Variational problems on multiply connected thin strips. I: Basic estimates and convergence of the Laplacian spectrum (Q5957109)

Let \(M\) be a planar embedded graph whose arcs meet transversally at the vertices and denote by \({\mathcal O}(\varepsilon)\) a strip-shaped domain around \(M\), of width \(\varepsilon\) except in a neighborhood of the singular points. Assuming that \({\mathcal O}(\varepsilon)\) has smooth boundary, the authors show that it is possible to define a Laplace-Beltrami operator \({\mathcal A}\) on \(M\), starting from the energy form defined by \(E(f,f)=\int_M|df|^2d\text{ vol}_M\), for any \(f\in M\). It is also proved that the domain of \({\mathcal A}\) consists of all continuous functions whose restriction to the arcs is in \(H^2\) and such that the sum of the outgoing derivatives with respect to the arc length at the singular point vanishes. The authors show that this definition makes sense because the spectrum of \({\mathcal A}^\varepsilon\) converges to the spectrum of \({\mathcal A}\). There are also defined comparison operators between functions on \({\mathcal O}(\varepsilon)\) and on \(M\), and energy estimates for the compared functions are established. In the last part of the paper the authors deduce that the \(p\)-th eigenvalue of \({\mathcal A}^\varepsilon\) on \({\mathcal O}(\varepsilon)\) subject to Neumann boundary condition converges to the \(p\)-th eigenvalue of \({\mathcal A}\) on \(M\) as \(\varepsilon\) tends to 0. These comparison results are then generalized for Schrödinger operators with magnetic potential. The proofs combine various powerful tools: variational techniques, comparison principles or refined elliptic estimates for differential operators on manifolds. [See also the following review of Part II].