Minimizing Schr\"odinger eigenvalues for confining potentials

Abstract

We consider the problem of minimizing the lowest eigenvalue of the Schr\"odinger operator $-\Delta+V$ in $L^2(\mathbb R^d)$ when the integral $\int e^{-tV}\,dx$ is given for some $t>0$. We show that the eigenvalue is minimal for the harmonic oscillator and derive a quantitative version of the corresponding inequality.