The first Robin eigenvalue with negative boundary parameter

Abstract

We give a counterexample to the long standing conjecture that the ball maximises the first eigenvalue of the Robin eigenvalue problem with negative parameter among domains of the same volume. Furthermore, we show that the conjecture holds in two dimensions provided that the boundary parameter is small. This is the first known example within the class of isoperimetric spectral problems for the first eigenvalue of the Laplacian where the ball is not an optimiser.