We study Schrdinger operators on an infinite quantum graph of a chain form which consists of identical rings connected at the touching points by -couplings with a parameter\alpha\in {\bb R}. If the graph is' straight', ie periodic with respect to ring shifts, its Hamiltonian has a band spectrum with all the gaps open whenever 0. We consider a'bending'deformation of the chain consisting of changing one position at a single ring and show that it gives rise to eigenvalues in the open spectral gaps. We analyze dependence of these eigenvalues on the coupling and the'bending angle'as well as resonances of the system coming from the bending. We also discuss the behaviour of the eigenvalues and resonances at the edges of the spectral bands.

We consider a pair of isoperimetric problems arising in physics. The first concerns a Schrdinger operator in L^2(\mathbb{R}^2) with an attractive interaction supported on a closed curve , formally given by (<i>x</i>); we ask which curve of a given length maximizes the ground state energy. In the second problem we have a loop-shaped thread in L^2(\mathbb{R}^2), homogeneously charged but not conducting, and we ask about the (renormalized) potential-energy minimizer. Both problems reduce to purely geometric questions about inequalities for mean values of chords of . We prove an isoperimetric theorem for <i>p</i>-means of chords of curves when <i>p</i> 2, which implies in particular that the global extrema for the physical problems are always attained when is a circle. The letter concludes with a discussion of the <i>p</i>-means of chords when <i>p</i> &gt; 2.

A two-dimensional model of electron motion in a curved quantum wire of length 2<i>D</i> attached to a pair of macroscopic electrodes is studied. The wire is regarded as infinitely thin and supports a potential which is a combination of a constant transversal-mode energy and an attractive curvature-induced term. The system is shown to have at least one resonance which exhibits spectral concentration as <i>D</i>.

We discuss the discrete spectrum of N particles in a curved planar waveguide. If they are neutral fermions, the maximum number of particles that the waveguide can bind is given by a one-particle BirmanSchwinger bound in combination with the Pauli principle. On the other hand, if they are charged, e.g., electrons in a bent quantum wire, the Coulomb repulsion plays a crucial role. We prove a sufficient condition under which the discrete spectrum of such a system is empty.

We discuss approximations of the vertex coupling on a star-shaped quantum graph of n edges in the singular case when the wave functions are not continuous at the vertex and no edge-permutation symmetry is present. It is shown that the CheonShigehara technique using interactions with nonlinearly scaled couplings yields a 2n-parameter family of boundary conditions in the sense of norm resolvent topology. Moreover, using graphs with additional edges, one can approximate the {n+1\choose 2}-parameter family of all time-reversal invariant couplings.