Low-lying eigenvalues of semiclassical Schr\"odinger operator with degenerate wells

Abstract

In this article, we consider the semiclassical Schr\"odinger operator $P = - h^{2} \Delta + V$ in $\mathbb{R}^{d}$ with confining non-negative potential $V$ which vanishes, and study its low-lying eigenvalues $\lambda_{k} ( P )$ as $h \to 0$. First, we give a necessary and sufficient criterion upon $V^{-1} ( 0 )$ for $\lambda_{1} ( P ) h^{- 2}$ to be bounded. When $d = 1$ and $V^{-1} ( 0 ) = \{ 0 \}$, we are able to control the eigenvalues $\lambda_{k} ( P )$ for monotonous potentials by a quantity linked to an interval $I_{h}$, determined by an implicit relation involving $V$ and $h$. Next, we consider the case where $V$ has a flat minimum, in the sense that it vanishes to infinite order. We give the asymptotic of the eigenvalues: they behave as the eigenvalues of the Dirichlet Laplacian on $I_{h}$. Our analysis includes an asymptotic of the associated eigenvectors and extends in particular cases to higher dimensions.