arXiv subjects

R. S. Laugesen

Publications and source records attributed to R. S. Laugesen.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Well-posedness of Hersch-Szegő's center of mass by hyperbolic energy minimization

The hyperbolic center of mass of a finite measure on the unit ball with respect to a radially increasing weight is shown to exist, be unique, and depend continuously on the measure. Prior results of this type are extended by characterizing the center of mass as the minimum point of an energy functional that is strictly convex along hyperbolic geodesics. A special case is Hersch's center of mass lemma on the sphere, which follows from convexity of a logarithmic kernel introduced by Douady and Earle.

math.SP↗

arXiv2017

Shifted lattices and asymptotically optimal ellipses

Translate the positive-integer lattice points in the first quadrant by some amount in the horizontal and vertical directions. Take a decreasing concave (or convex) curve in the first quadrant and construct a family of curves by rescaling in the coordinate directions while preserving area. Consider the curve in the family that encloses the greatest number of the shifted lattice points: we seek to identify the limiting shape of this maximizing curve as the area is scaled up towards infinity. The limiting shape is shown to depend explicitly on the lattice shift. The result holds for all positive shifts, and for negative shifts satisfying a certain condition. When the shift becomes too negative, the optimal curve no longer converges to a limiting shape, and instead we show it degenerates. Our results handle the $p$-circle $x^p+y^p=1$ when $p>1$ (concave) and also when $0<p<1$ (convex). Rescaling the $p$-circle generates the family of $p$-ellipses, and so in particular we identify the asymptotically optimal $p$-ellipses associated with shifted integer lattices. The circular case $p=2$ with shift $-1/2$ corresponds to minimizing high eigenvalues in a symmetry class for the Laplacian on rectangles, while the straight line case ($p=1$) generates an open problem about minimizing high eigenvalues of quantum harmonic oscillators with normalized parabolic potentials.

math.SP↗

arXiv2014

Steklov eigenvalues and quasiconformal maps of simply connected planar domains

We investigate isoperimetric upper bounds for sums of consecutive Steklov eigenvalues of planar domains. The normalization involves the perimeter and scale-invariant geometric factors which measure deviation of the domain from roundness. We prove sharp upper bounds for both starlike and simply connected domains, for a large collection of spectral functionals including partial sums of the zeta function and heat trace. The proofs rely on a special class of quasiconformal mappings.

math.SP↗

arXiv2014

Magnetic spectral bounds on starlike plane domains

We develop sharp upper bounds for energy levels of the magnetic Laplacian on starlike plane domains, under either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions and assuming a constant magnetic field in the transverse direction. Our main result says that $\sum_{j=1}^n Φ\big( λ_j A/G \big)$ is maximal for a disk whenever $Φ$ is concave increasing, $n \geq 1$, the domain has area $A$, and $λ_j$ is the $j$-th Dirichlet eigenvalue of the magnetic Laplacian $\big( i\nabla+ \fracβ{2A}(-x_2,x_1) \big)^2$. Here the flux $β$ is constant, and the scale invariant factor $G$ penalizes deviations from roundness, meaning $G \geq 1$ for all domains and $G=1$ for disks.

math-ph↗

arXiv2012

Wavelet frame bijectivity on Lebesgue and Hardy spaces

We prove a sufficient condition for frame-type wavelet series in $L^p$, the Hardy space $H^1$, and BMO. For example, functions in these spaces are shown to have expansions in terms of the Mexican hat wavelet, thus giving a strong answer to an old question of Meyer. Bijectivity of the wavelet frame operator acting on Hardy space is established with the help of new frequency-domain estimates on the Calderón-Zygmund constants of the frame kernel.

math.CA↗

arXiv2011

Uniqueness for the continuous wavelet transform

Injectivity of the continuous wavelet transform acting on a square integrable signal is proved under weak conditions on the Fourier transform of the wavelet, namely that it is nonzero somewhere in almost every direction. For a bounded signal (not necessarily square integrable), we show that if the continuous wavelet transform vanishes identically, then the signal must be constant.

math.CA↗

arXiv2011

Neumann eigenvalue sums on triangles are (mostly) minimal for equilaterals

We prove that among all triangles of given diameter, the equilateral triangle minimizes the sum of the first $n$ eigenvalues of the Neumann Laplacian, when $n \geq 3$. The result fails for $n=2$, because the second eigenvalue is known to be minimal for the degenerate acute isosceles triangle (rather than for the equilateral) while the first eigenvalue is 0 for every triangle. We show the third eigenvalue is minimal for the equilateral triangle.

math.AP↗

arXiv2010

Sums of Laplace eigenvalues - rotationally symmetric maximizers in the plane

The sum of the first $n \geq 1$ eigenvalues of the Laplacian is shown to be maximal among triangles for the equilateral triangle, maximal among parallelograms for the square, and maximal among ellipses for the disk, provided the ratio $\text{(area)}^3/\text{(moment of inertia)}$ for the domain is fixed. This result holds for both Dirichlet and Neumann eigenvalues, and similar conclusions are derived for Robin boundary conditions and Schrödinger eigenvalues of potentials that grow at infinity. A key ingredient in the method is the tight frame property of the roots of unity. For general convex plane domains, the disk is conjectured to maximize sums of Neumann eigenvalues.

math.SP↗

arXiv2010

A note on the solution of the Mexican hat problem

We prove a technical estimate needed in our recent solution of the completeness question for the non-orthogonal Mexican hat wavelet system, in $L^p$ for $1<p<2$ and in the Hardy space $H^p$ for $2/3 < p \leq 1$.

math.CA↗

arXiv2007

Affine synthesis onto $L^p$ when $0 < p \leq 1$

The affine synthesis operator is shown to map the coefficient space $\ell^p$ surjectively onto $L^p$, for $0 < p \leq 1$. Here the synthesizer need satisfy only mild restrictions, for example having nonzero integral or else periodization that is real-valued, nontrivial and bounded below. Consequences include an affine atomic decomposition of $L^p$. Tools include an analysis operator that acts nonlinearly, in contrast to the usual linear analysis operator for $p>1$.

math.CA↗

arXiv2007

Moment inequalities for equilibrium measures in the plane

The equilibrium measure of a compact plane set gives the steady state distribution of charges on the conductor. We show that certain moments of this equilibrium measure, when taken about the electrostatic centroid and depending only on the real coordinate, are extremal for an interval centered at the origin. This has consequences for means of zeros of polynomials, and for means of critical points of Green's functions. We also study moments depending on the distance from the centroid, such as the electrostatic moment of inertia.

math.CV↗

arXiv2000

Energy levels of steady states for thin film type equations

We study the phase space of the evolution equation h_t = -(f(h) h_{xxx})_x - (g(h) h_x)_x by means of a dissipated energy (a Liapunov function). Here h(x,t) is nonnegative, and at h=0 the coefficient functions f>0 and g can either degenerate to 0, or blow up to infinity, or tend to a nonzero constant. We first show all positive periodic steady states are 'energy unstable' fixed points for the evolution (meaning the energy decreases under some zero--mean perturbation) if g/f is convex or if the perturbations are allowed to have period longer than that of the steady state. For power law coefficients (f(y) = y^n and g(y) = B y^m for some B > 0) we analytically determine the relative energy levels of distinct steady states. For example, with m-n in [1,2) and for suitable choices of the period and mean value, we find three fundamentally different steady states. The first is a constant steady state that is nonlinearly stable and is a local minimum of the energy. The second is a positive periodic steady state that is linearly unstable and has higher energy than the constant steady state; it is a saddle point. The third is a periodic collection of 'droplet' (compactly supported) steady states having lower energy than either the positive steady state or the constant one. Since the energy must decrease along every orbit, these results significantly constrain the dynamics of the evolution equation. Our results suggest that heteroclinic connections could exist between certain of the steady states, for example from the periodic steady state to the droplet one. In a companion article we perform numerical simulations to confirm their existence.

math.AP↗

arXiv2000

Heteroclinic orbits, mobility parameters and stability for thin film type equations

We study numerically the phase space of the evolution equation h_t = -(h^n h_{xxx})_x - B (h^m h_x)_x . Here h(x,t) is nonnegative, n>0 and m is real, and the Bond number B is positive. We pursue three goals: to investigate the nonlinear stability of the positive periodic and constant steady states; to locate heteroclinic connecting orbits between these steady states and the compactly supported 'droplet' steady states; and to determine how these orbits change when the 'mobility' exponents n and m are changed. For example, we change the mobility coefficients in such a way that the steady states are unchanged and find evidence that heteroclinic orbits between steady states are perturbed but not broken. We also find that when there appear to be touch-down singularities, the exponent n affects whether they occur in finite or infinite time. It also can affect whether there is one touch-down or two touch-downs per period.

math.AP↗