A comprehensive study of bound states for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation on single‐knot metric graphs

Abstract We study the existence and qualitative properties of action ground states (i.e., bound states with minimal action) of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation over single‐knot metric graphs — noncompact graphs that are made of half‐lines, loops, and pendants, all connected at a single vertex. First, we prove existence of action ground states for generic single‐knot graphs, even in the absence of an associated variational problem. Second, for regular single‐knot graphs of length , we perform a complete analysis of positive monotone bound states. Furthermore, we characterize all positive bound states when is small and prove some symmetry‐breaking results for large . Finally, we apply the results to some particular graphs to illustrate the complex relation between action ground states and the topological and metric features of the underlying metric graph. The proofs are nonvariational, using a careful phase‐plane analysis, the study of sections of period functions, asymptotic estimates, and blowup arguments. We show, in particular, how nonvariational techniques are complementary to variational ones in order to deeply understand bound states of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation on metric graphs.