EIGENVALUES AND EIGENFUNCTIONS OF DOUBLE LAYER POTENTIALS.

Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of two- and three-dimensional double layer potentials are considered. Let Ω be a C2 bounded region in Rn (n = 2, 3). The double layer potential K : L2(∂Ω) → L2(∂Ω) is defined by (Kψ)(x) ≡ ∫ ∂ Ω ψ(y)·vyE(x, y) dsy, where E(x, y) = ∫1/2π log1/∣x-y∣ , if n = 2, 1/π log1/∣x-y∣ , if n = 3, dsy is the line or surface element and vy is the outer normal derivative on ∂Ω. It is known that K is a compact operator on L2(∂Ω) and consists of at most a countable number of eigenvalues, with 0 as the only possible limit point. This paper aims to establish some relationships among the eigenvalues, the eigenfunctions, and the geometry of ∂Ω. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]