We study the asymptotic behaviour of the principal eigenvalue of a Robin (or generalised Neumann) problem with a large parameter in the boundary condition for the Laplacian in a piecewise smooth domain. We show that the leading asymptotic term depends only on the singularities of the boundary of the domain, and give either explicit expressions or two-sided estimates for this term in a variety of situations.
The third eigenvalue of the Robin Laplacian on a simply-connected planar domain of given area is bounded above by the third eigenvalue of a disjoint union of two disks, provided the Robin parameter lies in a certain range and is scaled in each case by the length of the boundary. Equality is achieved when the domain degenerates suitably to the two disks.
The aim of this paper is twofold: First, we characterize an essentially optimal class of boundary operators $Θ$ which give rise to self-adjoint Laplacians $-Δ_{Θ, Ω}$ in $L^2(Ω; d^n x)$ with (nonlocal and local) Robin-type boundary conditions on bounded Lipschitz domains $Ω\subset\bbR^n$, $n\in\bbN$, $n\geq 2$. Second, we extend Friedlander's inequalities between Neumann and Dirichlet Laplacian eigenvalues to those between nonlocal Robin and Dirichlet Laplacian eigenvalues associated with bounded Lipschitz domains $Ω$, following an approach introduced by Filonov for this type of problems.
On a bounded Lipschitz domain we consider two selfadjoint operator realizations of the same second order elliptic differential expression subject to Robin boundary conditions, where the coefficients in the boundary conditions are functions. We prove that inequality between these functions on the boundary implies strict inequality between the eigenvalues of the two operators, provided that the inequality of the functions in the boundary conditions is strict on an arbitrarily small nonempty, open set.
Among all $C^{\infty}$ bounded domains with equal volume, we show that the second eigenvalue of the Robin plate is uniquely maximized by an open ball, so long as the Robin parameter lies within a particular range of negative values. Our methodology combines recent techniques introduced by Freitas and Laugesen to study the second eigenvalue of the Robin membrane problem and techniques employed by Chasman to study the free plate problem. In particular, we choose eigenfunctions of the ball as trial functions in the Rayleigh quotient for a general domain; such eigenfunctions are comprised of ultra…
We study the Robin eigenvalue problem for the Laplace-Beltrami operator on Riemannian manifolds. Our first result is a comparison theorem for the second Robin eigenvalue on geodesic balls in manifolds whose sectional curvatures are bounded from above. Our second result asserts that geodesic balls in nonpositively curved space forms maximize the second Robin eigenvalue among bounded domains of the same volume.
The second eigenvalue of the Robin Laplacian is shown to be maximal for the disk among simply-connected planar domains of fixed area when the Robin parameter is scaled by perimeter in the form $α/L(Ω)$, and $α$ lies between $-2π$ and $2π$. Corollaries include Szegő's sharp upper bound on the second eigenvalue of the Neumann Laplacian under area normalization, and Weinstock's inequality for the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue for simply-connected domains of given perimeter. The first Robin eigenvalue is maximal, under the same conditions, for the degenerate rectangle. When area normalization o…
We prove that the optimal cluster problem for the sum of the first Robin eigenvalue of the Laplacian, in the limit of a large number of convex cells, is asymptotically solved by (the Cheeger sets of) the honeycomb of regular hexagons. The same result is established for the Robin torsional rigidity.
The first two eigenvalues of the Robin Laplacian are investigated along with their gap and ratio. Conjectures by various authors for arbitrary domains are supported here by new results for rectangular boxes. Results for rectangular domains include that: the square minimizes the first eigenvalue among rectangles under area normalization, when the Robin parameter $α\in \mathbb{R}$ is scaled by perimeter; that the square maximizes the second eigenvalue for a sharp range of $α$-values; that the line segment minimizes the Robin spectral gap under diameter normalization for each $α\in \mathbb{R}$; a…
We study the spectrum of the Robin Laplacian with a complex Robin parameter $α$ on a bounded Lipschitz domain $Ω$. We start by establishing a number of properties of the corresponding operator, such as generation properties, local analytic dependence of the eigenvalues and eigenspaces on $α\in \mathbb C$, and basis properties of the eigenfunctions. Our focus, however, is on bounds and asymptotics for the eigenvalues as functions of $α$: we start by providing estimates on the numerical range of the associated operator, which lead to new eigenvalue bounds even in the case $α\in \mathbb R$. For t…
In this paper, we prove a quantitative spectral inequality for the second Robin eigenvalue in non-compact rank-1 symmetric spaces. In particular, this shows that for bounded domains in non-compact rank-1 symmetric spaces, the geodesic ball maximises the second Robin eigenvalue among domains of the same volume, with negative Robin parameter in the regime connecting the first nontrivial Neumann and Steklov eigenvalues. This result generalises the work of Freitas and Laugesen in the Euclidean setting [FL21] as well as our previous work in the hyperbolic space [LWW20].
We consider the cases where there is equality in Courant's nodal domain theorem for the Laplacian with a Robin boundary condition on the square. In our previous two papers, we treated the cases where the Robin parameter $h>0$ is large, small respectively. In this paper we investigate the case where $h<0\,$.
We consider the Robin Laplacian in the domains $Ω$ and $Ω^\varepsilon$, $\varepsilon >0$, with sharp and blunted cusps, respectively. Assuming that the Robin coefficient $a$ is large enough, the spectrum of the problem in $Ω$ is known to be residual and to cover the whole complex plane, but on the contrary, the spectrum in the Lipschitz domain $Ω^\varepsilon$ is discrete. However, our results reveal the strange behavior of the discrete spectrum as the blunting parameter $\varepsilon$ tends to 0: we construct asymptotic forms of the eigenvalues and detect families of "hardly movable" and "plumm…
We consider the first Robin eigenvalue $ł_p(M,\a)$ for the $p$-Laplacian on a compact Riemannian manifold $M$ with nonempty smooth boundary, with $\a \in \R$ being the Robin parameter. Firstly, we prove eigenvalue comparison theorems of Cheng type for $ł_p(M,\a)$. Secondly, when $\a>0$ we establish sharp lower bound of $ł_p(M,\a)$ in terms of dimension, inradius, Ricci curvature lower bound and boundary mean curvature lower bound, via comparison with an associated one-dimensional eigenvalue problem. The lower bound becomes an upper bound when $\a<0$. Our results cover corresponding comparison …
We consider Robin Laplace operators on a class of two-dimensional domains with cusps. Our main results include the formula for the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of such operators. In particular, we show how the eigenvalue asymptotic depends on the geometry of the cusp and on the boundary conditions.
The second eigenvalue of the Robin Laplacian is shown to be maximal for the ball among domains of fixed volume, for negative values of the Robin parameter $α$ in the regime connecting the first nontrivial Neumann and Steklov eigenvalues, and even somewhat beyond the Steklov regime. The result is close to optimal, since the ball is not maximal when $α$ is sufficiently large negative, and the problem admits no maximiser when $α$ is positive.
Let $Ω\subset \mathbb{R}^2$ be the exterior of a convex polygon whose side lengths are $\ell_1,...,\ell_M$. For $α>0$, let $H^Ω_α$ denote the Laplacian in $Ω$, $u\mapsto -Δu$, with the Robin boundary conditions $\partial u/\partialν=αu$, where $ν$ is the exterior unit normal at the boundary of $Ω$. We show that, for any fixed $m\in\mathbb{N}$, the $m$th eigenvalue $E^Ω_m(α)$ of $H^Ω_α$ behaves as \[ E^Ω_m(α)=-α^2+μ^D_m +\mathcal{O}\Big(\dfrac{1}{\sqrtα}\Big) \quad {as $α$ tends to $+\infty$}, \] where $μ^D_m$ stands for the $m$th eigenvalue of the operator $D_1\oplus...\oplus D_M$ and $D_n$ de…
Let $Ω\subset \mathbb{R}^n$ be a bounded $C^1$ domain and $p>1$. For $α>0$, define the quantity \[ Λ(α)=\inf_{u\in W^{1,p}(Ω),\, u\not\equiv 0} \Big(\int_Ω|\nabla u|^p\,\mathrm{d}x - α\int_{\partialΩ} |u|^p \,\mathrm{d} s\Big)\Big/ \int_Ω|u|^p\,\mathrm{d} x \] with $\mathrm{d} s$ being the hypersurface measure, which is the lowest eigenvalue of the $p$-laplacian in $Ω$ with a non-linear $α$-dependent Robin boundary condition. We show the asymptotics $Λ(α) =(1-p)α^{p/(p-1)}+o(α^{p/(p-1)})$ as $α$ tends to $+\infty$. The result was only known for the linear case $p=2$ or under stronger smoothnes…
For $α\in(0,π)$, let $U_α$ denote the infinite planar sector of opening $2α$, \[ U_α=\big\{ (x_1,x_2)\in\mathbb R^2: \big|\arg(x_1+ix_2) \big|<α\big\}, \] and $T^γ_α$ be the Laplacian in $L^2(U_α)$, $T^γ_αu= -Δu$, with the Robin boundary condition $\partial_νu=γu$, where $\partial_ν$ stands for the outer normal derivative and $γ>0$. The essential spectrum of $T^γ_α$ does not depend on the angle $α$ and equals $[-γ^2,+\infty)$, and the discrete spectrum is non-empty iff $α<\fracπ2$. In this case we show that the discrete spectrum is always finite and that each individual eigenvalue is a contino…
We show that eigenvalues of the Robin Laplacian with a positive boundary parameter $α$ on rectangles and unions of rectangtes satisfy Pólya-type inequalities, albeit with an exponent smaller than that of the corresponding Weyl asympotics for a fixed domain. We determine the optimal exponents in either case, showing that they are different in the two situations. Our approach to proving these results includes a characterisation of the corresponding extremal domains for the $k$th eigenvalue in regions of the $(k,α)$-plane.
We study the eigenvalues of the Laplacian with a strong attractive Robin boundary condition in curvilinear polygons. It was known from previous works that the asymptotics of several first eigenvalues is essentially determined by the corner openings, while only rough estimates were available for the next eigenvalues. Under some geometric assumptions, we go beyond the critical eigenvalue number and give a precise asymptotics of any individual eigenvalue by establishing a link with an effective Schrödinger-type operator on the boundary of the domain with boundary conditions at the corners.
This article is the continuation of our first work on the determination of the cases where there is equality in Courant's Nodal Domain theorem in the case of a Robin boundary condition (with Robin parameter $h$). For the square, our first paper focused on the case where $h$ is large and extended results that were obtained by Pleijel, Bérard--Helffer, for the problem with a Dirichlet boundary condition. There, we also obtained some general results about the behaviour of the nodal structure (for planar domains) under a small deformation of $h$, where $h$ is positive and not close to $0$. In this…
We introduce Robin boundary conditions for biharmonic operators, which are a model for elastically supported plates and are closely related to the study of spaces of traces of Sobolev functions. We study the dependence of the operator, its eigenvalues, and eigenfunctions on the Robin parameters. We show in particular that when the parameters go to plus infinity the Robin problem converges to other biharmonic problems, and obtain estimates on the rate of divergence when the parameters go to minus infinity. We also analyse the dependence of the operator on smooth perturbations of the domain, com…
We study the location of the spectrum of the Laplacian on compact metric graphs with complex Robin-type vertex conditions, also known as $δ$ conditions, on some or all of the graph vertices. We classify the eigenvalue asymptotics as the complex Robin parameter(s) diverge to $\infty$ in $\mathbb{C}$: for each vertex $v$ with a Robin parameter $α\in \mathbb{C}$ for which $\mathrm{\Re}\,α\to -\infty$ sufficiently quickly, there exists exactly one divergent eigenvalue, which behaves like $-α^2/\mathrm{deg}\,v^2$, while all other eigenvalues stay near the spectrum of the Laplacian with a Dirichlet …
Let $Ω\subset \RR^2$ be a domain having a compact boundary $Σ$ which is Lipschitz and piecewise $C^4$ smooth, and let $ν$ denote the inward unit normal vector on $Σ$. We study the principal eigenvalue $E(β)$ of the Laplacian in $Ω$ with the Robin boundary conditions $\partial f/\partialν+βf=0$ on $Σ$, where $β$ is a positive number. Assuming that $Σ$ has no convex corners we show the estimate $E(β)=-β^2- γ_\mxβ+ O\big(β^\{2}{3}\big)$ as $β\to+\infty$, where $γ_\mx$ is the maximal curvature of the boundary.
By developing the method of multipliers, we establish sufficient conditions which guarantee the total absence of eigenvalues of the Laplacian in the half-space, subject to variable complex Robin boundary conditions. As a further application of this technique, uniform resolvent estimates are derived under the same assumptions on the potential. Some of the results are new even in the self-adjoint setting, where we obtain quantum-mechanically natural conditions.
We consider the Laplacian on a class of smooth domains $Ω\subset \mathbb{R}^ν$, $ν\ge 2$, with attractive Robin boundary conditions: \[ Q^Ω_αu=-Δu, \quad \dfrac{\partial u}{\partial n}=αu \text{ on } \partialΩ, \ α>0, \] where $n$ is the outer unit normal, and study the asymptotics of its eigenvalues $E_{j}(Q^Ω_α)$ as well as some other spectral properties for $α\to+\infty$ We work with both compact domains and non-compact ones with a suitable behavior at infinity. For domains with compact $C^2$ boundaries and fixed $j$, we show that \[ E_{j}(Q^Ω_α)=-α^2+μ_j(α)+{\mathcal O}(\log α), \] where $…
We study the Robin Laplacian in a domain with two corners of the same opening, and we calculate the asymptotics of the two lowest eigenvalues as the distance between the corners increases to infinity.
We study the Schrödinger operator with a constant magnetic field in the exterior of a compact domain in euclidean space. Functions in the domain of the operator are subject to a boundary condition of the third type (a magnetic Robin condition). In addition to the Landau levels, we obtain that the spectrum of this operator consists of clusters of eigenvalues around the Landau levels and that they do accumulate to the Landau levels from below. We give a precise asymptotic formula for the rate of accumulation of eigenvalues in these clusters, which is independent of the boundary condition.
This paper is devoted to the determination of the cases where there is equality in Courant's nodal domain theorem in the case of a Robin boundary condition. For the square, we partially extend the results that were obtained by Pleijel, Bérard--Helffer, Helffer--Persson--Sundqvist for the Dirichlet and Neumann problems. After proving some general results that hold for any value of the Robin parameter $h$, we focus on the case when $h$ is large. We hope to come back to the analysis when $h$ is small in a second paper. We also obtain some semi-stability results for the number of nodal domains of …
We determine accurate asymptotics for the low-lying eigenvalues of the Robin Laplacian when the Robin parameter goes to $-\infty$. The two first terms in the expansion have been obtained by K. Pankrashkin in the $2D$-case and by K. Pankrashkin and N. Popoff in higher dimensions. The asymptotics display the influence of the scalar curvature and the splitting between every two consecutive eigenvalues. The analysis is based on the approach developed by Fournais-Helffer for the semi-classical magnetic Laplacian. We also propose a WKB construction as a candidate for the ground state energy.
We consider the problem of geometric optimization of the lowest eigenvalue for the Laplacian on a compact, simply-connected two-dimensional manifold with boundary subject to an attractive Robin boundary condition. We prove that in the sub-class of manifolds with the Gauss curvature bounded from above by a constant $K_\circ \ge 0$ and under the constraint of fixed perimeter, the geodesic disk of constant curvature $K_\circ$ maximizes the lowest Robin eigenvalue. In the same geometric setting, it is proved that the spectral isoperimetric inequality holds for the lowest eigenvalue of the Dirichle…
We consider the problem of geometric optimisation of the lowest eigenvalue of the Laplacian in the exterior of a compact planar set, subject to attractive Robin boundary conditions. Under either a constraint of fixed perimeter or area, we show that the maximiser within the class of exteriors of convex sets is always the exterior of a disk. We also argue why the results fail without the convexity constraint and in higher dimensions.
Let $Ω\subset\mathbb{R}^N$, $N\ge 2,$ be a bounded domain with an outward power-like peak which is assumed not too sharp in a suitable sense. We consider the Laplacian $u\mapsto -Δu$ in $Ω$ with the Robin boundary condition $\partial_n u=αu$ on $\partialΩ$ with $\partial_n$ being the outward normal derivative and $α>0$ being a parameter. We show that for large $α$ the associated eigenvalues $E_j(α)$ behave as $E_j(α)\sim -ε_j α^ν$, where $ν>2$ and $ε_j>0$ depend on the dimension and the peak geometry. This is in contrast with the well-known estimate $E_j(α)=O(α^2)$ for the Lipschitz domains.
This paper is devoted to the asymptotic analysis of the eigenvalues of the Laplace operator with a strong magnetic field and Robin boundary condition on a smooth planar domain and with a negative boundary parameter. We study the singular limit when the Robin parameter tends to infinity which is equivalent to a semi-classical limit involving a small positive semi-classical parameter. The main result is a comparison between the spectrum of the Robin Laplacian with an effective operator defined on the boundary of the domain via the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. More precisely, the low-lying eig…
We give a counterexample to the long standing conjecture that the ball maximises the first eigenvalue of the Robin eigenvalue problem with negative parameter among domains of the same volume. Furthermore, we show that the conjecture holds in two dimensions provided that the boundary parameter is small. This is the first known example within the class of isoperimetric spectral problems for the first eigenvalue of the Laplacian where the ball is not an optimiser.
We consider the problem of minimising the $n^{th}-$eigenvalue of the Robin Laplacian in $\mathbb{R}^{N}$. Although for $n=1,2$ and a positive boundary parameter $α$ it is known that the minimisers do not depend on $α$, we demonstrate numerically that this will not always be the case and illustrate how the optimiser will depend on $α$. We derive a Wolf-Keller type result for this problem and show that optimal eigenvalues grow at most with $n^{1/N}$, which is in sharp contrast with the Weyl asymptotics for a fixed domain. We further show that the gap between consecutive eigenvalues does go to ze…
