This work is concerned with the problem of minimal partitions, at the interface between spectral theory and shape optimization. A general introduction gives a precise statement of the problem and recall results, mainly due to B. Helffer, T. Hoffmann-Ostenhof and S.Terracini, that are used in the rest of the thesis.The first chapter is an asymptotic spectral study of the Dirichlet Laplacian on a familly of two-dimensional domains converging to a line segment. The aim is to localize the nodal lines when the domains become very thin. With the help of the results of Helffer, Hoffmann-Ostenhof, and Terracini, we then show that the nodal domains of the first eigenfunctions give minimal partitions.The second chapter studies the eigenvalues of some Schrödinger operators on a domain with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We consider operators that have no electric potential and a so-called Aharonov-Bohm magnetic potential, which has singularities at a finite number of points called poles. We prove that the eigenvalues are continuous functions of the poles. When the poles are distinct and far from the boundary, we prove that this function is analytic, assuming the eigenvalue is simple. We also give a sufficient condition for the function to have a critical point. Using the magnetic characterization of minimal partitions, we show that the minimal enery is a critical value for one of these functions.The third chapter in an article written in collaboration with Virginie Bonnaillie-Noël. It studies minimal partitions for sectors of unit radius with a variable angular opening. We apply the general results presented in the introduction, together with numerical computations, to determine nodal partitions that are minimal. We focus on partitions into three domains. Using ideas from the second chapter, we show that, for some values of the angle, there is no minimal partition that is symmetric with respect to the bisector. Form a quantitative point of view, we obtain precise bounds on the minimal energy.The fourth chapter studies the minimal partitions of flat tori in function of the ratio between width and length. We use a numerical method that is quite different from chapter three, and is based on an article by B. Bourdin, D. Bucur, and É. Oudet. It consists in a relaxation of the problem, followed by optimization with the help of a projected gradient algorithm. The results shown here additionally suggest explicit families of partitions, which consist in tilings of tori by polygons, that give upper bounds on the minimal energy. In the last chapter we consider several possible applications of the methods described in the thesis.
