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On Uniqueness of Mock Theta Functions

Number Theory 2026-04-24 v1 High Energy Physics - Theory Mathematical Physics Classical Analysis and ODEs math.MP

Abstract

We develop a resurgent approach to the problem of unique continuation of mock theta functions across their natural boundary. The starting point is the representation of the associated Mordell-Appell integrals as Laplace transforms of resurgent functions, which serve as the primary analytic objects. By rotating the Laplace contour by π\pi, i.e. onto the Stokes line, one obtains, in all known cases, the mock-modular relations between the Mordell-Appell integrals and the corresponding unary series in q^=eπiτ\hat q=e^{-\pi i \tau} and q^1=eπi(1/τ)\hat q_1=e^{-\pi i (-1/\tau)}. We then prove that these relations admit a unique solution on the qq-side, expressed in terms of q=eπiτq=e^{\pi i \tau} and q1=eπi(1/τ)q_1=e^{\pi i (-1/\tau)}, with coefficients determined by the corresponding Mordell-Appell integrals. This yields a canonical continuation across the natural boundary, given by a resurgent extension of the classical principle of permanence of relations, and singles out a distinguished family of mock theta functions in each group. We present a complete analysis for the order 3 and 5 cases (mf3 and mf5). The method extends naturally to higher orders; a general theory will appear in a separate paper.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.20034,
  title  = {On Uniqueness of Mock Theta Functions},
  author = {Ovidiu Costin and Gerald V. Dunne and Ali Saraeb},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.20034},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

17 pages, no figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:29:27.993Z