On shape optimization with large magnetic fields in two dimensions

Abstract

This paper aims to show that, in the limit of strong magnetic fields, the optimal domains for eigenvalues of magnetic Laplacians tend to exhibit symmetry. We establish several asymptotic bounds on magnetic eigenvalues to support this conclusion. Our main result implies that if, for a bounded simply-connected planar domain, the n-th eigenvalue of the magnetic Dirichlet Laplacian with uniform magnetic field is smaller than the corresponding eigenvalue for a disk of the same area, then the Fraenkel asymmetry of that domain tends to zero in the strong magnetic field limit. Comparable results are also derived for the magnetic Dirichlet Laplacian on rectangles, as well as the magnetic Dirac operator with infinite mass boundary conditions on smooth domains. As part of our analysis, we additionally provide a new estimate for the torsion function on rectangles.