Nonlinear higher-order eigenvalue problems: positivity of first eigenfunctions and validity of the Faber-Krahn inequality
by Enea Parini (Inst. de Mathématiques de Marseille)
Higher-order eigenvalue problems are known to present some additional difficulties with respect to their second-order counterparts. The lack of a maximum principle does not allow to conclude that first eigenfunctions are positive (or negative), and indeed they can be sign-changing in some cases. Similarly, standard symmetrization techniques can not be applied, so that it is not easy to identify the domain which minimizes the first eigenvalue under a volume constraint. In this talk we will present some results about the minimization of the \(L^1\)(resp. the \(L^\infty\)) norm of the Laplacian among functions with fixed \(L^1\) (resp. \(L^\infty\)) norm, which amounts to find the first eigenvalue of some nonlinear higher-order differential operators. In particular, we will present results about the positivity of first eigenfunctions, and the validity of the Faber-Krahn inequality, namely, when the domain which minimizes the first eigenvalue under a volume constraint is the ball. The results have been obtained in collaboration with Nikos Katzourakis (Reading, UK), Bernhard Ruf and Cristina Tarsi (Milan, Italy).
 
             
             
             
                
                
             
                
             Symmetries in Quantum Physics 2017
            Symmetries in Quantum Physics 2017
        