A Rellich-type theorem for the Helmholtz equation in a junction of stratified media

Abstract: We prove that there are no non-zero square-integrable solutions to a two-dimensional Helmholtz equation in some unbounded inhomogeneous domains which represent junctions of stratified media. More precisely, we consider domains that are unions of three half-planes, where each half-plane is stratified in the direction orthogonal to its boundary. As for the well-known Rellich uniqueness theorem for a homogeneous exterior domain, our result does not require any boundary condition. Our proof is based on half-plane representations of the solution which are derived through a generalization of the Fourier transform adapted to stratified media. A byproduct of our result is the absence of trapped modes at the junction of open waveguides as soon as the angles between branches are greater than $\pi$/2.