Isoperimetric inequalities for the magnetic Neumann and Steklov problems with Aharonov-Bohm magnetic potential (Q2172437)

The authors are concerned with the Neumann problem for the Aharonov-Bohm magnetic Laplacian on domains of \(\mathbb R^2\) and with the corresponding Steklov problem. Actually for the Neumann problem they also consider the Aharonov-Bohm magnetic Laplacian on domains of surfaces of revolution which are more difficult to study. These problems have a physical motivation since are examples of how the Aharonov-Bohm effect influences the bound states of a quantum particle. The authors are interested in isoperimetric inequalities for the lowest eigenvalue in the spirit of the classical inequalities of Szegő-Weinberger, Brock and Weinstock. They show that, among all domains of given area, the disk with the singularity of the magnetic field at the center is the unique maximizer of the first eigenvalue, which is positive provided that the flux is not an integer. The results are also valid for more general Riemannian surfaces.