Harmonic functions on $S^2$ Consider the sphere $S^2 = \lbrace (x,y,z) :\ x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 1 \rbrace$. This is a smooth manifold in $\mathbb{R}^3$, and for a given point $s \in S^2$, one can consider its coordinate neighborhood.

There are many ways to put a smooth structure on $S^2$, but all require at least two coordinate neighborhoods. One simple way is to make use of the local coordinates $\theta, \phi$ (azimuthal angle and inclination angle). For $s \in U = S^2 \setminus {(0,0,1), (0,0,-1)}$, define a coordinate map by

$ g : (0,2\pi) \times (0,\pi) \rightarrow U $

with formula given by

$ g(\theta, \phi) = (\sin(\phi) \cos(\theta), \sin(\phi) \sin(\theta), \cos(\phi)) $

This map is one-to-one, onto, and bicontinuous, so it is a homeomorphism. One can construct a similar map onto $V = S^2 \setminus {(1,0,0),(-1,0,0)}$, so the whole sphere is covered. The fact that this defines a differentiable structure is easy to work out.

The question I want to ask is, are there any non-constant solutions to the equation

$ \frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \theta^2} + \frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \phi^2} = 0 $

where $f : S^2 \rightarrow R$ is a smooth function.

Furthermore, what sorts of boundary conditions are necessary in order to ensure uniqueness.
If I understand your question correctly, you are aware that $\frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \theta^2} + \frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \phi^2}$ is not actually the Laplacian on a sphere, but you want to know whether there are any nontrivial smooth functions on $S^2$ which are harmonic with respect to this modified Laplacian. The answer is no.

A function $f(\theta,\phi)$ which satisfies $\frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \theta^2} + \frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \phi^2} = 0$ is really a harmonic function on the rectangle $[0,2\pi] \times [0,\pi]$, which is mapped onto the sphere via $g^{-1}$. Continuity on the sphere requires that $f(\theta,0) = \text{const}$ (continuity at the north pole), $f(\theta,\pi) = \text{const}$ (continuity at the south pole), and $f(0,\phi) = f(2\pi,\phi) = h(\phi)$ for some $h:[0,\pi]\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ (continuity across the prime meridian). For any $h$, the boundary conditions are independent of $\theta$, so $f$ is a function of $\phi$ alone. But then $\frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \phi^2} = 0$ implies that $f$ is linear in $\phi$. If the slope is nonzero, $f$ on the sphere fails to be smooth at the poles. Therefore, for $f$ to be smooth on the sphere and satisfy $\frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \theta^2} + \frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial \phi^2} = 0$, it has to be constant.
Partial differentiation in Laplacian does't works at all in all curved surfaces. SO the answer is No. However I can't say anything about $S^n$ in an continuous series