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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Finite Element Modelling of a Cellular Electric Microenvironment
Published on: May 18, 2021
Exact solution for the Poisson field in a semi-infinite strip
Yossi Cohen1, Daniel H Rothman1
1Lorenz Center, Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Abstract:
The Poisson equation is associated with many physical processes. Yet exact analytic solutions for the two-dimensional Poisson field are scarce. Here we derive an analytic solution for the Poisson equation with constant forcing in a semi-infinite strip. We provide a method that can be used to solve the field in other intricate geometries. We show that the Poisson flux reveals an inverse square-root singularity at a tip of a slit, and identify a characteristic length scale in which a small perturbation, in a form of a new slit, is screened by the field. We suggest that this length scale expresses itself as a characteristic spacing between tips in real Poisson networks that grow in response to fluxes at tips.
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