The analytic continuation of solutions of the generalized axially symmetric Helmholtz equation

Abstract

The analytic continuation of a solution of the generalized axially symmetric Helmholtz equationuxx + uyy + (2α/x)ux + k2u = 0is examined. A representation in terms of boundary data and the complex Riemann function is given for the continuation of the solution to an analytic boundary value problem; this also provides the solution of the analytic Cauchy problem on an analytic arc. Integral representations are found for the Riemann function, and the axial behaviour of the Riemann function is determined and used to recover a representation for the solution in terms of analytic axial data, as given originally by Henrici. For an exterior boundary value problem in which the axial values of the solution are defined on two disjoint, semi-infinite segments of the axis, it is shown that the two functions are not analytic continuations of one an-other and that a certain linear combination of them is an entire function. As an example, for α = 1/2 it is shown that the continuation of an exterior solution for a prolate spheroidal boundary is logarithmically infinite on the interfocal segment. A further special case, one that involves wave scattering by slender bodies of revolution for which the solution may be represented as a superposition over axial singularities, is briefly examined; properties of the axial values which are forced by this representation are determined and, where comparison is possible, shown to be consistent with the present work.