The nodal surface of the second eigenfunction of the Laplacian in \(\mathbb{R}^D\) can be closed (Q5945595)

The paper constructs a set in \(\mathbb{R}^\mathbb{D}\) with the property that the nodal surface of the second eigenfunction of the Dirichlet Laplacian is closed, i.e., does not touch the boundary of the domain. In this sense we have the nodal set \(N(u_2)= \overline{\{x\in \Omega\mid u_2 (\Omega) (x)=0\}}\) of the second eigenfunction of the Dirichlet Laplacian. Herein the \(u_2(\Omega)\) is the second eigenfunction for a positive, self-adjoint operator, \(-\Delta_\Omega\). A very nice series of lemmas paves the way for the main theorem whereby one obtains the closed result for the nodal surface. The theorem is as follows. Theorem: \(\exists\delta >0\forall \delta< \delta_0 \exists \varepsilon >0\) such that \(u_{2,\varepsilon} (x)>0\) \(\forall x\) with \(|x |=R_1 -\delta\). The construction is explicit in all dimensions \(D\geq 2\) and one obtains explicit control of the connectivity of the domain. The paper is very well written and the details surrounding the proofs are clear and precise. The paper is a joy to read.