Sharp inequalities for heat kernels of Schrödinger operators and applications to spectral gaps (Q1585978)

This paper derives inequalities for multiple integrals (motivated by the Brascamp-Lieb-Luttinger rearrangement inequalities) from which sharp inequalities for ratios of heat kernels and integrals of heat kernels of certain Schrödinger operators follow. As applications, sharp spectral gap inequalities immediately follow. For example, let \(\Delta_D\) be the Dirichlet Laplacian on a bounded domain \(D\) in \(\mathbb{R}^2\) which is symmetric with respect to both coordinates axes and convex in both axes. Let \(\ell\) be the length of its major axis. Then the difference of the first two eigenvalues of \(\Delta_D\) has as lower bound \(3\pi^2/\ell^2\).