We discuss a general parametrization for vertices of quantum graphs and show, in particular, how the 's and 'couplings at an n-edge vertex can be approximated by means of n+ 1 couplings of the type provided the latter are properly scaled.

The longstanding open problem of approximating all singular vertex couplings in a quantum graph is solved. We present a construction in which the edges are decoupled; an each pair of their endpoints is joined by an edge carrying a potential and a vector potential coupled to the loose edges by a coupling. It is shown that if the lengths of the connecting edges shrink to zero and the potentials are properly scaled, the limit can yield any prescribed singular vertex coupling, and moreover, that such an approximation converges in the norm-resolvent sense.

We consider a Schrdinger particle on a graph consisting of <i>N</i> links joined at a single point. Each link supports a real locally integrable potential <i>V</i> _<i>j</i>; the self-adjointness is ensured by the type boundary condition at the vertex. If all the links are semi-infinite and ideally coupled, the potential decays as <i>x</i> ¹ along each of them, is nonrepulsive in the mean and weak enough, the corresponding Schrdinger operator has a single negative eigenvalue; we find its asymptotic behavior. We also derive a bound on the number of bound states and explain how the coupling constant may be interpreted in terms of a family of squeezed potentials.

We consider the Laplacian in a straight planar strip with Dirichlet boundary which has two Neumann'windows' of the same length, the centres of which are 2l apart, and study the asymptotic behaviour of the discrete spectrum as l. It is shown that there are pairs of eigenvalues around each isolated eigenvalue of a single-window strip and their distances vanish exponentially in the limit l. We derive an asymptotic expansion also in the case where a single window gives rise to a threshold resonance which the presence of the other window turns into a single isolated eigenvalue.

We consider the Dirichlet Laplacian for astrip in \mathbb{R}^2 with one straight boundary and a width \mathbb{R}^2 , where \mathbb{R}^2 is a smooth function of acompact support with a length 2<i>b</i>. We show that in the criticalcase, \mathbb{R}^2 , the operator has nobound statesfor small \mathbb{R}^2 .On the otherhand, a weakly bound state existsprovided \mathbb{R}^2 . In thatcase, there are positive <i>c</i> ₁,<i>c</i> ₂ suchthat the corresponding eigenvalue satisfies \mathbb{R}^2 for all \mathbb{R}^2 sufficiently small.