The Goursat problem for a generalized Helmholz operator in the plane

Abstract

We consider the Goursat problem in the plane for partial differential operators whose principal part is the $p$th power of the standard Laplace operator. The data is posed on a union of $2p$ distinct lines through the origin. We show that the solvability of this Goursat problem depends on Diophantine properties of the geometry of lines on which the data is posed.