Homogenisation for the Robin eigenvalue problem on manifolds and flexibility of optimal Schr\"odinger potentials

Abstract

We show that the spectrum of a Schr\"odinger eigenvalue problem posed on a closed Riemannian manifold $M$ with non-negative potential can be approached by that of Robin eigenvalue problems with constant positive boundary parameter posed on a sequence of domains in $M$. We construct these Robin problems by means of a homogenisation procedure. We show a similar result for compact manifolds with non-empty boundary and sign-indefinite potential; in this case the Robin boundary parameter can be taken to be constant on each boundary component and to have constant magnitude. As an application, we prove a flexibility result for optimal Schr\"odinger potentials: for certain problems where it is known that there exists some potential $V$ which extremises some Schr\"odinger eigenvalue, we show that this extremal eigenvalue is also approached by the corresponding eigenvalues for a sequence of smooth potentials which remain bounded away from $V$ in some dual Sobolev space.