Characterization of critical points of second Neumann eigenfunctions on triangles

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Let TT be a Euclidean triangle, and let a second Neumann eigenfunction of TT mean a Neumann Laplacian eigenfunction corresponding to the second eigenvalue. A triangle is acute if all its angles are less than π/2\pi/2, and it is isosceles with apex angle greater than π/3\pi/3 if two of its sides are equal and the angle between them exceeds π/3\pi/3.

Critical-point conjecture. If TT is not an equilateral triangle, then a second Neumann eigenfunction of TT has a critical point if and only if TT is an acute triangle that is not isosceles with apex angle greater than π/3\pi/3.

The preceding results establish the claim for several classes of triangles, including acute, obtuse, right, and isosceles triangles, but the full characterization remains open.

References

Primary source

Chris Judge and Sugata Mondal, “Euclidean Triangles Have No Hot Spots”, arXiv:1802.01800 (2021).

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