 Polynomial Rayleigh-Ritz trial space for a one-dimensional box

For the Dirichlet boundary conditions on $(-a,a)$, take the two-dimensional even trial space spanned by $(a^2-x^2)$ and $x^2(a^2-x^2)$. Using the kinetic-energy quadratic form gives, for $b=\lambda a^2$,The minimum occurs at $b=(-49+4\sqrt{133})/13$ and equals $7-\sqrt{133}/2\simeq 1.2337187027$. It is slightly above the exact infinite square well coefficient ${\pi }^2/8\simeq 1.2337005501$. The zero extension of a trial function has derivative jumps at the walls, so the appropriate admissibility statement uses the Dirichlet kinetic-energy form; it need not belong to the unrestricted full-line second-derivative operator domain.