Eigenvalues of Elliptic Boundary Value Problems With an Indefinite Weight Function

Author(s): Jacqueline Fleckinger and Michel L. Lapidus

Source: Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 295, No. 1 (May, 1986), pp. 305-
324
Published by: American Mathematical Society
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TRANSACTIONS OF THE
AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
Volume 295, Number 1, May 1986

EIGENVALUESOF ELLIPTICBOUNDARY VALUEPROBLEMS

WITH AN INDEFINITE WEIGHT FUNCTION
JACQUELINEFLECKINGER1AND MICHELL. LAPIDUS2

ABSTRACT.We consider generalselfadjointelliptic eigenvalueproblems

(P) = Ar(x)u,
;Atu
in an open set Q C Rk. Here, the operator ;A1 is positive and of order 2m
and the "weight"r is a function which changes sign in Q and is allowedto be
discontinuous. A scalar A is said to be an eigenvalueof (P) if vqu= Aru-in
the variational sensc for some nonzero u satisfying the appropriategrowth
and boundaryconditions. We determinethe asymptotic behaviorof the eigen-
values of (P), under suitable assumptions. In the case when Q is bounded, we
assumed Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions. When Q is unbounded,
we work with operators of "Schrodingertype"; if we set ri = mgc(ir,0),
two cases appear naturally: First, if Q is of "weightedfinite measure" (i.e.,
J^n(r+)k/2m < +oo or AQ(r_)k/2m < +OO),we obtain an extension of the
well-known Weyl asymptotic formula; secondly, if Q is of "weightedinfinite
measure" (i.e., rQ(r+)k/2m = +oo or CQ(r_)k/2m = +oo), our results ex-
tend the de Wet-Mandlformula (which is classical for Schrodingeroperators
with weight r--1). When Q is bounded, we also give lower bounds for the
eigenvaluesof the Dirichlet problemfor the Laplacian.

t. Introduction. The purposeof this paperis to provideestimateson the

eigenvalues of ;;rightnondefinite"ellipticboundaryvalueproblemsSu = Aruin
Q C Rk (withDirichletorNeumann boundary conditions)whentheweightfunction
r is "indeSnite" (i.e.,changessignin Q).
Themainresultsconcerntheasymptotics oftheeigenvalues elliptic
forselfadjoint
operatorsof order2m. Foran openset Q whichis not necessarilybounded,we
extendthe classicalWeylformulaas wellas its analogue,alsocalledthe de Wet-
Mandlformulaforoperatorsof Schrodinger type. Wealsoobtainlowerboundsfor
the eigenvalues of the Dirichletproblemfor the Laplacian.Theseresultsextend
the earlieronesobtainedindependently by Lapidus[La1, La 2] andFleckinger-El
Fetnassi[F1F1, F1F 2].
Manynonlinear problemslead,afterlinearization, problems
to ellipticeigenvalue
with an indefiniteweightfunction.(See,e.g., the surveypaperby de Figueiredo
Received by the editors June 26, 1985.
1980 MathematicsSubject Classification.Primary 35P20, 35J2(), 35J25, 35J35, 35J40,
35P15; Secondary34B25, 35J10, 35P30 47A70, 49G05.
Key wordsandphrases.Elliptic boundaryvalue problems,indefiniteweight function, asymp-
totic behavior of eigenvalues,lower bounds of eigenvalues,spectral theory, variationalmethods,
operatorsof Schrodingertype.
1Researchpartiallysupportedby the CentreNational de la RechercheScientifiqueand Argonne
National Laboratory.
2Supportedin part by a Grant from the Faculty Researchand InnovationFund at the Univer-
sity of Southern Californiaand by Argonne National Laboratory. The second author would like
to dedicate his researchin this work to Odile.
(g)1986 American Mathematical Society
0002-9947/86 $1.00 + $.25 per page

305

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306 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L. LAPIDUS

[dF]andthe workof Hessand Kato [HK, H].) A vast literaturein engineering,

physicsand appliedmathematics dealswith suchproblemsarising,for instance,
in the studyof transporttheory,reaction-diffusion equations,fluiddynamics,etc.
(See,e.g., [DGHa, GN, LuR, LuW andKKLeZ].)
Mostof the literatureon this subject studiedsincethe endof the last century
(Richardson [Ri],Bocher[Bo],Hilbert[Hi],etc.) is concerned with the one di-
mensional case,whichis stillthe objectof activeresearch.(See,forinstance,[KZ,
Be].) To our knowledge,the firstresultin the multidimensional case is due to
Holmgren (1904)[Ho];he considers the Dirichletproblem/\u + Ar(x,y)u = 0, on a
boundedopenset set Q c R2, whenr is continuous andchangessign;he provesin
this casethe existenceof an infinitenumberof positive(andnegative)eigenvalues
whichcanbe characterized by the "min-max principle".The asymptoticdistribu-
tionof theseeigenvalues hasbeenestablished by Pleijel(1942)[Pl]forthe Dirichlet
andNeumannproblems.
Thespectraltheoryof similarabstractproblemshasbeenstudiedmorerecently
by Weinberger [Wn],and its applicationto the Dirichletproblemfor an elliptic
operatorof order2 by ManesandMicheletti[MM].
Pleijel'sresultsonthe asymptoticdistribution of eigenvalues
havebeenextended
by manySovietmathematicians duringthe 1970s.(See,forinstance,the surveypa-
perby BirmanandSolomjak[BS 3], theirbook[BS 4] andthe relevantreferences
therein.) In most of these papers,the weightfunctionneednot be continuous.
Birmanand Solomjak[BS 1, BS 2], for example,obtainasymptoticestimates
for boundedopen sets and (possiblydegenerate)selfadjointellipticoperatorsof
order2m. Rozenbljum [Ro 1] extendstheseresulsto someproblemsdefinedon
unbounded opensets suchthat AQ[rlk/2m< +x.
Recently,unawareof Pleijel'swork,Lapidus[La 1] determined the asymptotic
behaviorof the eigenvalues of the Laplacian withDirichletor Neumannboundary
conditionson a boundedopenset of Rk in the casewhenthe weightfunctionis
not necessarily continuous; he alsogiveslowerboundshavingthe correct"coupling
constantbehavior" forthe eigenvalues of the Dirichletproblem.In somecases,he
obtainsestimateson the remainder term[La 2].
At aboutthe sametime, Fleckingerand El Fetnassi[FlF 1, FlF 2] proved
an analogousasymptoticestimatefor the Dirichletproblemcorresponding to a
generalselfadjoint ellipticoperatorof order2mwitha continuous weightfunction;
asymptotics werealsoobtainedforoperatorsof "Schrodinger-type" on unbounded
domainsfora sufficiently smoothweightfunction.
Thepresentpaperextendstheseresults:forgeneralellipticproblems, we do not
assumethat the openset Q is boundedor that the weightfunctionr is continuous;
the latteris of interestin viewof possibleapplications to nonlinearproblems.
We now indicatehow this workis organized.Afterhavingstated our main
resultsin thenextsection,wepresentin §3the prototypal exampleof the Laplacian
on an openset of finitevolumeand givelowerboundsfor the eigenvalues of the
corresponding Dirichletproblem.Wethenextendthisstudyin §4to generalelliptic
boundaryvalueproblemsof order2m on an openset Q (whichis boundedforthe
Neumannproblem).Finally,in §5,wedetermine the asymptoticdistribution of the
eigenvalues of certainSchrodinger operatorson Q c Rk with Dirichletboundary

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 ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEFINITE WEIGHTS 307

conditions;in this case,Q is unbounded andwe dealwiththe fourdifferentcases:

g (r+)k/2m = +x or gQ(r+)k/2m < +x.
Sincethe firstversionof thispaperwassubmitted,the workof Birman-Solomjak
andRozenbljum on boundaryvalueproblemswithindefiniteweightswasbrought
to ourattention.In particular, thereis someoverlapbetweenTheorem4.1 herein
andTheorem2 in [BS 1 or BS 2], as wellas Theorem5.2 hereinandTheorem2
in [Ro 1]. However, ourresultsgo muchfurther;Theorem5.1 andProposition 5.4,
statedforunbounded opensets, appearto be entirelynewas wellas the possible
combinations resultingfromTheorems5.1 and5.2.
2. Notation and main results. Weintroducesomenotationwhichwill be
usedthroughout the aricle:
Letm andk be integers> 1.
Let Q be an openset in Rk withboundaryAQ.
The interior(resp.,the closure)of Q C Rk is denotedby Q° (resp.,Q); if,
in addition,Q is Lebesguemeasurable, [QIstandsfor its Lebesguek-dimensional
measureor "volume" in Rk.
If R c Q, the notationQ\R indicatesthe complement of R in Q.
Forj E N, Cj(Q)is the spaceof j timescontinuously functionsin
differentiable
Q.
oforderloll= ol1+ +ak: Da =
ForOl = (ol1, . . ., °lk) E Nk, Da is thederivative
Alal/0xl1 aSkak; if, in addition,( = (41,..., (k) E Rk, then ( = 411 (kak.
Hm(Q)odenotes the Sobolevspaceof functionsu E L2(Q)suchthat the distri-
butionalderivatives Dau are in L2(Q)for loll < m (see, e.g., [Ad]). Recallthat
Hm(Q)is a Hilbertspaceforthe norm
/ A 1/2
| U| Hm(X) = tt E [Dau(x)l2dx)

Hom(Q) is thesubspaceof Hm(Q)obtainedbycompleting CO(Q) withrespectto

the normof Hm(Q);here,CO(Q) denotesthe spaceof continuously differentiable
functionswithcompactsupportcontainedin Q.
functiondefinedon Q, we set f+ = max(f,O)and
Finally,if f is a real-valued
f_ = maxt-f, O)
Wecannowstateourhypothesesandpresentourmainresults:
(2.1) Let A be a formallyselfadjointuniformlyellipticoperatorof order2m
definedon Q:
A= E Da (as (x)D ))
1oel<m
1p1 <m

whereaOs = a;3,,for IOll < m and 1d1 < m; we assumethat ao > Oand when
Q is bounded(resp.,unbounded)ao E Lk/2m(Q)if k > 2m and ao E L1(Q)if
k < 2m [resp.,aO E L°°(Q)]; moreover, aOs E L°°(Q) if O< loll + 1d1 < 2m and
aOs E C°(Q) if lol| + 1d1= 2m
functionon Q;we supposethat Q+ =
real-valued
(2.2) Let r be a measurable
{x E Q:r(x) > O}andQ_ = {x C Q:r(x) < O}areof positiveLebesguemeasure.In
§§3-4(resp.,§5),wealsoassumethatr E LP(Q)[resp.,r E LlPoc(Q)] withp > k/2m
if k > 2m andp = 1 if k < 2m. Further,in §§3-4,Q is suchthat the imbeddingof

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(2.3)
(2.4)
(2.5) N+(>)
N-(>)
1Ai jX (>r(x))k/2mpA(x)dx,
1 Ckn2/k llri ll L l/2(Q), as n as A
> oo, +x,
-w.

308 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L. LAPIDUS

Hm(Q)into L2(Q)is compact;this is alwaysthe caseif Q is bounded,k < 2m or

an is smoothenough(see [Ad, Theorem 6.13,p. 151]).
Westudythespectrum(i.e.,theset of eigenvaluesA)of thehomogeneousDirich-
let or Neumannboundaryvalueproblem(in the variational sense)
(P) Su = Aru, in 0.
WhenQ hasfiniteLebesguemeasure,this spectrumis discreteandconsistsof a
doublesequenceof realeigenvalues
of finitemultiplicity(onenonnegative
andone
negative)
*- < An+l < )n < * < >2 < >1 < (°) < )21 < )\2 < < An < An+l < X

with 1Ai1 tendingto +oo as n tendsto oo (eacheigenvalueis repeatedaccording

to multiplicity).The sameresultholds,underappropriate assumptions,for an
operatorof "Schrodingertype"on X withDirichletboundaryconditions.
Let N+(A)[resp.,N-(A)]be the numberof nonnegative [resp.,negative]eigen-
valuesAn+lessthanA > O[resp.,;An greaterthanA < O].
Assumethat Qhas weightedfinitevolume.(Ofcourse,this assumption is sat-
isfiedif Q is bounded.) If IQ+\Q+I = o (thisis the case, for example,if r is
continuous),we showforthe Dirichletproblemthat (seeTheorem4.1)

n+
whereiiA(x)is the usualBrowder-Garding
densityon X
,tbv(z)= (21r)-k| dt, x E 0,
{(ERk:A'(x,()<l}

andJq'(x,() is the symbolof the principalpartof A:

J4/(x,() = E aa!s(x)(a+pXfor (x, () E Qx Rk.
1oel=1(31=m

if IQ-\Q°-I
Similarly, = o,then

n_
In particular,
whenA = -1\, we have
*bA(x) = (2fr) k Bk,

whereBk = 7rk/2/r(l + k/2) denotesthe volumeof the unit ball in Rk; since
N+(>n+)= n, we thenobtainan extensionof Hermann Weyl'sasymptoticformula
(seeTheorems3.1 and3.2):

whereCk= (27r)2(Bk)-2/kdenotesWeyl'sconstant.
REMARKS.1. Actually,(2.5) containstwoequations:one involvingthe minus
signsaloneanda secondone for the plussigns;we shalluse this convenientsign
conventionthroughout
the paper.

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(2.7)
>IfOgQ(r+)k/2m
asN+(A)
[xl +x.
| < (>r(x)
+X, then-
estimate
q(x))k/2m,uS
(2.3) or (2.4)
(x) holds
dx, respectively
as A ix, as A ix.

ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEFINITE WEIGHTS 309

2. Note that the resultsfornegativeeigenvalues can be deduceddirectlyfrom-

thoseforpositiveeigenvalues by changingr into -r.
3. Forsimplicity,we writeQAinsteadof (Q)°.
If, in addition,Q is a boundedopenset satisfyingthe segmentproperty(for
example,if AQis locallyLipschitz)andif l0QI= O,the formulae(2.3) and (2.4)
still holdforthe Neumannproblem(seeTheorem4.2).
Whenr(x) _ 1, N-(A) = O and (2.3) is the usualformula(see, e.g., [CH,
ChapterVI, §4,pp. 429-445;Br; Ga; Kc; FlMe; Me; RS, TheoremXIII.78,p.
271;etc.]).
WhenQ is unbounded, we assumethat g is an operatorof "Schrodingertype",
i.e., Jq= £ + q, where£ satisfies(2.1).
(2.6)Here,the "potential"q is a nonnegative
functionon Qsuchthatq-1(x)r(x)

Underothersuitablehypotheses,we showthat the spectrumof (P) is discrete.

Moreover,
we provethat (seeTheorem5.1 andProposition5.4)

winnX
if JgQ(rJr)k/2m = +X, respectively;
here,Qx= {x E Q:Ar(x)> q(x)}and,uL= 11A,
by definition.
Thisestimateis well-known whenr(x) _ 1. (See,e.g., [T, Chapter17, §§8-14,
pp. 174-185;Ro 2; Me; Fl; RS, TheoremXIII.81,p. 275;etc.].)

(SeeTheorem5.2 andRemark1 followingit as wellas Proposition5.4.)

Wealsoestablishlowerboundsforthe eigenvaluesof the Dirichletproblemon
a boundeddomainQ;for instance,forthe Laplacianandfor k > 3, we have(see
Theorem3.3)
(2.8) |>n | > okn2/ ||rA||Lk/2(Q))

where69k is a constantdependingonlyon k whichis explicitlyknown.In viewof

the extendedWeylformula(2.5),theselowerboundsexhibitthe correct"coupling
constantbehavior".
We referthe readerto Courant-Hilbert [CH, ChapterVI], Reed-Simon[RS,
ChapterXIII,§§1,15]orWeinberger [Wn,Chapter3]forthe Courant-Weyl method
of proofof Weyl'sformula.Forthe variational theoryof ellipticboundaryvalue
problems,we pointout Lions-Magenes [LM]andAgmon[Ag]. Finally,the basic
propertiesof Sobolevspacesusedin this papercanall be foundin Adams[Ad].
3. An example: the Laplacianon an open set with finite volume. We
nowillustrateourmethodsforfindingthe asymptoticbehaviorof the eigenvalues,
in the case of the Laplacianwith Dirichletor Neumannboundaryconditionson
an openset with finitevolumeor on a boundedopenset, respectively(partsA
andB). In partC, we obtainlowerboundsforthe eigenvalues
of the corresponding
Dirichletproblemon a boundeddomain.
A. TheDirichletproblem.Weconsiderthe eigenvalue problem
(E) -Au = Aru, in Q; u = O on AQ.

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nx. Theprecise asymptoticbehavioris given by

JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L.

310
LAPIDUS

(3.1) Q is an opensubsetof Rk with finite

andsuchthat IQ+\Q+I Lebesguemeasure,satisfying(2.-2)
= oand IQ-\Q° I= °
Theeigenvalues of the variational
problem
numbersA suchthat thereexistsa nonzerouassociated with (E) arethe complex
E Ho(Q) satisfying-Au = Aru
the distributional sense). (in
It is wellknown(see,e.g., [Ho;Pl; Wn,
etc.]) thatthe eigenvalues Chapter3;MM; dF, ChapterI, §§1-2;
AA (whentheyexist)are
principle" characterized
by the "max-min

(3.2) \+ FnGi;wuEF7X {1Q ( ) }

wherein denotesthe set of n-dimensional
mulaholdsforAn. subspaces of Ho(Q);an analogousfor-
ThehypothesisIQ+I > o impliesthat AA existsfor
all n > 1 andAA ) ix as
THEOREM3.1. Underassumptions (2.2) and(3.1), estimates(2.3)-(2.5)hold.
If r is positivein Q,we haveN-(A) = 0
IQ-I = o). Formulae(2.3) and (2.5) which(actually,
are
this happensif andonly if
clearlyequivalent are
when r is positiveandcontinuous (see,e.g., [CH,Theorem14,p. 435;RS, classical
XIII.78, p. 271;Me, Theorem5.12,p. 188;etc.]). Theorem
Weshallneedtwolemmasin orderto derive
isessentiallyknownandfork > 3, for Theorem3.1. Thefollowingresult
instance,canbe obtainedby combining [RS,
Theorem XIII.80,p. 274]and [LiY,Step (iv), pp.
see[GoK,Theorem8.1, p. 309].) 317-318].(Forthe casek = 1,
LEMMA3. 1. Whenr is positivein
LP(Q) withp > k/2 if k > 3 andp
k< 3, (2.3) and(2.5) hold. = 1 if
In the following,we shalldenoteby An+(r,
(E)to indicatethe dependence Q) the nth nonnegative eigenvalue
of
on r andQ.
LEMMA3.2 (MONOTONICITY
PRINCIPLES). An+(r,0) doesnot increasewhen
ror Q increases.
REMARKS.1. Hereandthereafter, weadoptthefollowing
wemakeuseof an eigenvalue convention: whenever
An+, we implicitly
thatthe right-hand assume that it exists(equivalently,
sideof (3.2) or of its counterpartis finite).
2. The monotonicity withrespectto Q is onlyvalidforDirichlet
Lemma3.2 is a simpleconsequence problems.
of (3.2)and
e.g., [CH, Theorem3, p. 409 andTheoremis well-known
(see, whenr is positive
270andWn, Theorem7.1, p. 58, Example7.2, 7, p. 411;PbS,Proposition4, p.
p. 60 andTheorem8.1, p. 62].
PROOF OF THEOREM3.1. Wefollowthe
method
in findinglowerandupperboundsfor An+ usedin [La1, La 2]: the idea
consists
Withthis aimandthe helpof the monotonicity havingthe sameasymptotics.
to
thestudyof positiveweights. principles,we reducethe problem
It clearlysufficesto establish(2.5) for
An+ since An(r,Q)=
r_
= (-r)+ -A+(-r,Q) and
Fix6 > 0. By Lemma3.2, we have
(3.3)
An
(r+ + 6, Q)< An(r, Q)< An+
(r, Q+);

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 ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEF'INITE WEIGHTS 311

this holdssincer < r+ + 6 andQ+ is an opensubsetof Q of positivemeasure,by

(2.2)and (3.1).
By Lemma3.1 appliedto the positiveweightsr+ + 6 in Q andr in Q+, we see
that
(3.4) lim n-2/kA+(r++ 6,Q) = Ck||r++ b||
and
(3.5) lim n-2/kA+(r,Q+)=ckilRllL 1/2 (Qo

Weinferfromequations(3.3)to (3.5)that
Ck ||r+ + 6^lLk/2(Q) < lim n 2/k>+ (r,Q)
(3.6) noo
< lim n-2/kA+(r,Q) < CkllrllLl/2(Qo
).
Now, it followsfrom the Lebesguedominatedconvergencetheoremthat
r+ + b||Lk/2(Q)
tendsto llrllLk/2(QO
) as 6 tendsto 0; moreover,
by (3.1),

| rk/2 = | rk/2 = |(r+)k/2

Q+ Q+ Q

[Notethat by omittingthe zeroset of r, one doesnot alterthe valueof the latter

integral.]
Consequently, we obtain(2.5)by letting6 tendto zeroin (3.6). 0
REMARKS. 1. Whenr is continuous, Q+ is openandTheorem3.1 holdsforan
arbitrary opensubsetQ of Rk withfiniteLebesguemeasure(in particular, forany
boundedopenset).
2. WhenQ+ is a "Jordancontendedset" (roughlyspeaking,if Q+ is bounded
andwell approximated fromwithinand withoutby a finiteunionof cubes see,
e.g., [LoS, Chapter8, §§6-7;RS, p. 271; Pe, Chapter2, §§11-12]),we have
IQ+\Q+I =Osincethen,by [LoS,Proposition6.1, p. 332],g0(0+)g =O;this was
the assumption of [La 1, Theorem1, p. 266].
B. TheNeumann problem.Wesupposethat
(3.7)Q isa boundedopenset satisfyingthesegmentproperty(see[Ag,Definition
2.1, p. 11])suchthat t00I =O,IQ+\Q+I =0 and IQ-\Q° I=0.
Weconsiderthe eigenvalue problem
(Et) -Au = Aruin 0; au/0n
=O on aQ;
where0/0n denotesthe normalderivative.
The scalarA is said to be an eigenvalueof the variationalproblemassociated
with (E') if -/\u = Aru forsomenonzerou E H1(Q).
The corresponding nonnegative eigenvalues+(r,Q)are,in this case,givenby
(3.2),whereHo(Q)is replacedby H1(Q).
SinceHo(Q) c H1(Q), itfollowsfromthe "max-minprinciple" asin [CH,
Theorem5, p. 410;RS, Proposition4, p. 270 or Wn, Theorem7.1, p. 58 and
Example7.4, pp. 61-62]that
(3.8) +(r, Q) < A+(r,Q);

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312 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L. LAPIDUS

and,as above,the eigenvalues

aremonotonewithrespectto the weight;therefore,
for6 > O,we have
(3.9) + (r+ + 6,Q) < + (r,Q) < >+(r,Q).
As fortheDirichletproblem,usinganextensionof (2.3)or (2.5)whenQsatisfies
(3.7)andthe weightis positive[FlMe;Me, Theorem5.12,p. 188],we obtain
THEOREM3.2. Under
assumptions
(2.1), (2.2)and(3.7), estimates
(2.3)-(2.5)
hold.
Next,we commenton possibleextensionsor interpretations of the aboveresults:
REMARKS.1. Thehypothesisconcerning the segmentpropertyin Theorem3.2
canbe weakenedas in [Me,Condition(C'),p. 156].
2. It is noteworthy thatnoassumption hasbeenmadeaboutQo= {x E Q:r(x) =
O}in orderto obtainTheorems3.1 and3.2.
3. It is easyto derivefromTheorems 3.1and3.2a corresponding resultformixed
Dirichlet-Neumann boundaryconditions; naturally,the asymptoticdistribution of
the eigenvalues remainsunchanged in this case.
4. Theconclusions of Theorems3.1or3.2canbe interpreted as follows:the pos-
itive(resp.,negative)eigenvalues of (E) or (E')havethe sameasymptoticbehavior
as the eigenvaluesin the usualsense of the ellipticoperator-A/r(x) [resp.,
+A/r(x)], definedin Q+ (resp.,Q°) for the corresponding boundaryconditions.
Here,we use implicitlythe factthat ||r+||Lk/2(X) = ||r||Lk/2(X+).
[Theprecedingremarksapply,with obviouschanges,to the generalelliptic
boundaryvalueproblemsstudiedin §4.B.]
5. Physically,whenr is positive,the eigenvalues of (E) representthe natural
frequencies of a vibratingmembranefixedalongits boundaryaQand of mass
densityequalto r as wellas of tensionunity.(See,e.g., [CH,ChaptersV andVI
or Kc].) Therefore, in the casewhenr changessign,wemayinterpretTheorem3.1
by sayingthat the largevaluesOfAn+ (resp.,An ) aredetermined by the "positive
mass"(resp.,"negative mass") distribution of the "membrane" .
EXAMPLE3.1. Wenowconsidera simpleexampleof discontinuous weightfunc-
tion. Naturally,our assumptionswouldallowus to treat muchmoresingular
weights.
Let R be an opensubsetof Rk withfinitemeasureI0ILet 0+andR be two
disjointmeasurable subsetsof R of positivemeasuresuchthat In+\R+I = o and
|Q_\Q°|=O.Wedefine

(-1 if xe0,
r(x) = < ° if x E 0\(R_u0+),
t +1 if xe0+.
WethendeducefromTheorem3.1 that, forthe Dirichletproblem,we have
COROLLARY
3 . 1 . AX Ck(n/lQA 1)2/k, as n > oo.
ThesameestimateholdsfortheNeumann problemundertheadditional assump-
tionsthat janI
= o andR isboundedandsatisfiesthe segmentproperty.
REMARK. The geometricfeaturesof the aboveexamplesuggestthe following
naturalextensionof the well-known
isospectralproblem(see,e.g., [Kc andY, pp.

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 ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEFINITE WEIGHTS 313

23-24]):let Q1,Q+,r1 andQ2,Q+, r2, be definedas in Example3.1. Assumethat

countingmultiplicities,
the problem(E) [or(E')]hasthe sameset of eigenvalues, in
Q1andQ2. Underwhich(generic)conditionsdoesthereexist an isometrywhich
sendsQ1,Q+ andQ1 onto,respectively, Q2,Q+ andQ2? In otherwords,to what
extentdoesthe spectrumdeterminethe signof the weight?
C. Lowerboundsof theeigenvalues.Weobtainherelowerbounds(resp.,upper)
boundsfor the eigenvaluesA+ (resp.,An ) of the Dirichletproblem(E) studied
in partA. Theseboundsare validfor all n and compatiblewith the asymptotic
behaviorobtainedin Theorem3.1.
THEOREM3.3. AssumethatQis a bounded
domainof Rk withC2 boundary
AQand supposethat k > > o, respectively,
3. Then,if IQ+I we havefor the
(E) in Q
Dirichletproblem
(3.10) 1Ai1
> Skn / ||ri||Lk/2(Q), Vn> 1,
whereSk = (k(k - 2)/4e)(Sk_l)2/kn e = exp(1) andUk-l = kBk denotesthe area
of theunitspherein Rk.
PROOF. It clearlysufficesto finda lowerboundfor A+ when IQ+I,o. Fix
n > 1 and6 > 0. Sincer < r+ + 6, we derivefromLemma3.2 that

(3.11) >+(r,Q)> A+(r+ + 6,Q.

By [LiY,Theorem2, p. 314]appliedto the positiveweightr+ + 6, we have
(3.12) +611-1
A+(r + 6 0)> skn2/kilr
Combining(3.11)and (3.12),we nowobtain(3.10)by letting6 ) 0 andapplying
the dominated
convergencetheorem. O
SinceN+(A+)= n, we deduce
3.2.
COROLLARY

(k(k-2)) (A2k1N+(X)< 0\k/2 (| (r+) ) )

Wehavejust useda remarkable resultof Li andYau[LiY,Theorem2, p. 314]

whichimproved the existingupperboundsforthe numberof "bound
significantly
states"of the Schrodinger operatorin R3. (See [LiY,p. 311 andLb, p. 243]for
references to previousworkson this subject.)Note, however,that the methodof
Li andYaudoesnot seema priorito applyto indefiniteweights.
REMARKS.1. Theassumption that IQ+\Q+I =oisnotneededforTheorem3.3
to hold.
2. We note that upperboundsfor 1A+1 can be deducedsimilarlyfromthe
knownupperboundsfortheeigenvalues of Dirichletproblems withpositiveweights.
Indeed,by (3.5), 1AA (r,Q)| < 1AA(r,Qa)1
3. Asis thecasewiththeresultof LiandYau,Theorem3.3extendsto a compact
Riemannian manifoldwith c2 boundary; Sk mustthen be replaced by a constant
dependingon the Sobolevconstantof the manifold.
4. Theorem3.3 alsoextendsto generalselfadjoint ellipticoperatorsof order2;
in this case,the newconstantoccurringin (3.10)dependson Sk andthe constant

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314 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L. LAPIDUS

of uniformellipticityof the operator.Thisis easilyseenby usinga monotonicity

argument(basedon Lemma4.2) andTheorem3.3.
5. It maybe worthpointingout that, fork > 3, Theorem3.3 providesus with
a newproofof the factthat Ai existsforall n > 1 andAi > ioo whenI0+ I, o.
(Compare with [MM,Proofof Proposition3, p. 290or dF, Proofof Proposition
1.11,p. 43].)
4. Elliptic boundary value problems with bounded coefficients. Vt7e
extendthe resultsof §§3.Aand3.B to selfadjoint ellipticoperatorsof order2m.
A. Abstract theory. In orderto obtain resultson moregeneralboundaryvalue
problems, we briefly explain the abstract theory (see, e.g., [Wn, Chapter3 and
dF, Chapter I]). It will laterbe applied to operators with bounded(§4.B)as well
as unbounded (§5) (that
coefficients is, in the latter case, Schrodingeroperators).
(4.1)Let H be a realor complexHilbertspace.
(4.2) Let (V,H,a) be a variationaltriple: V is a densesubspaceof H with
continuous imbedding anda is a hermitian,boundedandcoerciveformdefinedon
V (see [LM])
(4.3)b is a hermitianformon V suchthat, forsomepositiveconstant6,
Ib(u,u)l< ba(u,u), Fu E V.
Weconsiderthe followingvariational eigenvalue problem
(Q) a(u, v) = Ab(u,v), Vv E V;
of (Q) [oris in the spectrumof (Q)] if thereexistsa nonzero
here,A is an eigenvalue
u E V suchthat the last equationholds.
REMARK. In the exampleof §3, we considerH = L2(Q), a(u,u) = ||U||H1(Q),
b(u,u) = AQrlul2and V = Ho(Q) [resp.,V = H1(Q)]for the Dirichlet[resp.,
Neumann]boundaryvalueproblemon an open set Q with finitevolume(resp.,
on a boundedopen set Q). In this manner,Theorems3.1 and 3.2 will become
corollariesof Theorems4.1 and4.2, respectively.
By (4.2), a inducesin V an innerproductequivalentto the originalone; by
the Rieszrepresentation theorem,we definea boundedselfadjoint operatorT from
(V,a(, )) to itselfby
(4.4) b(u,v) = a(Tu, v), F(u, v) E V x V.
It followsthat A is an eigenvalueof (Q) if andonly if 1/S is an eigenvalueof
T:Tu = (1/A)u,forsomenonzerou E V.
(4.5) Wenowassumethat T is compact.This is the case in all the problems
studiedhere;it holdsin particularif V is compactlyembeddedin H and b is
continuous on H.
It followsfromthe classicalspectraltheoryof compactselfadjointoperatorsin
Hilbertspacesthat the spectrumof (Q) consistsof a doublesequence
< An+l< An< < >1 < (°) < >1 < < An< An+l<
andis repeatedaccordingly).
has finitemultisplicity
(eacheigenvalue
Whenit exists,A2nr (b7V) if necessary is given
whichwe writeAn+(a, V) or Ani
by the "max-minprinciple"
(4.6) ;x,UEiFn
.X+= FmE {b(u,u): a(u, u) = 1} )

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(4.8) 1 \+ l-n2m/k t /& rk/2m(x),tsA (x) dx) , as n x.

ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEFINITE WEIGHTS 315

wherein iS the set of n-dimensional

subspacesof V. A similarformulaholdsfor
An sinceAn (v)-b) =-An+(V) b).
Justas before,we deducefrom(4.6)the followingabstractmonotonicity
princi-
ples:
LEMMA 4.1. If b1,b2are two hermitian formssatisfying(4.3) and suchthat
b1(u,u) < b2(u,u) for all u E V, thenAn+ (b1,V) > An+ (b2,V) .
LEMMA4.2. Letal,a2 becoercive formssatisfying(4.2) andsuchthata1(u,u)
> a2(uvu) for all u E V; thenAn+ (a1,V) > An+ (a2) V)-
LEMMA4.3. If (V1,H, a) and(V2) H, a) aretwo"variational triples"suchthat
Vl C V2 n thenA+(b,V1) > An+ (b,V2 ) -

B. Operators of order2m. In the following,we supposethat Q is a nonempty

open subsetof Rk and that r and Q satisfy (2.2); furtherthe operatorvq=
EIaI<m,lal<mD(aaD:) fulfills(2.1).
Wefirstconsiderthe Dirichletboundaryvalueproblem:vqu= Aru,u E Hom(Q).
(4.7)Weassumethat Qhasfinitevolumeandthat IQ+\Q+I = oandIQ-\Q° I=
o.
Wecannowapplythe aboveabstracttheorywithH = L2(Q),V = Hom(Q)
and
a(u,v) = ,/ E aO:DauD:v.
Q lxxl<m
1d1<m
It followsfromstandardresultson Sobolevspacesandfromthe uniformellip-
ticityof A (i.e., '(x, () > clfl2m,for all ( E Rk andsomec > O)that a satisfies
(4.2).
By (2.2)andthe Sobolevimbedding theorem[Ad, Theorem5.4, p. 97],we see
that b(u,v) = AQruv satisfies(4.3).
Whenk > 2m, we alsohave,by usingthe Sobolevandthe Holderinequalities
that,foru,v E V
| ruv < ||r||LP(X)||U||L9(Q)
IIVIIL2*
(Q))
Q
where2* = 2k/(k - 2m) and 1/p + 1/s + 1/2* = 1.
Therefore,(4.5) followsfromthe Rellich-Kondrachov theorem[Ad, Theorem
6.2, p. 144]. Similarresultsareobtainedwhenk < 2m by use of [Ad, Theorem
5.4, CasesB andC, p. 97 andTheorem6.2, equations(4) and (6), p. 144].Much
likein [dF, Proofof Proposition1.11,p. 43],onethenshowsthat the assumption
In+I,oimpliesthat 1Ai1 >+w as n >w.
Wenowstate
THEOREM4.1. Underhvypothveses (2.1), (2.2) and (4.7), estimates(2.3) and
(2.4) holdand
/ \ -2m/k

PROOF. Estimate(2.3)holdswhenr is continuous

andboundedawayfromzero
(see [Me, Theorem5.12,p. 188]);hence,for r nonnegative,
we obtainthe same

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 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L.
316 LAPIDUS
resultby replacingr by r + 6 andletting6
we thenobtain(4.8)and (2.3)exactlyas in > O. In lightof Lemmas4.1 and4.3,
the proofof Theorem3.1. Notethat
|
QI rk/2mpA = |
QI
rk/2mpA = |
Q
(r+)k/2mp g

Likewise,
we have
THEOREM4.2. For the Neumann
problem,if r,Q and Jqsatisfy(2.1), (2.2)
and(3.7), then(2.3), (2.4) and(4.8) hold.
PROOF. WenowconsiderV = Hm(Q);
V1= Hom(Q) we use, in particular,Lemma4.3 with
andV2= Hm(Q);andthe proofgoesthrough
4.1. [1 as in Theorems
3.2 and
5. The Schrodingeroperator. In this
under section,we givesufficientconditions
whicha positiveoperatorof "Schrodinger type"andwithanindefinite
hasdiscrete"spectrum" in an unbounded weight
theasymptotic open set Q c Rk andwe thendetermine
distributionof its eigenvalues.
andmethodsof j4 and previousworks[Ro Wecombine,in particular, theresults
2; Ro 3; Fl; etc.] on Schrodinger
operators withpositiveweights.
DEFINITION5.1. Letf bea continuous
Rk.Wesay thatf satisfies(E)if thereexists functiondefinedon an opensubset£ of
a positivenumber so
becontinuously extendedto S = {x E Rk:dist(x,) < so} and, suchthatf can
thereexistsr1> O suchthat,for all (x,y) E for all E E (Oso)
S x S with Ix - Yl < r1,we
If(x)- f(Y)l < sIf(z)I have
REMARKS.1. Forinstance,f(x) = (1
2. If a positivefunctionf satisfies(E),so
+IXI2)a,
withff > 1, satisfies(E).
does its inverse
In the following,we set QP = {X E Q |X| > P} forp > O. 1/f.
(5.1) Let q be a nonnegative functionin Llko/c2m(Q),
and satisfying(E)on QR1 n Q+, forsomeR1 > ° tendingto +oo at infinity
(5.2) Let r be a functiondefinedon Q such
Moreover, that q-lr tendsto Oat infinity.
we supposethat
(a) Assumption(2.2)holdsand IQ+\Q°+I =
°
(b) Therestrictionof r to QR1 n Q+
satisfies(E).
(C)
JQ (r+)k/2m = +0O
(Notethat r is allowedto changesignanywhere in Q.)
REMARK. (5.2) holds,for example,if Q =
r(x)
= +1 if Ixl> 1. Rk with r(x) =-1 if |x| < 1 and
(5.3) Let £ be a formallyselfadjoint,
defined uniformlyellipticoperatorof order2m
on Q andverifying(2.1):
£= E Dt(a:D:);
a1<m
,'S1
<m
we
supposethat for all 1a1 = 1A1= m, aO: satisfies
that thereexistsd > Osuchthat forall open (E)on Q/R1; in addition,we
assume
subsets£ of Q,
| , aO:DauD:u> dilullHm(w))
w Ial=ldl=m btuE Hm(S)

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 ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDERINITE WEIGHTS 317

DEFINITION5.2. If £ is an opensubsetof Rk, V°(S) denotesthe completion

of
CO(£) withrespectto theHilbertnorm
/ \ 1/2
llullvq(w) = t||U||Hm(w) + | q|u|2)

ThespaceV1(S) is theset of restrictions

to S of elementsof V°(Q).
Westudythe variational eigenvalue problem
(S) J4U= (£ + q)u= Aru, in Q, withDirichletboundaryconditions.
In otherwords,A is an eigenvalue of (S) if thereexistsa nonzerou in V°(Q)such
that the aboveequationholdsin the distributional sense.
We now applythe abstracttheorydevelopedin j4.A; here, H = L2(Q)is
equippedwith its usualinnerproduct(, ), V = V°(Q), b(u,u) = (ru,u) and
a(u,u) = (u, u) + (qu,u), foru E V.
It followsfrom(5.1)and(5.3)that a is coerciveon V°(Q);further,the factthat
q tendsto infinityat infinityimpliesthat the imbeddingof V°(Q) into L2(Q)is
compact.Moreover, (4.5)holdsbecause,forp > O,

JQP II - q ) (XQ (zEP

qlUl 6(P)II?£IIVq(QP)7 ) <
whereb(p)tendsto zeroas p > +oo;this followssince,by (5.2),r/q tendsto zero
at infinity.
Consequently,the spectrumof (S) is discrete;moreover, the eigenvalues of (S)
arecharacterized by the "max-min"principle" (4.6).
Let A+(r,) [resp.,A+(r,)] denotethe nonnegative eigenvalues of the varia-
tionalDirichlet[resp.,Neumann]boundaryvalueproblem
:4U= Aru, in S c Q; u E V°(S) [resp.,u E V1(S)].
Set yO+()i;r,,JJ,
Jq)= EA,+(rW)<.A
1 andNi+(A;r,s,:4)= EA+(row)<S 1; oneindi-
catesin this waythe dependenceon the weightfunctionr, the openset S andthe
operator:4.
Notethat
No+(A;r,Q,:4)= N+ (>))
whereN+(A) standsfor the numberof nonnegative eigenvaluesof (S) less than
A > O.
Weshalluse the subsequent
lemma,whichis derivedfromLemma4.3.
LEMMA 5.1. If W1and W2 are two disjointopensets in £ c Q such that
wl UW2 = X, then
No+(A;
r,wl, A)+ No+(A;
r,W2, ) < No+(>;r)) ) < N+(>;r)) )
< N+ (A;r,wl, A)+ N+ (A;r,W2, )

Thisis duein particular

to the inclusions
Vq°
(w1) d3Vq°
(w2) c Vq°
(w) and V1(w) c V1(w1) d3V1(£2 ) £

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 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L.
318 LAPIDUS

Let us considera coveringof Rk by a

countablefamilyof disjointopencubes
{Q¢}¢eZk withcenterxf andsidesof length:
Rk= U Q¢.
¢Zk

Let R > R1. Set B = {x E Q:Ixl < R} andG

= QR= {X E Q:Ixl > R}; write
G+ = {x E G:r(x) > O} and G_ = {X E G:
r(x) < O}.
Fix A > O;let Ga = {x E G:Ar(x)- q(x) > O}.
Wenotethat G+ andGa areopen;moreover,
we have
Ga c G+ and dist(G>,G\G+)> O;
thisfollowssincer > ey/Son Gaandr,q are
wechooseR1 (andR > R1) SOlargethat q >continuous on G+;hereandthereafter,
eyon QR1forsomepositiveconstant
ey;
this is possiblein viewof (5.1). Since,by (5.2),
thatwe nowintroducearefinite. GA,is bounded,the sets I andJ
Put I = {¢ E zk Qf c G>} and J = {¢ E zk
Qf n Ga 7&0}. Wechoose71so
smallthat (U/;EJQf) c G+.
Wefurthermakesometechnicalassumptions
positive on r, q and GA,(recallthat r is
on G>):
z ' z ' -1
(5.5) lim E (r¢)k/2m) E (r )k/2m) = O
J\I
%¢E k¢EI
whererf = r(x¢)for¢ E zk.
(5.6) Finally,we supposethat thereexist >'
> Oand c > Osuchthat Ga is
Jordancontended (see [LoS, Chapter8])and [GA]< c[G>/2],
[GA] VA > >') where
= tGArk/2m.Intuitively, (5.5)meansthatdGais of zeromeasurewith
to
r(x)dx;moreover, respect
hypothesis(5.6)is of Tauberian
type.
Wecannowstate
THEOREM5.1. Underhypotheses
(S)
(5.1)-(5.3)and (5.5)-(5.6),the spectrumof
is discreteand estimate(2.7) holds:

N+(>) / [(Ar-q)+]k/2mU) asA+oo,

n+
where
Q+ = {x E Q:r(x) > O}.
The ideaof the proofconsistsin breakingRk
into
estimatesso obtainedwith the helpof Lemma5.1.disjointpiecesand linking
the
set
B, we applythe resultsof j4.B, wherer Insidethe boundedopen
we is allowedto be "singular";
outsideB)
reducethe problemto Ga on whichr is
similar
to that of [Fl]canbe used. "smooth" and positiveand a method
ToproveTheorem5.1,we shallneed
the-followingresults:
PROPOSITION5.1. Thereexist two positive
all
A sufWciently constantsc' and c" such that, for
large,
C/Ak/2m
[G>]< W(#A)
< CAk/2m [G>] X
where
(A) = AQ+[(Ar- q)+]k/2m,US .

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 The
Thisresult
follows
now
easily
follows
fromhypothesis
by letting(5.5);
£ 0; here
observe
and
that
thereafter,
E Oimplies
£ denotes
that 71 )the
°*

ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEFINITE WEIGHTS 319

PROOF OF PROPOSITION5.1. It followsfrom(5.1)-(5.3)that

(p()i)= | (>r_ q)k/2m8,£ < c"| (,\r)k/2m

G> G>,
andfrom(5.6)that
| (>r_ q)k/2mp,/ > | (Ar _ q)k/2mp: > c'| (Ar)k/2m;
G, GA/2 G,

notethat r-r+ and)r - q = ()ir-q)+ on G) 2 Ga/2. 0

PROPOSITION5 .2 . If Theorem 5.1 holdsfor No+(A;r,Q,A1),thenit holdsfor
No+(A;r, Q, '
where
J4), = £' + q and £' is theprincipalpartof £.
PROOF OF PROPOSITION5.2. This is a simpleconsequence of interpolation
theoremsandof Lemma4.2 if we notice-as in [Ro 2, Lemma1.1,p. 353] that
(p((l + s)A) < (1 + Cl06) (p(A))

forsomepositiveconstantc1.
variableusedin Definition5.1. 0
PROPOSITION5. 3.

> lim 9-1 (A)E W+(>,f) = 1

limO
J
- lim limOp 1(A)E (R (>,f)
I
where
f ( , f) IQ|
[(1i: s)Arm-q¢]k/2m,u
Qf = q(x) and
U -(21r)-k J d(.
{&,ER Lial-ldl=m aCtR(l:f )((>+d<l }

PROOF OF THEOREM5.1. In lightof Proposition5.2, it sufficesto establish

Theorem5.1 for JA'.
Now,we makeuse of the covering(Q¢)¢zk of Rk andof Lemma5.1:

(5.7) E No+(A;r,Q¢,/) < No+(>;r,Q,A )

I
< N1+(A;r,B, At)+ E N1 (A;rXQf) A )
J
+N1+(A;r,D,A')+N1+(A;r,G\G+,/),
whereD = G+\(U¢EJ Q)
Next,weremarkthatN1+(A;r,G\G+, ') = Obecauseon G\G+, r is nonpositive
N+(A;r,D, ') = O;the
Moreover,
and,by (4.6),thereareno positiveeigenvalues.

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(5.8) N+ (>; r,N+(>)
B, A')
| (>r)k/2m,u/:)
| [(Ar _ q)+]k/2m,uz, as A +oo.as A +oo,

JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L.

320 LAPIDUS

latterequalityholdssinceD c Ua,whereU) = {x
E G+:Ar(x)- < hence
(AUz qlul2/
JUA rlul2) > > and,by (4.6),N+(A;r,U>,') = O.
q(x) 0};

By Theorems4.1 and4.2, we have

B+
whereB+ = {x E B:r(x) > O}andi = 0 or 1
in fact, by (2.2), we may chooseR big according
to theboundaryconditions;
enoughso that IB+] > 0; moreover,we
observethat, becauseB is bounded,

X (>r)k/2mp,g,, X [(Ar _ q)+]k/2m,tb

B+ B+ asS > +oo
Itfollows,in particular,that p-l(A)Ni(A;r,B, ') > Oas A > +oo.
Thanksto (5.7),weonlyhaveto workon U¢EJ QF,
wherer is positivelybounded
frombelowby A-leyand satisfies(g). On each
cube QF,wheref E J, we can
compare Jk'witha homogeneous operatorwithconstantcoefficients;
i= 0 or 1, it followsfromcondition(E)and precisely,for
fromLemmas4.1 and4.2 that, forn
smallenough,
(5.9) Ni ([(1-6)>-q¢/r¢];r¢,Q¢, ¢) < Ni+(>;rQsQ
< Ni+([(l+ 6)>-q¢/r¢];r¢,Q¢,:¢)
24)
where£.¢= EI<xl=ldl=m a^,:(x¢)D+: and,as above,r<;= r(x,¢);furthermore,
knowby a specialcaseof [Me, Theorem5.1, p. 175 we
that
thereexistsC independent and Theorem5.12,p. 188]
of ¢ suchthat
(5.10) INi+([(1i s)S - q¢/r¢];
r¢,Q¢,£¢)-H¢IQ¢l[(l+ 6)>rf-q¢] I
< C (Arf ) (k-1 ) /2m

In light of Lemma5.1, Propositions5.1-5.3

and
conclude the proofof Theorem5.1 by choosing£ = equations(5.7)-(5.10),we
A > +oo. >-1/2(2m-1) and by letting
O
Thenextstatementis reallya corollaryof the
an extensionof Weyl'sformula(Theorem4.1).proofof Theorem5.1 althoughit
is
THEOREM 5 . 2. If in assumption
finite,
(5.2)(c)we suprpose
we mustreplacethe conclusionof Theorem insteadthatJQ|r|k/2m is
5.1 bythatof Theorem 4.1:

n+
REMARKS. 1. Of course,analogousestimateshold
that hypotheses(5.1), (5.2)and (5.5),(5.6)are for negativeeigenvalues
provided
changed
It is noteworthy thatthe valueof JQ(r_)k/2m doesnot interfereaccordingly.
totics
of N+(A;S,r,Q) and vice versa. Wegive an withthe asymp-
and
N-(A) do not havethe sameestimate(oneis given example belowwhereN+(A)
other
by Theorem5.2). Wenotethat,in the case by Theorem 5.1 andthe
whenJQ(r+)k/2m arebothfinite,
Theorem 5.2 (andits analoguefor N-) has beenproved
hypotheses
by Rozenbljum underslightlydifferent
[Ro 1, Theorem2, p. 246].

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 N (>) (21r) (Bk) |>| / X as A -oo,

ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS WITH INDEFINITE WEIGHTS 321

2. A resultsimilarto Theorems5.1 and 5.2 couldalso be obtainedby the

samemethodsformixedDirichlet-Neumann problems(undersuitablecompactness
hypotheses).
3. Recently,Gurarie[Gu]has studiedthe asymptoticdistribution of the eigen-
valuesof operatorsof Schrodinger type in Rk havinga smoothpositiveweight
operators,
function;in his work,basedin parton the theoryof pseudodifferential
speed"condition.
the analogueof condition(E)is the so-called"finitepropagation
Thefollowingresultis of interestforcertainapplications:
PROPOSITION 5.4. Theconclusions of Theorems 5.1 and5.2 remainvalidif we
dropthehypothesis thatq tendsto +oo at infinityandreplaceit bythe assumption
thatr is positiveoutsideB.
Inthiscase,as in theabstractpartof 04,theimbedding of V intoH is continuous
(butnot compact);howeverT is compactby (5.4)sincewe still assumethat q-lr
tendsto 0 at infinity.
EXAMPLE 5.1. Wenowillustrateourresultsby considering the followingeigen-
valueproblem:
(ES) = (-/\ + q)u= Aru, in Rk,
aRu
where
(-1 if Ixl<1,
r(x) =
0 if Ixl= 1,
<
+ 1 if Ixl> 1,
t
andwhereq satisfies(5.1) [e.g.,q(x)= (1 + 1Sl2)a withff > 1].
Accordingto Theorem5.1, Theorem5.2 andthe precedingRemark1, we then
have
5 . 1.
COROLLARY

and
N+(A) (2X) kBk| [(>-q(x))+]k/2dx, as A > +oo,
Ixl>l

whereBk denotesthe volumeof the unitballin Rk.

NOTEADDEDIN PROOF.Becauseof anerroneous numerical choiceof the sharp
Sobolevconstant[LY,equation(19), p. 316],the claimin [LiY,Theorem2 and
Corollary 2]thattheconstantfoundthereis betterthanin [Lb]is notjustified.The
bestconstantforthe Cwikel-Lieb-Rozenbljum boundseemsstilldueto Liebin [Lb],
as is clearlydiscussedon page475 of E. H. Lieb, On characteristicexponentsin
turbulence,Comm.Math.Phys.92 (1984),473-480.In j3.C of the presentpaper,
one shouldthereforeuse [Lb, Theorem2, p. 243]ratherthan [LiY, Theorem2,
p. 314];morespecifically,if Lk and Ck are definedas in [Lb, p. 243]and [LiY,
one mustreplaceok by Ck= (Lk)-2/kin equation(3.10)of
p. 310],respectively,
Theorem3.3 andsubstituteLk-1Ni(A)for the left-handside of the inequalityin
Corollary 3.2.
Wewishto thankProfessorElliottH. Liebforbringingthesefactsto ouratten-
tion.

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322 JACQUELINE FLECKINGER AND M. L. LAPIDUS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. We wish to thank Argonne National Laboratory which

made this collaboration possible. Jacqueline Fleckinger is grateful to the University
of Southern California for its hospitality and to the organizers of the International
Conference at Pan Am University (Texas). Michel L. Lapidus is indebted to the
Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at Berkeley of which he was a member
while part of this paper was completed and to the Institute for Mathematics and
its Applications at Minneapolis for its hospitality in November 1984.
Both authors are thankful to E. Brian Davies for his remarks and to Didier
Robert and Barry Simon for some references.

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DEPARTEMENT DE MATHEMATIQuES 1R2, UNIVERSITE PAUL SABATIER, 118 ROUTE DE

NARBONNE, 31062 TOULOUSE, CEDEX, FRANCE (Current address of Jacqueline Fleckinger)
MATHEMATICALSCIENCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94720
Currentaddress(M. L. Lapidus): Department of Mathematics, DRB 306, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089- 1113

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