Uniform upper bounds on Courant sharp Neumann eigenvalues of chain domains

Abstract: We obtain upper bounds on the number of nodal domains of Laplace eigenfunctions on chain domains with Neumann boundary conditions. The chain domains consist of a family of planar domains, with piecewise smooth boundary, that are joined by thin necks. Our work does not assume a lower bound on the width of the necks in the chain domain. As a consequence, we prove an upper bound on the number of Courant sharp eigenfunctions that is independent of the widths of the necks.