On the rigorous foundations of the Fokas method for linear elliptic partial differential equations

Abstract

In this paper, we address some of the rigorous foundations of the Fokas method, confining attention to boundary value problems for linear elliptic partial differential equations on bounded convex domains. The central object in the method is the global relation, which is an integral equation in the spectral Fourier space that couples the given boundary data with the unknown boundary values. Using techniques from complex analysis of several variables, we prove that a solution to the global relation provides a solution to the corresponding boundary value problem, and that the solution to the global relation is unique. The result holds for any number of spatial dimensions and for a variety of boundary value problems. © 2011 The Royal Society.