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The question of determining for which eigenvalues there exists an eigenfunction which has the same number of nodal domains as the label of the associated eigenvalue (Courant-sharp property) was motivated by the analysis of minimal spectral partitions. In previous works, many examples have been analyzed corresponding to squares, rectangles, disks, triangles, tori, \ldots . A natural toy model for further investigations is the M\"obius strip, a non-orientable surface with Euler characteristic $0$, and particularly the "square" M\"obius strip whose eigenvalues have higher multiplicities. In this case, we prove that the only Courant-sharp Dirichlet eigenvalues are the first and the second, and we exhibit peculiar nodal patterns., Comment: Revised version prior to publication. Accepted for publication in Portugaliae Mathematica

Let $\Omega\subset \mathbb R^d\,, d\geq 2$, be a bounded open set, and denote by $\lambda\_j(\Omega), j\geq 1$, the eigenvalues of the Dirichlet Laplacian arranged in nondecreasing order, with multiplicities. The weak form of Pleijel's theorem states that the number of eigenvalues $\lambda\_j(\Omega)$, for which there exists an associated eigenfunction with precisely $j$ nodal domains (Courant-sharp eigenvalues), is finite. The purpose of this note is to determine an upper bound for Courant-sharp eigenvalues, expressed in terms of simple geometric invariants of $\Omega$. We will see that this is connected with one of the favorite problems considered by Y. Safarov., Comment: Revised Oct. 12, 2016. To appear in Journal of Spectral Theory 6 (2016)