The Dirichlet-to-Neumann map, the boundary Laplacian, and Hörmander's rediscovered manuscript (Q2120167)

For a bounded domain \(\Omega\) in a Riemannian manifold, there are multiple operators that can be defined on \(\Omega\) and on its boundary \(M\). One of these is the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map \(\mathcal{D}\) acting on functions on \(M\); its eigenvalues \(\sigma_k\) are the same as those of the Steklov problem on \(\Omega\) (see [\textit{A. Girouard} and \textit{I. Polterovich}, J. Spectr. Theory 7, No. 2, 321--359 (2017; Zbl 1378.58026)]). Another is the Laplace operator acting on functions on \(M\), denoted \(\Delta_M\) with eigenvalues \(\lambda_k\). The goal of the paper under review is to compare \(\mathcal{D}\) and \(\sqrt{\Delta_M}\). This builds on recent work including [\textit{B. Colbois} et al., J. Funct. Anal. 278, No. 6, Article ID 108409, 38 p. (2020; Zbl 1432.35148); \textit{L. Provenzano} and \textit{J. Stubbe}, J. Spectr. Theory 9, No. 1, 349--377 (2019; Zbl 1409.35160); \textit{C. Xiong}, J. Funct. Anal. 275, No. 12, 3245--3258 (2018; Zbl 1401.35225)]. When \(\Omega\) is a Euclidean domain and \(M\) is smooth, the authors show that if \(\mathcal{D}=\sqrt{\Delta_M}\), then we are in two dimensions and \(\Omega\) must be a disk. If \(M\) is connected and we are in dimension at least three, then \(\mathcal{D}\) and \(\Delta_M\) commute if and only if \(\Omega\) is a ball. It is thus natural to seek bounds on how ``far apart'' the two operators, or equivalently their eigenvalues, may be. For a bounded domain \(\Omega\) with \(M\) smooth, the sharp Weyl laws for the two operators give the following: \[|\sigma_k - \sqrt{\lambda_k}| < C \ \ \text{for all} \ \ k \geq 1,\tag{1} \] where the positive constant \(C\) depends on \(\Omega\). The authors extend (1) to the case of \(M\) being \(C^{1,1}\); moreover, the constant \(C\) depends only on an arbitrarily small neighborhood of the boundary. The proof techniques involved in extending from smooth boundary to boundary with less regularity rely on a so-called Pohozhaev-type identity and an approach going back to work of Hörmander from the 1950s. The authors provide several applications of (1). For example, they extend Weyl's law for the eigenvalues \(\sigma_k\) to domains with non-smooth boundary. They also consider the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operators associated with the Helmholtz equation and obtain a generalization of (1). Finally, they obtain an analogue of (1) for the eigenvalues of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator on co-closed forms and the eigenvalues of the Hodge Laplacian, leading to Weyl's law for the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator on forms.