In this dissertation, we consider some spectral problems of optical waveguide and quantum graph theories. We study spectral problems that arise when considerating optical waveguides in photonic band-gap (PBG) materials. Specifically, we address the issue of the existence of modes guided by linear defects in photonic crystals. Such modes can be created for frequencies in the spectral gaps of the bulk material and thus are evanescent in the bulk (i.e., confined to the guide). In the quantum graph part we prove the validity of the limiting absorption principle for finite graphs with infinite leads attached. In particular, this leads to the absence of a singular continuous spectrum. Another problem in quantum graph theory that we consider involves opening gaps in the spectrum of a quantum graph by replacing each vertex of the original graph with a finite graph. We show that such "decorations" can be used to create spectral gaps.

A star graph consists of a vertex to which a set of edges are connected. Such an object can be used to, among other things, model the electromagnetic properties of quantum wires. A scalar field theory is constructed on the star graph and its properties are investigated. It turns out that there exist Kirchoff's rules for the conserved charges in the system leading to restrictions of the possible type of boundary conditions at the vertex. Scale invariant boundary conditions are investigated in detail. / En stjärngraf består av en nod på vilken vilken ett antal kanter är anslutna. Ett sådant objekt kan bland annat användas till att modellera de elektromagnetiska egenskaperna hos kvanttrådar. En skalärfältsteori konstrueras på stjärngrafen och dess egenskaper undersöks. Det visar sig att det exisisterar en typ av Kirchoffs lagar för de konserverade laddningarna i systemet. Detta leder till restriktioner på vilka randvillkor som är möjliga vid noden. Skalinvarianta randvillkor undersöks i detalj.

Recently there is a lot of interest in the study of Sturm-Liouville problems on graphs, called quantum graphs. However the study on cyclic quantum graphs are scarce. In this thesis, we shall rst consider a characteristic function approach to the spectral analysis for the Schrodinger operator H acting on graphene-like graphs|in nite periodic hexagonal graphs with 3 distinct adjacent edges and 3 distinct potentials de ned on them. We apply the Floquet-Bloch theory to derive a Floquet equation with parameters theta_1, theta_2, whose roots de ne all the spectral values of H. Then we show that the spectrum of this operator is continuous. Our results generalize those of Kuchment-Post and Korotyaev-Lobanov. Our method is also simpler and more direct. Next we solve two Ambarzumyan problems, one for graphene and another for a cyclic graph with two vertices and 3 edges. Finally we solve an Hochstadt-Lieberman type inverse spectral problem for the same cyclic graph with two vertices and 3 edges. Keywords : quantum graphs, graphene, spectrum, Ambarzumyan problem, inverse spectral problem.

The focus of this study is scattering matrices in the framework of quantum graphs,more precisely the matrices which describe equi-transmission. They are unitary andHermitian and are independent of the energies of the associated system. In the firstarticle it is shown that in the case where reflection does not occur, such matrices existonly in even dimensions. A complete description of the matrices in dimensions 2, 4,and 6 is given. In dimension 6, 60 five-parameter families are obtained. The 60 matricesyield a combinatorial bipartite graph K62. In the second article it is shown that whenreflection is allowed, the standard matching conditions matrix is equi-transmitting forany dimension n. All equi-transmitting matrices up to order 6 are described. For oddn (3 and 5), the standard matching conditions matrix is the only equi-transmitting matrix.For even n (2, 4 and 6) there exists other equi-transmitting matrices apart fromthose equivalent to the standard matching conditions. All such additional matriceshave zero trace.

Spectral and wave function statistics of the quantum directed graph, QdG, are studied. The crucial feature of this model is that the direction of a bond (arc) corresponds to the direction of the waves propagating along it. We pay special attention to the full Neumann digraph, FNdG, which consists of pairs of antiparallel arcs between every node, and differs from the full Neumann graph, FNG, in that the two arcs have two incommensurate lengths. The spectral statistics of the FNG (with incommensurate bond lengths) is believed to be universal, i.e. to agree with that of the random matrix theory, RMT, in the limit of large graph size. However, the standard perturbative treatment of the field theoretical representation of the 2-point correlation function [1, 2] for a FNG, does not account for this behaviour. The nearest-neighbor spacing distribution of the closely related FNdG is studied numerically. An original, efficient algorithm for the generation of the spectrum of large graphs allows for the observation that the distribution approaches indeed universality at increasing graph size (although the convergence cannot be ascertained), in particular "level repulsion" is confirmed. The numerical technique employs a new secular equation which generalizes the analogous object known for undirected graphs [3, 4], and is based on an adaptation to digraphs of the idea of wave function continuity. In view of the contradiction between the field theory [2] and the strong indications of universality, a non-perturbative approach to analysing the universal limit is presented. The substitution of the FNG by the FNdG results in a field theory with fewer degrees of freedom. Despite this simplification, the attempt is inconclusive. Possible applications of this approach are suggested. Regarding the wave function statistics, a field theoretical representation for the spectral average of the wave intensity on an fixed arc is derived and studied in the universal limit. The procedure originates from the study of wave function statistics on disordered metallic grains [5] and is used in conjunction with the field theory approach pioneered in [2].

In the present theses we study spectral and resonance properties of quantum graphs. First, we consider graphs with rationally related lengths of the edges. In particular examples we study trajectories of resonances which arise if the ratio of the lengths of the edges is perturbed. We prove that the number of resonances under this perturbation is locally conserved. The main part is devoted to asymptotics of the number of resonances. We find a criterion how to distinguish graphs with non-Weyl asymptotics (i.e. constant in the leading term is smaller than expected). Furthermore, due to explicit construction of unitary equivalent operators we explain the non-Weyl behaviour. If the graph is placed into a magnetic field, the Weyl/non-Weyl characteristic of asymptotical behaviour does not change. On the other hand, one can turn a non-Weyl graph into another non-Weyl graph with different "effective size". In the final part of the theses, we describe equivalence between radial tree graphs and the set of halfline Hamiltonians and use this result for proving the absence of the absolutely continuous spectra for a class of sparse tree graphs.

This thesis consists of two papers, enumerated by Roman numerals. The main focus is on the spectral theory of <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?n" />-Laplacians. Here, an <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?n" />-Laplacian, for integer <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?n" />, refers to a metric graph equipped with a differential operator whose differential expression is the <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?2n" />-th derivative. In Paper I, a classification of all vertex conditions corresponding to self-adjoint <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?n" />-Laplacians is given, and for these operators, a secular equation is derived. Their spectral asymptotics are analysed using the fact that the secular function is close to a trigonometric polynomial, a type of almost periodic function. The notion of the quasispectrum for <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?n" />-Laplacians is introduced, identified with the positive roots of the associated trigonometric polynomial, and is proved to be unique. New results about almost periodic functions are proved, and using these it is shown that the quasispectrum asymptotically approximates the spectrum, counting multiplicities, and results about asymptotic isospectrality are deduced. The results obtained on almost periodic functions have wider applications outside the theory of differential operators. Paper II deals more specifically with bi-Laplacians (<img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?n=2" />), and a notion of standard conditions is introduced. Upper and lower estimates for the spectral gap --- the difference between the two lowest eigenvalues - for these standard conditions are derived. This is achieved by adapting the methods of graph surgery used for quantum graphs to fourth order differential operators. It is observed that these methods offer stronger estimates for certain classes of metric graphs. A geometric version of the Ambartsumian theorem for these operators is proved.

Ein metrischer Graph mit einem selbstadjungierten, negativen Laplace-Operator wird Quantengraph genannt. In dieser Arbeit werden Transporteigenschaften zufälliger Laplace-Operatoren betrachtet. Dazu wird die Multiskalenanalyse (MSA) von euklidischen Räumen auf metrische Graphen angepasst. Eine Überdeckung der metrischen Graphen wird aus gleichmäßig polynomiellem Wachstum und der gleichmäßigen Beschränkung der Kantenlängen gewonnen. Als Hilfsmittel für die MSA werden eine Combes-Thomas-Abschätzung und eine Geometrische Resolventenungleichung bewiesen. Zusammen mit einer Wegner-Abschätzung und der Existenz von verallgemeinerten Eigenfunktionen wird mittels der modifizierten MSA spektrale Lokalisierung (d.h. reines Punktspektrum) mit polynomiell fallenden Eigenfunktionen am unteren Rand des Spektrums für negative Laplace-Operatoren mit zufälligem Potential geschlossen. Dabei sind alle Randbedingungen, die eine nach unten beschränkten Operator liefern, wählbar. / We prove spectral localization for infinite metric graphs with a self-adjoint Laplace operator and a random potential. Therefor we adapt the multiscale analysis (MSA) from the euclidean case to metric graphs. In the MSA a covering of the graph is needed which is obtained from a uniform polynomial growth of the graph. The geometric restrictions of the graph contain a uniform bound on the edge lengths. As boundary conditions we allow all settings which give a lower bounded self-adjoint operator with an associated quadratic form. The result is spectral localization (i.e. pure point spectrum) with polynomially decaying eigenfunctions in a small interval at the ground state energy.

Ces dernières années, de nouveaux matériaux bidimensionnels aux propriétés surprenantes ont été découverts, le plus connu étant le graphène. Dans ces matériaux, les électrons du niveau de Fermi ont une masse apparente nulle, et peuvent être décrits par l’équation de Dirac sans masse. Un tel phénomène apparaît dans des situations très générales, pour les matériaux bidimensionnels ayant une structure périodique en « nid d’abeille ». De plus, la prise en compte d’interactions mène à des équations de Dirac non linéaires. Ces équations apparaissent également dans l’étude des paquets d’ondes lumineuses dans certaines fibres optiques. Le but de cette thèse est d’étudier l’existence et la stabilité de solutions stationnaires de ces équations avec termes non linéaires sous-critiques et critiques, et de montrer qu’ils sont la limite de solutions stationnaires de l’équation de Schrödinger non linéaire à potentiel périodique dans certains régimes de paramètres. Du point de vue mathématique, on devra résoudre les équations d’Euler-Lagrange de fonctionnelles d'énergie fortement indéfinies faisant intervenir l’opérateur de Dirac. Il s’agira en particulier d’étudier le cas des non-linéarités avec exposant critique, encore mal comprises pour ce type de fonctionnelle, et qui apparaissent naturellement en optique non linéaire. Les résultats de cette thèse pourraient avoir un impact important en physique, en particulier en physique du solide et optique non linéaire. / Recently, new two-dimensional materials possessing unique properties have been discovered, the most famous being the graphene. In this materials, electrons at the Fermi level behave as massless particles and can be described by the massless Dirac equation. This phenomenon is quite general, and it is a common features of "honeycomb" periodic structures. Moreover, taking into account interaction leads to non-linear Dirac equations, which also appear in the description of light propagation in particular waveguides. The aim of the thesis is to study existence and stability of stationary solutions for those equations with both sub-critical and critical nonlinearities, and to show that they are limit of stationary solutions to the Schroedinger equation with honeycomb potential, for a suitable choice of parameters. This amounts to solving the Euler-Lagrange equation for strongly indefinite energy functionals, involving the Dirac operator. We will deal with critical nonlinearities, which are still poorly understood, and appear naturally in non-linear optics. This results may have an impact on the understanding some solid state or nonlinear optics systems.

Ein metrischer Graph mit einem selbstadjungierten, negativen Laplace-Operator wird Quantengraph genannt. In dieser Arbeit werden Transporteigenschaften zufälliger Laplace-Operatoren betrachtet. Dazu wird die Multiskalenanalyse (MSA) von euklidischen Räumen auf metrische Graphen angepasst. Eine Überdeckung der metrischen Graphen wird aus gleichmäßig polynomiellem Wachstum und der gleichmäßigen Beschränkung der Kantenlängen gewonnen. Als Hilfsmittel für die MSA werden eine Combes-Thomas-Abschätzung und eine Geometrische Resolventenungleichung bewiesen. Zusammen mit einer Wegner-Abschätzung und der Existenz von verallgemeinerten Eigenfunktionen wird mittels der modifizierten MSA spektrale Lokalisierung (d.h. reines Punktspektrum) mit polynomiell fallenden Eigenfunktionen am unteren Rand des Spektrums für negative Laplace-Operatoren mit zufälligem Potential geschlossen. Dabei sind alle Randbedingungen, die eine nach unten beschränkten Operator liefern, wählbar. / We prove spectral localization for infinite metric graphs with a self-adjoint Laplace operator and a random potential. Therefor we adapt the multiscale analysis (MSA) from the euclidean case to metric graphs. In the MSA a covering of the graph is needed which is obtained from a uniform polynomial growth of the graph. The geometric restrictions of the graph contain a uniform bound on the edge lengths. As boundary conditions we allow all settings which give a lower bounded self-adjoint operator with an associated quadratic form. The result is spectral localization (i.e. pure point spectrum) with polynomially decaying eigenfunctions in a small interval at the ground state energy.