Regularity of the optimal shape for the first eigenvalue of the Laplacian with volume and inclusion constraints

Tanguy Briançon, Jimmy Lamboley

Published 2008-07-14Version 1

We consider the well-known following shape optimization problem: $$\lambda_1(\Omega^*)=\min_{\stackrel{|\Omega|=a} {\Omega\subset{D}}} \lambda_1(\Omega), $$ where $\lambda_1$ denotes the first eigenvalue of the Laplace operator with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition, and $D$ is an open bounded set (a box). It is well-known that the solution of this problem is the ball of volume $a$ if such a ball exists in the box $D$ (Faber-Krahn's theorem). In this paper, we prove regularity properties of the boundary of the optimal shapes $\Omega^*$ in any case and in any dimension. Full regularity is obtained in dimension 2.