Gaps and bands of one dimensional periodic Schrödinger operators. II (Q1105754)

The authors consider Hill's equation \(y''+(\lambda -q(x))y=0\) where \(q(x+1)=q(x)\) on R and \(q\in L^ 2(0,1]\). In particular they restrict their attention to the class E of even potentials for which \(q(1-x)=q(x)\) and the subclass \(E_ 0\) of E for which \(S_ 0'q(x)dx=0\). They then provide a new and shorter proof showing that the lengths in the spectrum uniquely determine q(x) in E. The earlier proof can be found in the part I of this article [ibid. 59, 258-312 (1984; Zbl 0554.34013)]. They then consider the sequence \(\sigma (q)=(\sigma_ 1(q),\sigma_ 2(q),...,\sigma_ n(q),...)\) where \(\sigma_ n(q)=\mu_ n(q)\to \nu_ n(q)\). Here the \(\{\mu_ n(q)\}\) are the Dirichlet eigenvalues and the \(\{\nu_ n(q)\}\) the Newmann eigenvalues. They show that the Jacobian dq\(\sigma\) maps \(E_ 0\to \ell^ 2\) isomorphically onto. As one of the applications of these techniques they show that the set of finite bound potentials is norm dense in \(L^ 2_ R[0,1]\), a result due to \textit{V. A. Marĉenko} [Sturm-Liouville Operators and their Applications (1977; Zbl 0399.34022)]. As another application they show that q(x) has period 1/k iff the n-th gap vanishes for \(k\nmid n\). (For another proof of this result not restricted to even q(x) see also the reviewer's [J. Math. Anal. Appl. 102, 599-605 (1984; Zbl 0557.34021)].) Finally, the authors derive some inequalities in band lengths.