Spectral properties of magnetic chain graphs (Q517419)

In the paper, it is discussed spectral properties of a charged quantum particle confined to a chain graph consisting of an infinite array of rings under influence of a magnetic field assuming a \(\delta\)-coupling at the points where the rings touch. The authors start with the situation when the system has a translational symmetry and analyze spectral consequences of perturbations of various kind, such as a local change of the magnetic field, of the coupling constant, or of a ring circumference. A particular attention is paid to weak perturbations, both local and periodic; for the latter it has been proved a version of Saxon-Hutner conjecture. A main tool of the paper is a conversion of the problem into a difference equation.