Note on the Approximation of Powers of the Distance in Two-Dimensional Domains

Although Newman's trick has been mainly applied to the approximation of univariate functions, it is also appropriate for the approximation of multivariate functions that are encountered in connection with Green's functions for elliptic differential equations. The asymptotics of the real-valued function on a ball in 2-space coincides with that for an approximation problem in the complex plane. The note contains an open problem. May 17, 1999. Date revised: October 20, 1999. Date accepted: March 17, 2000.