Rebuttal of Donnelly’s paper on the spectral gap

The spectral gap conjecture of M. van den Berg [2, formula (65)] asserts that λ2 − λ1 ≥ 3π for all convex euclidean domains of diameter 1, where λ1 and λ2 denote the first two eigenvalues of the Dirichlet Laplacian. Notice that equality holds for the 1-dimensional unit interval, which can be regarded also as a degenerate n-dimensional rectangular box. The gap estimate is conjectured to hold more generally for Schrodinger operators with convex potentials, under Dirichlet boundary conditions; see the work of S.-T. Yau and collaborators [9, 11]. This Schrodinger gap conjecture was proved some time ago in 1 dimension by R. Lavine [8], and more recently in all dimensions by B. Andrews and J. Clutterbuck [1]. The proof in this journal by H. Donnelly [3] of the original gap conjecture in 2 dimensions (for the Dirichlet Laplacian with zero potential) is not correct. The Editors of Mathematische Zeitschrift have asked us to describe the flaws in the proof, in order to clarify the state of the literature. Donnelly’s approach to the problem is a natural one: first perform a shape optimization to rule out a non-degenerate minimizing domain, and then analyze the spectral gap for a sequence of domains degenerating to an interval, with the help of results by D. Jerison [5]. (For some history on this approach, and on the gap conjecture more generally, see the report on the AIM meeting “Low Eigenvalues of Laplace and Schrodinger Operators” [10], especially page 12 of the open problems list.) The error lies in the proof of the shape optimization step, as we now explain. Donnelly wishes to prove that no minimizing domain can exist for