Semi-classical spectral estimates for Schr\"odinger operators at a critical level. Case of a degenerate maximum of the potential

Abstract

We study the semi-classical trace formula at a critical energy level for a Schr\"odinger operator on $\mathbb{R}^{n}$. We assume here that the potential has a totally degenerate critical point associated to a local maximum. The main result, which establishes the contribution of the associated equilibrium in the trace formula, is valid for all time in a compact subset of $\mathbb{R}$ and includes the singularity in $t=0$. For these new contributions the asymptotic expansion involves the logarithm of the parameter $h$. Depending on an explicit arithmetic condition on the dimension and the order of the critical point, this logarithmic contribution can appear in the leading term.