On Pleijel's nodal domain theorem for the Robin problem

Abstract

AbstractWe prove an improved Pleijel nodal domain theorem for the Robin eigenvalue problem. In particular, we remove the restriction, imposed in previous work, that the Robin parameter be non‐negative. We also improve the upper bound in the statement of the Pleijel theorem. In the particular example of a Euclidean ball, we calculate the explicit value of the Pleijel constant for a generic constant Robin parameter, and we show that it is equal to the Pleijel constant for the Dirichlet Laplacian on a Euclidean ball.