Johnson–Schwartzman gap labeling for metric and discrete decorated graphs

Abstract

We study Schrödinger operators on metric and discrete decorated graphs. The values taken by the integrated density of states (IDS) on spectral gaps are called gap labels. A natural question is which gap labels can occur. We answer this for graphs arising from uniquely ergodic one‐dimensional dynamical systems by proving Johnson–Schwartzman gap‐labeling theorems in both the metric and discrete settings. Our results extend Johnson–Schwartzman gap labeling beyond the standard one‐dimensional setting. Unlike in one dimension, these graphs may contain cycles, which prevent the use of Sturm oscillation theory and require different spectral methods. We also analyze discontinuities of the IDS for certain graph families and show that not every admissible label corresponds to an open spectral gap. This reveals a mechanism of gap closing driven by graph geometry rather than by the underlying dynamics.