Upper bounds on the eigenvalue ratio for vibrating strings (Q2348424)

The author studies the ratio of the first two eigenvalues \(\lambda_1 < \lambda_2\) of the vibrating string eigenvalue problem \[ u'' (x) + \lambda \rho (x) u (x) = 0 \] in a bounded interval \((a, b)\), subject to Dirichlet boundary conditions at \(a\) and \(b\). The weight \(\rho\) is a positive, continuous function (representing the mass density of the string). As the main result the author shows that whenever \(\rho\) is twice differentiable and either \[ \rho (x) \rho'' (x) \geq \frac{1}{(\alpha - 2)^2} \left( \alpha^2 - 8 \alpha + 6 + \sqrt{\alpha (\alpha + 4) (2 \alpha - 1)} \right) (\rho' (x))^2 \] or \[ \rho (x) \rho'' (x) \leq \frac{1}{(\alpha - 2)^2} \left( \alpha^2 - 8 \alpha + 6 - \sqrt{\alpha (\alpha + 4) (2 \alpha - 1)} \right) (\rho' (x))^2 \] holds for a fixed \(\alpha > 1/2\) and all \(x \in (a, b)\) then \[ \frac{\lambda_2}{\lambda_1} \leq \frac{\alpha (\alpha + 4)}{2 \alpha - 1}. \] It is a corollary of this result that the condition \(\rho (x) \rho'' (x) \geq \frac{5}{4} (\rho' (x))^2\) for all \(x \in (a, b)\) implies \(\frac{\lambda_2}{\lambda_1} \leq 4\). The proof of the main result is based on a commutation formula for closed linear operators in a Hilbert space and their adjoints due to [\textit{P. Deift}, Duke Math. J. 45, 267--310 (1978; Zbl 0392.47013)].