Isoperimetric inequalities for higher eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on surfaces (Q2285409)

Let \(M\) be a closed surface. For a Riemannian metric \(g\) on \(M\), let \(\lambda_k(M,g)\) denote the \(k\)th eigenvalue of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. It is well known that the functional \(g\mapsto \bar \lambda_k(M,g):= \lambda_k(M,g)\operatorname{Area}(M,g)\) is invariant by positive scaling. Furthermore, it is bounded by above. This paper reviews recent advances on the problem of determining \(\Lambda_k(M):= \sup_g \bar \lambda_k(M,g)\), known as the isoperimetric problem for the Laplace-Beltrami eigenvalues, making emphases in the following results: \(\Lambda_k(\mathbb S^2)= 8\pi k\) for all \(k \geq1\) [\textit{M. Karpukhin}, \textit{N. Nadirashvili}, \textit{A. V. Penskoi} and \textit{I. Polterovich}, J. Differ. Geom., in press since 2019] and \(\Lambda_2(\mathbb R P^2)=20 \pi\) [\textit{N. S. Nadirashvili} and \textit{A. V. Penskoi}, Geom. Funct. Anal. 28, No. 5, 1368--1393 (2018; Zbl 1400.58010)].