Algebraic properties of the Fermi variety for periodic graph operators

Abstract

We present a method to estimate the number of irreducible components of the Fermi varieties of periodic Schrödinger operators on graphs in terms of suitable asymptotics. Our main theorem is an abstract bound for the number of irreducible components of Laurent polynomials in terms of such asymptotics. We then show how the abstract bound implies irreducibility in many lattices of interest, including examples with more than one vertex in the fundamental cell such as the Lieb lattice as well as certain models obtained by the process of graph decoration.