Recently Fraser and Schoen showed that the solution of a certain extremal Steklov eigenvalue problem on a compact surface with boundary can be used to generate a free boundary minimal surface, i.e., a surface contained in the ball that has (i) zero mean curvature and (ii) meets the boundary of the ball orthogonally (doi:10.1007/s00222-015-0604-x). In this paper, we develop numerical methods that use this connection to realize free boundary minimal surfaces. Namely, on a compact surface, $Σ$, with genus $γ$ and $b$ boundary components, we maximize $σ_j(Σ,g) \ L(\partial Σ, g)$ over a class of smooth metrics, $g$, where $σ_j(Σ,g)$ is the $j$-th nonzero Steklov eigenvalue and $L(\partial Σ, g)$ is the length of $\partial Σ$. Our numerical method involves (i) using conformal uniformization of multiply connected domains to avoid explicit parameterization for the class of metrics, (ii) accurately solving a boundary-weighted Steklov eigenvalue problem in multi-connected domains, and (iii) developing gradient-based optimization methods for this non-smooth eigenvalue optimization problem. For genus $γ=0$ and $b=2,\dots, 9, 12, 15, 20$ boundary components, we numerically solve the extremal Steklov problem for the first eigenvalue. The corresponding eigenfunctions generate a free boundary minimal surface, which we display in striking images. For higher eigenvalues, numerical evidence suggests that the maximizers are degenerate, but we compute local maximizers for the second and third eigenvalues with $b=2$ boundary components and for the third and fifth eigenvalues with $b=3$ boundary components.
We develop a computational method for extremal Steklov eigenvalue problems and apply it to study the problem of maximizing the $p$-th Steklov eigenvalue as a function of the domain with a volume constraint. In contrast to the optimal domains for several other extremal Dirichlet- and Neumann-Laplacian eigenvalue problems, computational results suggest that the optimal domains for this problem are very structured. We reach the conjecture that the domain maximizing the $p$-th Steklov eigenvalue is unique (up to dilations and rigid transformations), has p-fold symmetry, and an axis of symmetry. Th…
We present a unified description of extremal metrics for the Laplace and Steklov eigenvalues on manifolds of arbitrary dimension using the notion of $n$-harmonic maps. Our approach extends the well-known results linking extremal metrics for eigenvalues on surfaces with minimal immersions and harmonic maps. In the process, we uncover two previously unknown features of the Steklov eigenvalues. First, we show that in higher dimensions there is a unique normalization involving both the volume of the boundary and of the manifold itself, which leads to meaningful extremal eigenvalue problems. Second…
In this paper, we obtain a comparison of Steklov eigenvalues and Laplacian eigenvalues on graphs and discuss its rigidity. As applications of the comparison of eigenvalues, we obtain Lichnerowicz-type estimates and some combinatorial estimates for Steklov eigenvalues on graphs.
This is a continuation of our previous work arXiv:1601.05617 on trace and inverse trace of Steklov eigenvalues. More new inequalities for the trace and inverse trace of Steklov eigenvalues are obtained.
Consider a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary. In this short note we prove that under certain positive curvature assumptions on the manifold and its boundary the Steklov eigenvalues of the manifold are controlled by the Laplace eigenvalues of the boundary. Additionally, in two dimensions we obtain an upper bound for these Steklov eigenvalues in terms of topology of the surface without any curvature restrictions.
We consider a shape optimization problem for the first mixed Steklov-Dirichlet eigenvalues of domains bounded by two balls in two-point homogeneous space. We give a geometric proof which is motivated by Newton's shell theorem
In this paper, we address the problem of maximizing the Steklov eigenvalues with a diameter constraint. We provide an estimate of the Steklov eigenvalues for a convex domain in terms of its diameter and volume and we show the existence of an optimal convex domain. We establish that balls are never maximizers, even for the first non-trivial eigenvalue that contrasts with the case of volume or perimeter constraints. Under an additional regularity assumption, we are able to prove that the Steklov eigenvalue is multiple for the optimal domain. We illustrate our theoretical results by giving some o…
We prove two explicit bounds for the multiplicities of Steklov eigenvalues $σ_k$ on compact surfaces with boundary. One of the bounds depends only on the genus of a surface and the index $k$ of an eigenvalue, while the other depends as well on the number of boundary components. We also show that on any given smooth Riemannian surface with boundary, the multiplicities of Steklov eigenvalues $σ_k$ are uniformly bounded in $k$.
We prove that in Riemannian manifolds the $k$-th Steklov eigenvalue on a domain and the square root of the $k$-th Laplacian eigenvalue on its boundary can be mutually controlled in terms of the maximum principal curvature of the boundary under sectional curvature conditions. As an application, we derive a Weyl-type upper bound for Steklov eigenvalues. A Pohozaev-type identity for harmonic functions on the domain and the min-max variational characterization of both eigenvalues are important ingredients.
We show that for compact Riemannian manifolds of dimension at least $3$ with nonempty boundary, we can modify the manifold by performing surgeries of codimension $2$ or higher, while keeping the Steklov spectrum nearly unchanged. This shows that certain changes in the topology of a domain do not have an effect when considering shape optimization questions for Steklov eigenvalues in dimensions $3$ and higher. Our result generalizes the 1-dimensional surgery in [FS2] to higher dimensional surgeries and to higher eigenvalues. It is proved in [FS2] that the unit ball does not maximize the first no…
We show rigidity of the first conformal Steklov eigenvalue on annuli and Möbius bands. The proof relies, among others, on uniqueness results due to Fraser--Schoen, a compactness theorem of the second named author, and recent work of the authors on asymptotic control of Steklov eigenvalues in glueing constructions.
Using expander graphs, we construct a sequence of smooth compact surfaces with boundary of perimeter N, and with the first non-zero Steklov eigenvalue uniformly bounded away from zero. This answers a question which was raised in [9]. The genus grows linearly with N, this is the optimal growth rate.
We give explicit isoperimetric upper bounds for all Steklov eigenvalues of a compact orientable surface with boundary, in terms of the genus, the length of the boundary, and the number of boundary components. Our estimates generalize a recent result of Fraser-Schoen, as well as the classical inequalites obtained by Hersch-Payne-Schiffer, whose approach is used in the present paper.
We prove a lower bound for the $k$-th Steklov eigenvalues in terms of an isoperimetric constant called the $k$-th Cheeger-Steklov constant in three different situations: finite spaces, measurable spaces, and Riemannian manifolds. These lower bounds can be considered as higher order Cheeger type inequalities for the Steklov eigenvalues. In particular it extends the Cheeger type inequality for the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue previously studied by Escobar in 1997 and by Jammes in 2015 to higher order Steklov eigenvalues. The technique we develop to get this lower bound is based on considerin…
We obtain upper bounds for the Steklov eigenvalues $σ_k(M)$ of a smooth, compact, connected, $n$-dimensional submanifold $M$ of Euclidean space with boundary $Σ$ that involve the intersection indices of $M$ and of $Σ$. One of our main results is an explicit upper bound in terms of the intersection index of $Σ$, the volume of $Σ$ and the volume of $M$ as well as dimensional constants. By also taking the injectivity radius of $Σ$ into account, we obtain an upper bound that has the optimal exponent of $k$ with respect to the asymptotics of the Steklov eigenvalues as $k \to \infty$.
We consider the Steklov eigenvalues of the Laplace operator as limiting Neumann eigenvalues in a problem of boundary mass concentration. We discuss the asymptotic behavior of the Neumann eigenvalues in a ball and we deduce that the Steklov eigenvalues minimize the Neumann eigenvalues. Moreover, we study the dependence of the eigenvalues of the Steklov problem upon perturbation of the mass density and show that the Steklov eigenvalues violates a maximum principle in spectral optimization problems.
We obtain upper and lower bounds for Steklov eigenvalues of submanifolds with prescribed boundary in Euclidean space. A very general upper bound is proved, which depends only on the geometry of the fixed boundary and on the measure of the interior. Sharp lower bounds are given for hypersurfaces of revolution with connected boundary: we prove that each eigenvalue is uniquely minimized by the ball. We also observe that each surface of revolution with connected boundary is isospectral to the disk.
We prove that the isoperimetric inequality due to Hersch-Payne-Schiffer for the n-th nonzero Steklov eigenvalue of a bounded simply-connected planar domain is sharp for all n=1,2,... The equality is attained in the limit by a sequence of simply-connected domains degenerating to the disjoint union of n identical disks. We give a new proof of this inequality for n=2 and show that it is strict in this case. Related results are also obtained for the product of two consecutive Steklov eigenvalues.
Given a smooth compact hypersurface $M$ with boundary $Σ=\partial M$, we prove the existence of a sequence $M_j$ of hypersurfaces with the same boundary as $M$, such that each Steklov eigenvalue $σ_k(M_j)$ tends to zero as $j$ tends to infinity. The hypersurfaces $M_j$ are obtained from $M$ by a local perturbation near a point of its boundary. Their volumes and diameters are arbitrarily close to those of $M$, while the principal curvatures of the boundary remain unchanged.
We introduce the biharmonic Steklov problem on differential forms by considering suitable boundary conditions. We characterize its smallest eigenvalue and prove elementary properties of the spectrum. We obtain various estimates for the first eigenvalue, some of which involve eigenvalues of other problems such as the Dirichlet, Neumann, Robin and Steklov ones. Independently, new inequalities relating the eigenvalues of the latter problems are proved.
In recent years, eigenvalue optimization problems have received a lot of attention, in particular, due to their connection with the theory of minimal surfaces. In the present paper we prove that on any orientable surface there exists a smooth metric maximizing the first normalized Steklov eigenvalue. For surfaces of genus zero, this has been earlier proved by A. Fraser and R. Schoen. Our approach builds upon their ideas and further developments due to R. Petrides. As a corollary, we show that there exist free boundary branched minimal immersions of an arbitrary compact orientable surface with …
In this paper we construct compact manifolds with fixed boundary geometry which admit Riemannian metrics of unit volume with arbitrarily large Steklov spectral gap. We also study the effect of localized conformal deformations that fix the boundary geometry. For instance, we prove that it is possible to make the spectral gap arbitrarily large using conformal deformations which are localized on domains of small measure, as long as the support of the deformations contains and connects each component of the boundary.
We present upper and lower bounds for Steklov eigenvalues for domains in $\mathbb{R}^{N+1}$ with $C^2$ boundary compatible with the Weyl asymptotics. In particular, we obtain sharp upper bounds on Riesz-means and the trace of corresponding Steklov heat kernel. The key result is a comparison of Steklov eigenvalues and Laplacian eigenvalues on the boundary of the domain by applying Pohozaev-type identities on an appropriate tubular neigborhood of the boundary and the min-max principle. Asymptotically sharp bounds then follow from bounds for Riesz-means of Laplacian eigenvalues.
Let N be a complete Riemannian manifold of dimension n+1 whose Riemannian metric g is conformally equivalent to a metric with non-negative Ricci curvature. The normalized Steklov eigenvalues of a bounded domain in N are bounded above in terms of the isoperimetric ratio of the domain. Consequently, the normalized Steklov eigenvalues of a bounded domain in Euclidean space, hyperbolic space or a standard hemisphere are uniformly bounded above. On a compact surface with boundary, the normalized Steklov eigenvalues are uniformly bounded above in terms of the genus. We also obtain a relationship bet…
We show that the ball does not maximize the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue among all contractible domains of fixed boundary volume in $\mathbb{R}^n$ when $n \geq 3$. This is in contrast to the situation when $n=2$, where a result of Weinstock from 1954 shows that the disk uniquely maximizes the first Steklov eigenvalue among all simply connected domains in the plane having the same boundary length. When $n \geq 3$, we show that increasing the number of boundary components does not increase the normalized (by boundary volume) first Steklov eigenvalue. This is in contrast to recent results whi…
In this paper, we study the upper bounds for discrete Steklov eigenvalues on trees via geometric quantities. For a finite tree, we prove sharp upper bounds for the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue by the reciprocal of the size of the boundary and the diameter respectively. We also prove similar estimates for higher order Steklov eigenvalues.
We consider Steklov eigenvalues of three-dimensional, nearly-spherical domains. In previous work, we have shown that the Steklov eigenvalues are analytic functions of the domain perturbation parameter. Here, we compute the first-order term of the asymptotic expansion, which can explicitly be written in terms of the Wigner 3-jsymbols. We analyze the asymptotic expansion and prove the isoperimetric result that, if l is a square integer, the volume-normalized l-th Steklov eigenvalue is stationary for a ball.
Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary. Let b>0 be the number of connected components of its boundary. For manifolds of dimension at least 3, we prove that it is possible to obtain an arbitrarily large (b+1)-th Steklov eigenvalue using a smooth conformal perturbation which is supported in a thin neighbourhood of the boundary, identically equal to 1 on the boundary. For j<b+1, it is also possible to obtain arbitrarily large j-th eigenvalue, but this require the conformal factor to spread throughout the interior of the manifold M. This is in stark contrast with the situation for th…
In this paper we study spectral properties of Dirichlet-to-Neumann map on differential forms obtained by a slight modification of the definition due to Belishev and Sharafutdinov. The resulting operator $Λ$ is shown to be self-adjoint on the subspace of coclosed forms and to have purely discrete spectrum there.We investigate properies of eigenvalues of $Λ$ and prove a Hersch-Payne-Schiffer type inequality relating products of those eigenvalues to eigenvalues of Hodge Laplacian on the boundary. Moreover, non-trivial eigenvalues of $Λ$ are always at least as large as eigenvalues of Dirichlet-to-…
We associate a sequence of variational eigenvalues to any Radon measure on a compact Riemannian manifold. For particular choices of measures, we recover the Laplace, Steklov and other classical eigenvalue problems. In the first part of the paper we study the properties variational eigenvalues and establish a general continuity result, which shows for a sequence of measures converging in the dual of an appropriate Sobolev space, that the associated eigenvalues converge as well. The second part of the paper is devoted to various applications to shape optimization. The main theme is studying shar…
Using methods in the spirit of deterministic homogenisation theory we obtain convergence of the Steklov eigenvalues of a sequence of domains in a Riemannian manifold to weighted Laplace eigenvalues of that manifold. The domains are obtained by removing small geodesic balls that are asymptotically densely uniformly distributed as their radius tends to zero. We use this relationship to construct manifolds that have large Steklov eigenvalues. In dimension two, and with constant weight equal to 1, we prove that Kokarev's upper bound of $8π$ for the first nonzero normalised Steklov eigenvalue on or…
We extend some classical inequalities between the Dirichlet and Neumann eigenvalues of the Laplacian to the context of mixed Steklov--Dirichlet and Steklov--Neumann eigenvalue problems. The latter one is also known as the sloshing problem, and has been actively studied for more than a century due to its importance in hydrodynamics. The main results of the paper are applied to obtain certain geometric information about nodal sets of sloshing eigenfunctions. The key ideas of the proofs include domain monotonicity for eigenvalues of mixed Steklov problems, as well as an adaptation of Filonov's me…
We consider the Steklov eigenvalues of the Laplace operator as limiting Neumann eigenvalues in a problem of mass concentration at the boundary of a ball. We discuss the asymptotic behavior of the Neumann eigenvalues and find explicit formulas for their derivatives at the limiting problem. We deduce that the Neumann eigenvalues have a monotone behavior in the limit and that Steklov eigenvalues locally minimize the Neumann eigenvalues.
We consider three different questions related to the Steklov and mixed Steklov problems on surfaces. These questions are connected by the techniques that we use to study them, which exploit symmetry in various ways even though the surfaces we study do not necessarily have inherent symmetry. In the spirit of the celebrated Hersch-Payne-Schiffer and Weinstock inequalities for Steklov eigenvalues, we obtain a sharp isoperimetric inequality for the mixed Steklov eigenvalues considering the interplay between the eigenvalues of the mixed Steklov-Neumann and Steklov-Dirichlet eigenvalues. In 1980, Ba…
We prove several results about the multiplicity of the first Steklov eigenvalues on compact surfaces with boundary. We improve some bounds on the multiplicity, especially for the first eigenvalue, and we prove they are sharp on some surfaces of small genus. In a previous article, we defined a new chromatic invariant of surfaces with boundary and conjectured that this invariant is related to the bound on the first eigenvalue. In the present article, we study this invariant, and prove that the conjecture is true when the known bound is sharp.
Recently, D. Bucur and M. Nahon used boundary homogenisation to show the remarkable flexibility of Steklov eigenvalues of planar domains. In the present paper we extend their result to higher dimensions and to arbitrary manifolds with boundary, even though in those cases the boundary does not generally exhibit any periodic structure. Our arguments use framework of variational eigenvalues and provides a different proof of the original results. Furthermore, we present an application of this flexibility to the optimisation of Steklov eigenvalues under perimeter constraint. It is proved that the b…
