Approximations of metric graphs by thick graphs and their Laplacians (Q2335052)

Summary: The main purpose of this article is two-fold: first, to justify the choice of Kirchhoff vertex conditions on a metric graph as they appear naturally as a limit of Neumann Laplacians on a family of open sets shrinking to the metric graph (``thick graphs'') in a self-contained presentation; second, to show that the metric graph example is close to a physically more realistic model where the edges have a thin, but positive thickness. The tool used is a generalization of norm resolvent convergence to the case when the underlying spaces vary. Finally, we give some hints about how to extend these convergence results to some mild non-linear operators.