Some remarks on the isoperimetric problem for the higher eigenvalues of the Robin and Wentzell Laplacians

JB Kennedy

Abstract

We consider the problem of minimising the $k$th eigenvalue, $k\ge 2$, of the ($p$-)Laplacian with Robin boundary conditions with respect to all domains in ${\mathbb{R}}^N$ of given volume $M$. When $k=2$, we prove that the second eigenvalue of the $p$-Laplacian is minimised by the domain consisting of the disjoint union of two balls of equal volume, and that this is the unique domain with this property. For $p=2$ and $k\ge 3$, we prove that in many cases a minimiser cannot be independent of the value of the constant $\alpha$ in the boundary condition, or equivalently of the volume $M$. We obtain similar results for the Laplacian with generalised Wentzell boundary conditions $\mathrm{\Delta }u+\beta \frac{\partial u}{\partial \nu }+\gamma u=0$.

Keywords: Laplacian, p-Laplacian,isoperimetric problem, shape optimisation, Robin boundary conditions, Wentzell boundary conditions.

AMS Subject Classification: Primary 35P15; secondary (35J25, 35J60).