Transplantation theorem ($C{M}_s=N_{s}C$)

For two assemblies of congruent Euclidean tiles, let $M_s,N_s$ encode the gluing or boundary reflection at each labelled face. An invertible constant matrix $C$ satisfying $C{M}_s=N_{s}C$ carries tile restrictions of Laplacian eigenfunctions bijectively to those on the second assembly. Boundary values satisfy $M_{s}u=u$ and outward normal derivatives satisfy $M_{s}v=-v$, so the intertwining identities preserve matching and boundary conditions. Use diagonal $-1$ for a Dirichlet boundary condition and $+1$ for a Neumann boundary condition.

Suppose an invertible real matrix $C$ intertwines symmetric orthogonal tile-reflection matrices: $C{M}_s=N_{s}C$. Then $C^{T}C$ commutes with every $M_s$, so its positive inverse square root does too. The polar decomposition of an invertible real matrix therefore gives an orthogonal matrix $O=C(C^{T}C{)}^{-1/2}$ satisfying $O{M}_s=N_{s}O$. On a disjoint union of congruent tiles, $O$ preserves both the $L^2$ inner product and Dirichlet energy. The intertwining identities preserve the face trace conditions defining the assembled Sobolev space, so $O$ gives a unitary equivalence of the assembled Laplacians.

Take seven copies of a scalene triangle, with sides labelled $a,b,c$ opposite its three vertices, and reflect adjacent copies across their glued side. For the first planar domain, the glued pairs are $a:(2,3),(6,7)$, $b:(4,6),(5,7)$, $c:(1,5),(3,7)$; for the second they are $a:(1,3),(5,7)$, $b:(2,6),(3,7)$, $c:(4,5),(6,7)$. Both coloured trees have central tile $7$. For triangles sufficiently close to equilateral the interiors do not overlap. If its three angles are distinct and between $\pi /4$ and $\pi /2$, the only reentrant vertices are the original central vertices, with angles four times the corresponding triangle angles. They force any proposed isometry to preserve the labelled central triangle, which is incompatible with the different attachments on its arms.

For the spectral proof index the nonzero vectors and covectors of ${\mathbb{F}}_2^3$ by $1,\dots ,7$, using binary coordinates. The Fano plane incidence matrix is $B_{y,x}=1_{y\cdot x=0}$. It satisfies $B^{T}B=2I+J$, so is invertible, and intertwines the point and line permutations of each of the three elementary transvections. Put $D=\mathrm{diag}(1,1,-1,1,-1,-1,1)$. The signed reflection matrices for the Dirichlet boundary condition are $-D{P}_{s}D$ and $-D{Q}_{s}D$, hence $C=DBD$ intertwines them. Its polar orthogonal factor gives a unitary equivalence of the Dirichlet Laplacians, preserving both the $L^2$ inner product and the Dirichlet energy of the piecewise functions. This produces a three-parameter family of noncongruent isospectral planar domains.

Take four congruent octagonal regular polygons with four alternate sides labelled $a,b,c,d$. The intervening sides have Neumann boundary conditions. Pair equal face parameters in the positive reference boundary direction. The complete gluing data areAll unpaired labelled faces not in a Dirichlet column also have Neumann boundary conditions. Encode these rules by signed permutation matrices, using a positive swap for a paired interface and diagonal $-1$ or $+1$ for an unpaired Dirichlet boundary condition or Neumann boundary condition. The four-by-four Hadamard matrix $C$ above satisfies $C{M}_s=N_{s}C$ for every label. Explicitly, if its columns are $h_0,h_1,h_2,h_3$, applying $N_a,N_b,N_c,N_d$ gives respectively $(h_0,h_1,h_3,h_2)$, $(h_0,h_2,h_1,h_3)$, $(h_1,h_0,-h_2,-h_3)$, and $(h_0,-h_1,h_2,-h_3)$, which are exactly the columns of the corresponding $C{M}_s$. On every intervening face the face matrix is the identity.

Since $C^{T}C=4I$, the orthogonal matrix $C/2$ preserves the $L^2$ inner product and the sum of Dirichlet energies. Its intertwining relations map matching Sobolev traces and zero Dirichlet traces bijectively to those of the other assembly. It therefore preserves the quadratic form domains and the forms themselves. The associated self-adjoint operators are unitarily equivalent, proving equality of all eigenvalues with their multiplicities for the specified mixed boundary conditions.

The topology of disk tiles glued along disjoint boundary arcs shows that $D$, whose gluing graph is $0,1,2,3$ in a path, is a closed disc and is simply connected and orientable. The gluing graph of $B$ has edges $13,12,02,01,23$; it is connected with two independent cycles, so $\chi (B)=-1$ and ${\pi }_1(B)\cong F_2$. Its odd cycle $1,2,3,1$ makes it a nonorientable surface. Each assembled surface has nonempty polygonal boundary. This explicitly realizes isospectrality between a simply-connected orientable bordered surface and a nonorientable, non-simply-connected one. The boundary corners and mixed boundary conditions are essential qualifications; it does not contradict the Euler characteristic from the heat trace of a bordered surface for smooth boundaries and pure boundary conditions.

Take eight congruent hexagonal tiles with three pairwise nonadjacent distinguished faces. On tile indices modulo eight let $\sigma (j)=1-j$, $t(j)=-j$, and use $u_1(j)=3j$ for one assembly and $u_2(j)=3j+4$ for the other. Pair faces by reflection and leave fixed faces, and the three remaining faces, with Neumann boundary conditions. If $R{e}_j=e_{j+1}$, the displayed matrix intertwines all three face actions: its circulant coefficients satisfy $c_r=c_{-r}=c_{3r+4}$. Its eigenvalues are $1+(-1{)}^k+4\cos (\pi k/4)$, which are nonzero for $0\le k\le 7$. The transplantation theorem gives equal spectra. The second gluing graph is bipartite, with parts $\{0,5,6,7\}$ and $\{1,2,3,4\}$, so it is orientable. The first has the odd cycle $1,3,6,2,7,1$ and is nonorientable. Both graphs are connected with eight vertices and ten edges, and their bordered surfaces retract up to homotopy to the graphs. Both have Euler characteristic $-2$ and fundamental groups free of rank three. Neither is simply connected.

Consider assemblies of congruent polygonal tiles with same-labelled faces paired by reflection and pure Neumann boundary conditions on unpaired faces. An invertible intertwiner for all face permutation matrices preserves the Euler characteristic. The number of tiles is the dimension of the representation. For each face label the number of edge classes is $(n+\mathrm{tr}{M}_s)/2$. For each vertex label the number of vertex classes is the number of orbits of the subgroup generated by incident-face involutions, hence the dimension of its invariant vectors. Intertwining preserves all these numbers. Summing the vertex and edge counts proves equal $V-E+F$, including boundary corners. This argument uses genuine permutation matrices; signed matrices encoding mixed boundary conditions do not give the same topological count.

Reflection across a cut splits Laplacian eigenfunctions into odd and even parts. The odd restriction has a Dirichlet boundary condition on the cut; the even restriction has a Neumann boundary condition there. The displayed matrix intertwines the two-tile swap with $\mathrm{diag}(-1,1)$. A connected uniform-Dirichlet rectangle of width $2a$ is therefore isospectral to the disjoint union of width-$a$ rectangles with all-Dirichlet and three-Dirichlet/one-Neumann conditions. This illustrates why changing boundary conditions can conceal connectedness in the spectrum.

A propeller domain consists of seven congruent reflected triangles: one central triangle and three arms of two triangles each. There are different coloured gluing patterns whose Dirichlet Laplacian and Neumann Laplacian spectra agree by the transplantation theorem. Varying the three side lengths of a scalene triangle in a suitable open region gives three parameters; the central triangle is identifiable from the three reflex corners, allowing a direct nonisometry proof.