Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2021 / ii / Paper 2 / 2H / i / Solution

The assertion is true. Continuity and compactness give a maximum of $\varphi$ on $\overline{\Omega }$. At an interior maximum the Hessian matrix is negative semidefinite, so its trace satisfies $\Delta \varphi \le 0$, contradicting $\Delta \varphi >0$. The maximum must therefore occur on $\partial \Omega$. This is the strict form of the maximum principle for subharmonic functions.

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