On the Isoperimetric Inequality for the Third Robin Eigenvalue on Surfaces

Abstract

We investigate the third Robin eigenvalue on simply connected domains of area $A$ in surfaces with Gaussian curvature bounded above by $K$. For $K>0$, we discover a transition at the critical parameter $α=-4π+KA$: two equal geodesic disks give a sharp upper bound when $α=-4π$ or $-4π+KA\leqα\leq4π$, but the two disk bound fails for $-4π<α<-4π+KA$. In the latter range, we establish a new upper bound involving a single geodesic disk with a modified Robin parameter and prove its sharpness in an explicit subrange. The sharp two-disk inequality persists for nonpositive curvature bounds, and Steklov--Helmholtz analogues are also obtained. Both the two-disk and one-disk bounds arise from a unified two-pole Green-function method, with the one-disk regime emerging from a degenerate area split that produces the $2π$ shift in the effective Robin parameter, while sharpness in the stated subrange is established by boundary oscillations that redistribute Robin boundary mass.