Spectral properties of integral operators in bounded, large intervals

We study the spectrum of one dimensional integral operators in bounded real intervals of length $2L$, for value of $L$ large. The integral operators are obtained by linearizing a non local evolution equation for a non conserved order parameter describing the phases of a fluid. We prove a Perron-Frobenius theorem showing that there is an isolated, simple minimal eigenvalue strictly positive for $L$ finite, going to zero exponentially fast in $L$. We lower bound, uniformly on $L$, the spectral gap by applying a generalization of the Cheeger's inequality. These results are usefulfor deriving spectral properties for non local Cahn-Hilliard type of equations in problems of interface dynamics.