On the critical points of Steklov eigenfunctions

Abstract

We consider the critical points of Steklov eigenfunctions on a compact, smooth $n$-dimensional Riemannian manifold $M$ with boundary $\partial M$. For generic metrics on $M$ we establish an identity which relates the sum of the indexes of a Steklov eigenfunction, the sum of the indexes of its restriction to $\partial M$, and the Euler characteristic of $M$. In dimension $2$ this identity gives a precise count of the interior critical points of a Steklov eigenfunction in terms of the Euler characteristic of $M$ and of the number of sign changes of $u$ on $\partial M$. In the case of the second Steklov eigenfunction on a genus $0$ surface, the identity holds for any metric. As a by-product of the main result, we show that for generic metrics on $M$ Steklov eigenfunctions are Morse functions in $M$.