Isospectral flows for the inhomogeneous string density problem (Q1668681)

The paper deals with the boundary eigenvalue problem in the form \[ v_{xx} = -z \rho(x) v, \quad 0 < x < 1, \tag{1} \] \[ v_x(0) - h v(0) = 0, \quad v_x(1) + H v(1) = 0, \] where \(0 \leq h, H \leq \infty\), \(\rho\) is the linear mass density. One can derive equation (1), searching for normal modes of the inhomogeneous string wave equation \[ \rho(x) u_{\tau\tau} - u_{xx} = 0. \] The paper concerns isospectral deformations of the mass density \(\rho(x)\) in equation (1), leaving the spectrum invariant. The technique is based on the approach of \textit{K. Colville} et al. [Comm. Math. Phys. 348, No. 3, 771--802 (2016; Zbl 1354.35094)]. The ``time'' deformations in the form \(v_t = a v + b v_x\) are considered. The authors show that the class of rational flows \[ b = b_0 + \frac{b_{-1}}{z + \varepsilon} + \frac{b_{-2}}{(z + \varepsilon)^2} + \dots + \frac{b_{-k}}{(z + \varepsilon)^k} \] produces in a suitable limit all flows generated by polynomials in negative powers of the spectral parameter. As an example, the authors study the isospectral discrete strings \(\rho = \sum_{j = 1}^n m_j \delta_{x_j}\), \(0 < x_1 < x_2 < \dots < x_n < 1\). Those flows are proved to be Hamiltonian, and explicit solutions are provided for corresponding equations of motion in terms of Stieltjes continued fractions and Hankel determinants.