Problems in Classical Potential Theory with Applications to Mathematical Physics

In this thesis we are interested in some problems regarding harmonic functions. The topics are divided into three chapters. Chapter 2 concerns singularities developed by solutions of the Cauchy problem for a holomorphic elliptic equation, especially Laplace\u27s equation. The principal motivation is to locate the singularities of the Schwarz potential. The results have direct applications to Laplacian growth (or the Hele-Shaw problem). Chapter 3 concerns the Dirichlet problem when the boundary is an algebraic set and the data is a polynomial or a real-analytic function. We pursue some questions related to the Khavinson-Shapiro conjecture. A main topic of interest is analytic continuability of the solution outside its natural domain. Chapter 4 concerns certain complex-valued harmonic functions and their zeros. The special cases we consider apply directly in astrophysics to the study of multiple-image gravitational lenses