English

Ince's limits for confluent and double-confluent Heun equations

Mathematical Physics 2009-11-11 v1 math.MP

Abstract

We find pairs of solutions to a differential equation which is obtained as a special limit of a generalized spheroidal wave equation (this is also known as confluent Heun equation). One solution in each pair is given by a series of hypergeometric functions and converges for any finite value of the independent variable zz, while the other is given by a series of modified Bessel functions and converges for z>z0|z|>|z_{0}|, where z0z_{0} denotes a regular singularity. For short, the preceding limit is called Ince's limit after Ince who have used the same procedure to get the Mathieu equations from the Whittaker-Hill ones. We find as well that, when z0z_{0} tends to zero, the Ince limit of the generalized spheroidal wave equation turns out to be the Ince limit of a double-confluent Heun equation, for which solutions are provided. Finally, we show that the Schr\"odinger equation for inverse fourth and sixth-power potentials reduces to peculiar cases of the double-confluent Heun equation and its Ince's limit, respectively.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.math-ph/0509013,
  title  = {Ince's limits for confluent and double-confluent Heun equations},
  author = {B. D. Bonorino Figueiredo},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:math-ph/0509013},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

Submitted to Journal of Mathmatical Physics