Isoperimetric upper bound for the first eigenvalue of discrete Steklov problems

Abstract

We study upper bounds for the first non-zero eigenvalue of the Steklov problem defined on finite graphs with boundary. For finite graphs with boundary included in a Cayley graph associated to a group of polynomial growth, we give an upper bound for the first non-zero Steklov eigenvalue depending on the number of vertices of the graph and of its boundary. As a corollary, if the graph with boundary also satisfies a discrete isoperimetric inequality, we show that the first non-zero Steklov eigenvalue tends to zero as the number of vertices of the graph tends to infinity. This extends recent results of Han and Hua, who obtained a similar result in the case of $\mathbb{Z}^n$. We obtain the result using metric properties of Cayley graphs associated to groups of polynomial growth.