The $t$-analogs of string functions for $A_1^{(1)}$ and Hecke indefinite modular forms

We study generating functions for Lusztig's $t$-analog of weight multiplicities associated to integrable highest weight representations of the simplest affine Lie algebra $A_1^{(1)}$. At $t=1$, these reduce to the {\em string functions} of $A_1^{(1)}$, which were shown by Kac and Peterson to be related to certain Hecke indefinite modular forms. Using their methods, we obtain a description of the general $t$-string function; we show that its values can be realized as radial averages of a certain extension of the Hecke indefinite modular form.