On a minimax principle in spectral gaps

Abstract: The minimax principle for eigenvalues in gaps of the essential spectrum in the form presented by Griesemer, Lewis, and Siedentop in [Doc. Math. 4 (1999), 275--283] is adapted to cover certain abstract perturbative settings with bounded or unbounded perturbations, in particular ones that are off-diagonal with respect to the spectral gap under consideration. This in part builds upon and extends the considerations in the author's appendix to [J. Spectr. Theory 10 (2020), 843--885]. Several monotonicity and continuity properties of eigenvalues in gaps of the essential spectrum are deduced, and the Stokes operator is revisited as an example.