusion that the method of Green's function to express the solution of a given Dirichlet Problem needs the proof of existence of the Green function itself. A general method for the derivation of a suitable Green's function for any Dirichlet Problem does not exist. Thus, the Dirichlet Principle is simply replaced by another existence criterion. Green's method has been fruitfully used in many fields of mathematical physics and in the solution of partial differential equations. But the original difficulties arising from Dirichlet's Principle are only partly removed; they are shifted to the derivation of Green's function.