Scattering by local deformations of a straight leaky wire

We consider a model of a leaky quantum wire with the Hamiltonian $-\Delta -\alpha \delta(x-\Gamma)$ in $L^2(\R^2)$, where $\Gamma$ is a compact deformation of a straight line. The existence of wave operators is proven and the S-matrix is found for the negative part of the spectrum. Moreover, we conjecture that the scattering at negative energies becomes asymptotically purely one-dimensional, being determined by the local geometry in the leading order, if $\Gamma$ is a smooth curve and $\alpha \to\infty$.Comment: Latex2e, 15 page

An isoperimetric problem for leaky loops and related mean-chord inequalities

We consider a class of Hamiltonians in $L^2(\R^2)$ with attractive interaction supported by piecewise $C^2$ smooth loops $\Gamma$ of a fixed length $L$, formally given by $-\Delta-\alpha\delta(x-\Gamma)$ with $\alpha>0$. It is shown that the ground state of this operator is locally maximized by a circular $\Gamma$. We also conjecture that this property holds globally and show that the problem is related to an interesting family of geometric inequalities concerning mean values of chords of $\Gamma$.Comment: LaTeX, 16 page

Schroedinger operators with singular interactions: a model of tunneling resonances

We discuss a generalized Schr\"odinger operator in $L^2(\mathbb{R}^d), d=2,3$, with an attractive singular interaction supported by a $(d-1)$-dimensional hyperplane and a finite family of points. It can be regarded as a model of a leaky quantum wire and a family of quantum dots if $d=2$, or surface waves in presence of a finite number of impurities if $d=3$. We analyze the discrete spectrum, and furthermore, we show that the resonance problem in this setting can be explicitly solved; by Birman-Schwinger method it is cast into a form similar to the Friedrichs model.Comment: LaTeX2e, 34 page

A single-mode quantum transport in serial-structure geometric scatterers

We study transport in quantum systems consisting of a finite array of N identical single-channel scatterers. A general expression of the S matrix in terms of the individual-element data obtained recently for potential scattering is rederived in this wider context. It shows in particular how the band spectrum of the infinite periodic system arises in the limit $N\to\infty$. We illustrate the result on two kinds of examples. The first are serial graphs obtained by chaining loops or T-junctions. A detailed discussion is presented for a finite-periodic "comb"; we show how the resonance poles can be computed within the Krein formula approach. Another example concerns geometric scatterers where the individual element consists of a surface with a pair of leads; we show that apart of the resonances coming from the decoupled-surface eigenvalues such scatterers exhibit the high-energy behavior typical for the delta' interaction for the physically interesting couplings.Comment: 36 pages, a LaTeX source file with 2 TeX drawings, 3 ps and 3 jpeg figures attache

Bound states in point-interaction star-graphs

We discuss the discrete spectrum of the Hamiltonian describing a two-dimensional quantum particle interacting with an infinite family of point interactions. We suppose that the latter are arranged into a star-shaped graph with N arms and a fixed spacing between the interaction sites. We prove that the essential spectrum of this system is the same as that of the infinite straight "polymer", but in addition there are isolated eigenvalues unless N=2 and the graph is a straight line. We also show that the system has many strongly bound states if at least one of the angles between the star arms is small enough. Examples of eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are computed numerically.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX 2e with 9 eps figure

Leaky quantum graphs: approximations by point interaction Hamiltonians

We prove an approximation result showing how operators of the type $-\Delta -\gamma \delta (x-\Gamma)$ in $L^2(\mathbb{R}^2)$, where $\Gamma$ is a graph, can be modeled in the strong resolvent sense by point-interaction Hamiltonians with an appropriate arrangement of the $\delta$ potentials. The result is illustrated on finding the spectral properties in cases when $\Gamma$ is a ring or a star. Furthermore, we use this method to indicate that scattering on an infinite curve $\Gamma$ which is locally close to a loop shape or has multiple bends may exhibit resonances due to quantum tunneling or repeated reflections.Comment: LaTeX 2e, 31 pages with 18 postscript figure

Schrödinger operators with δ and δ′-potentials supported on hypersurfaces

Self-adjoint Schrödinger operators with δ and δ′-potentials supported on a smooth compact hypersurface are defined explicitly via boundary conditions. The spectral properties of these operators are investigated, regularity results on the functions in their domains are obtained, and analogues of the Birman–Schwinger principle and a variant of Krein’s formula are shown. Furthermore, Schatten–von Neumann type estimates for the differences of the powers of the resolvents of the Schrödinger operators with δ and δ′-potentials, and the Schrödinger operator without a singular interaction are proved. An immediate consequence of these estimates is the existence and completeness of the wave operators of the corresponding scattering systems, as well as the unitary equivalence of the absolutely continuous parts of the singularly perturbed and unperturbed Schrödinger operators. In the proofs of our main theorems we make use of abstract methods from extension theory of symmetric operators, some algebraic considerations and results on elliptic regularity

Geometric coupling thresholds in a two-dimensional strip

We consider the Laplacian in a strip $\mathbb{R}\times (0,d)$ with the boundary condition which is Dirichlet except at the segment of a length $2a$ of one of the boundaries where it is switched to Neumann. This operator is known to have a non-empty and simple discrete spectrum for any $a>0$. There is a sequence $0<a_1<a_2<...$ of critical values at which new eigenvalues emerge from the continuum when the Neumann window expands. We find the asymptotic behavior of these eigenvalues around the thresholds showing that the gap is in the leading order proportional to $(a-a_n)^2$ with an explicit coefficient expressed in terms of the corresponding threshold-energy resonance eigenfunction

On the spectrum of a bent chain graph

We study Schr\"odinger operators on an infinite quantum graph of a chain form which consists of identical rings connected at the touching points by $\delta$-couplings with a parameter $\alpha\in\R$. If the graph is "straight", i.e. periodic with respect to ring shifts, its Hamiltonian has a band spectrum with all the gaps open whenever $\alpha\ne 0$. We consider a "bending" deformation of the chain consisting of changing one position at a single ring and show that it gives rise to eigenvalues in the open spectral gaps. We analyze dependence of these eigenvalues on the coupling $\alpha$ and the "bending angle" as well as resonances of the system coming from the bending. We also discuss the behaviour of the eigenvalues and resonances at the edges of the spectral bands.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages with 7 figures; minor changes, references added; to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theo