Nodal domains a la Courant

Abstract

Let $H(\Om_0)=-\Delta+V$ be a Schr\"odinger operator on a bounded domain $\Om_0\subset \mathbb R^d$ with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Suppose that the $\Om_\ell$ ($\ell \in \{1,...,k\}$) are some pairwise disjoint subsets of $\Om_0$ and that $H(\Om_\ell)$ are the corresponding Schr\"odinger operators again with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We investigate the relations between the spectrum of $H(\Om_0)$ and the spectra of the $H(\Om_\ell)$. In particular, we derive some inequalities for the associated spectral counting functions which can be interpreted as generalizations of Courant's nodal Theorem. For the case that equality is achieved we prove converse results. In particular, we use potential theoretic methods to relate the $\Om_\ell$ to the nodal domains of some eigenfunction of $H(\Omega_0)$.