Spectra of Elliptic Operators on Quantum Graphs with Small Edges

We consider a general second order self-adjoint elliptic operator on an arbitrary metric graph, to which a small graph is glued. This small graph is obtained via rescaling a given fixed graph γ by a small positive parameter ε. The coefficients in the differential expression are varying, and they, as well as the matrices in the boundary conditions, can also depend on ε and we assume that this dependence is analytic. We introduce a special operator on a certain extension of the graph γ and assume that this operator has no embedded eigenvalues at the threshold of its essential spectrum. It is known that under such assumption the perturbed operator converges to a certain limiting operator. Our main results establish the convergence of the spectrum of the perturbed operator to that of the limiting operator. The convergence of the spectral projectors is proved as well. We show that the eigenvalues of the perturbed operator converging to limiting discrete eigenvalues are analytic in ε and the same is true for the associated perturbed eigenfunctions. We provide an effective recurrent algorithm for determining all coefficients in the Taylor series for the perturbed eigenvalues and eigenfunctions.

A new spectral invariant for quantum graphs

The Euler characteristic i.e., the difference between the number of vertices |V| and edges |E| is the most important topological characteristic of a graph. However, to describe spectral properties of differential equations with mixed Dirichlet and Neumann vertex conditions it is necessary to introduce a new spectral invariant, the generalized Euler characteristic $$\chi _G:= |V|-|V_D|-|E|$$ χ G : = | V | - | V D | - | E | , with $$|V_D|$$ | V D | denoting the number of Dirichlet vertices. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that the generalized Euler characteristic $$\chi _G$$ χ G of quantum graphs and microwave networks can be determined from small sets of lowest eigenfrequencies. If the topology of the graph is known, the generalized Euler characteristic $$\chi _G$$ χ G can be used to determine the number of Dirichlet vertices. That makes the generalized Euler characteristic $$\chi _G$$ χ G a new powerful tool for studying of physical systems modeled by differential equations on metric graphs including isoscattering and neural networks where both Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions occur.