Electromagnetic Steklov eigenvalues: existence and distribution in the self-adjoint case

Abstract

In previous works, it was suggested to use Steklov eigenvalues for Maxwell equations as target signature for nondestructive testing, and it was recognized that this eigenvalue problem cannot be reformulated as a standard eigenvalue problem for a compact operator. Consequently, a modified eigenvalue problem with the desired properties was proposed. We report that apart for a countable set of particular frequencies, the spectrum of the original self-adjoint eigenvalue problem consists of three disjoint parts: The essential spectrum consisting of the origin, an infinite sequence of positive eigenvalues which accumulate only at infinity and an infinite sequence of negative eigenvalues which accumulate only at zero. The analysis is based on a suitable topological decomposition, a representation of the operator as block operator and Schur-factorizations. For each Schur-complement, the existence of an infinite sequence of eigenvalues is proven via an intermediate value technique. The modified eigenvalue problem arises as limit of one Schur-complement.