A nodal domain theorem and a higher-order Cheeger inequality for the graph \(p\)-Laplacian (Q1668115)

Summary: We consider the nonlinear graph \(p\)-Laplacian and its set of eigenvalues and associated eigenfunctions of this operator defined by a variational principle. We prove a nodal domain theorem for the graph \(p\)-Laplacian for any \(p\geq1\). While for \(p>1\) the bounds on the number of weak and strong nodal domains are the same as for the linear graph Laplacian \((p=2)\), the behavior changes for \(p=1\). We show that the bounds are tight for \(p\geq1\) as the bounds are attained by the eigenfunctions of the graph \(p\)-Laplacian on two graphs. Finally, using the properties of the nodal domains, we prove a higher-order Cheeger inequality for the graph \(p\)-Laplacian for \(p>1\). If the eigenfunction associated to the \(k\)-th variational eigenvalue of the graph \(p\)-Laplacian has exactly \(k\) strong nodal domains, then the higher order Cheeger inequality becomes tight as \(p\to1\).