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arXiv · 1012.4195

Eigenvalue estimates for singular left-definite Sturm-Liouville operators

Jussi Behrndt·Roland Moews·Carsten Trunk
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Abstract

The spectral properties of a singular left-definite Sturm-Liouville operator $JA$ are investigated and described via the properties of the corresponding right-definite selfadjoint counterpart $A$ which is obtained by substituting the indefinite weight function by its absolute value. The spectrum of the $J$-selfadjoint operator $JA$ is real and it follows that an interval $(a,b)\subset\mathbb R^+$ is a gap in the essential spectrum of $A$ if and only if both intervals $(-b,-a)$ and $(a,b)$ are gaps in the essential spectrum of the $J$-selfadjoint operator $JA$. As one of the main results it is shown that the number of eigenvalues of $JA$ in $(-b,-a) \cup (a,b)$ differs at most by three of the number of eigenvalues of $A$ in the gap $(a,b)$; as a byproduct results on the accumulation of eigenvalues of singular left-definite Sturm-Liouville operators are obtained. Furthermore, left-definite problems with symmetric and periodic coefficients are treated, and several examples are included to illustrate the general results.

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Jussi Behrndt, Roland Moews, Carsten Trunk. 2011-06-20. Eigenvalue estimates for singular left-definite Sturm-Liouville operators. https://arxiv.org/abs/1012.4195

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