English

Spectral-Dimension Obstructions for Operators with Superlinear Counting Laws

Spectral Theory 2026-04-02 v1 Number Theory

Abstract

We show that single-valuation exponential kernels, under mild regularity assumptions, converge in the continuum limit to a fourth-order operator with heat asymptotics Θ(t)t1/4\Theta(t)\sim t^{-1/4} and hence spectral dimension ds=12d_s=\tfrac12. Independently, a Tauberian analysis implies that any self-adjoint operator with superlinear eigenvalue counting N(λ)λL(λ)N(\lambda)\sim \lambda\,L(\lambda) must satisfy Θ(t)t1L(1/t)\Theta(t)\sim t^{-1}L(1/t) and therefore has spectral dimension ds=2d_s=2. Since spectral dimension is invariant under unitary equivalence and compact perturbations, these exponents are incompatible, yielding a structural obstruction that separates single-valuation kernel limits from operators with accelerated spectral growth.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.00052,
  title  = {Spectral-Dimension Obstructions for Operators with Superlinear Counting Laws},
  author = {Douglas F. Watson and Tiziano Valentinuzzi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.00052},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

31 pages

R2 v1 2026-07-01T11:46:55.132Z