Laplace and Steklov extremal metrics via $n$-harmonic maps

Abstract: We present a unified description of extremal metrics for the Laplace and Steklov eigenvalues on manifolds of arbitrary dimension using the notion of $n$-harmonic maps. Our approach extends the well-known results linking extremal metrics for eigenvalues on surfaces with minimal immersions and harmonic maps. In the process, we uncover two previously unknown features of the Steklov eigenvalues. First, we show that in higher dimensions there is a unique normalization involving both the volume of the boundary and of the manifold itself, which leads to meaningful extremal eigenvalue problems. Second, we observe that the critical points of the eigenvalue functionals in a fixed conformal class have a natural geometric interpretation provided one considers the Steklov problem with a density. As an example, we construct a family of free boundary harmonic annuli in the three-dimensional ball and conjecture that they correspond to metrics maximizing the first Steklov eigenvalue in their respective conformal classes.