Nodal sets of thin curved layers (Q2514016)

Let \(\Omega\) be a domain in \(\mathbb R^d\) for \(d\geq 2\). Let \(0<\lambda_1\leq\lambda_2\leq\cdots\) be the eigenvalues of the Dirichlet Laplacian on \(\Omega\) and let \(\{u_1,u_2,\dots\}\) be the corresponding eigenfunctions. The first Dirichlet eigenvalue \(\lambda_1\) is simple and \(u_1\) does not change sign in \(\Omega\). For \(n\geq 2\), let \(\mathcal{N}(u_n)=u_n^{-1}(0)\) be the nodal set; the connected components of \(\Omega=\mathcal{N}(u_n)\) are the nodal domains of \(u_n\). \smallbreak{ Question:} Does the nodal set always touch the boundary? \smallbreak The answer to this question in general is no. Still, it is useful to establish contexts in which an affirmative answer pertains. The author shows the following result. \smallbreak{ Theorem 1}. Let \(\Omega_\epsilon\) be a non-overlapping \(\epsilon\) tubular neighborhood of a \(C^\ell\) smooth hypersurface \(\Sigma\) in \(\mathbb{R}^d\) for \(d\geq2\) and \(\ell>[3d/2]+4\). Let \(n\geq2\). If \(\Sigma\) is unbounded, assume the Dirichlet Laplacian has at least \(n\) eigenvalues below the essential spectrum for all sufficiently small \(\epsilon\). There exists \(\epsilon(n,\Sigma)\) so that if \(0<\epsilon<\epsilon(n,\Sigma)\), then the closure of \(\mathcal{N}(u_n)\) intersects the boundary of \(\Omega_\epsilon\). \smallbreak The first section of the paper contains a brief contextualization of the problem. The second section introduces notation and preliminary results. The third section treats convergence of eigenfunctions. The fourth section discusses the local convergence of nodal sets. Finally, the fifth section treats additional results in special cases.