The well-known Heun equation has the form: Q(z)S''(z)+P(z)S'(z)+V(z)S(z)=0 where Q(z) is a cubic complex polynomial, P(z) and V(z) are polynomials of degrees at most 2 and 1 resp. One of the classical problems about the Heun equation is for a given positive integer N to find all possible linear polynomials V(z) such that the latter equation has a polynomial solution S(z) of degree N. Below we prove a conjecture of the 2nd author claiming that the union of roots of such V(z)'s for a given N tends when N->oo to a certain compact connecting the three roots of Q(z) and given by the condition that a certain natural abelian integral is real-valued.
It is known that the q-Heun equation has polynomial-type solutions in some special cases, and the condition for the accessory parameter E is described by the roots of the spectral polynomial. We investigate the spectral polynomial by considering the ultradiscrete limit.
We study Heun's differential equation in the case that one of the singularities is apparent. In particular we conjecture a relationship with generalized hypergeometric differential equation and establish it in some cases. We apply our results to exceptional Jacobi polynomials.
This paper addresses a general method of polynomial transformation of hypergeometric equations. Examples of some classical special equations of mathematical physics are generated. Heun's equation and exceptional Jacobi polynomials are also treated.
We study polynomial-type solutions of the $q$-Heun equation, which is related with quasi-exact solvability. The condition that the $q$-Heun equation has a non-zero polynomial-type solution is described by the roots of the spectral polynomial, whose variable is the accessory parameter $E$. We obtain sufficient conditions that the roots of the spectral polynomial are all real and distinct. We consider the ultradiscrete limit to clarify the roots of the spectral polynomial and the zeros of the polynomial-type solution of the $q$-Heun equation.
The Heun-Hahn operator on the uniform grid is defined. This operator is shown to map polynomials of degree $n$ to polynomials of degree $n+1$, to be tridiagonal in bases made out of either Pochhammer or Hahn polynomials and to be bilinear in the operators of the Hahn algebra. The extension of this algebra that includes the Heun-Hahn operator as generator is described. Biorthogonal rational functions on uniform grids are shown to be related to this framework.
The q-Heun operator of the big q-Jacobi type on the exponential grid is defined. This operator is the most general second order q-difference operator that maps polynomials of degree $n$ to polynomials of degree $n+1$. It is tridiagonal in bases made out of either q-Pochhammer or big q-Jacobi polynomials and is bilinear in the operators of the q-Hahn algebra. The extension of this algebra that includes the q-Heun operator as generator is described. Biorthogonal Pastro polynomials are shown to satisfy a generalized eigenvalue problem or equivalently to be in the kernel of a special linear pencil…
A survey of recents advances in the theory of Heun operators is offered. Some of the topics covered include: quadratic algebras and orthogonal polynomials, differential and difference Heun operators associated to Jacobi and Hahn polynomials, connections with time and band limiting problems in signal processing.
The classical Heun equation has the form {Q(z) d^2/dz^2 +P(z) d/dz +V(z)}S(z)=0 where Q(z) is a cubic, P(z) at most quadratic and V(z) linear polynomials resp. In the second half of the 19-th century E.Heine and T.STieltjes initiated the study of the set of all V(z) such that the above equation has a polynomial solution S(z) of a given degree n. The main goal of the present paper is to study the union of the roots of the latter set of V(z)*s when n->oo. We formulate an intriguing conjecture of K.Takemura describing the limiting set and give a substantial amount of additional information.
We introduce a nine-parameter Heun-type differential equation and obtain three classes of its solutions as series of square integrable functions written in terms of the Jacobi polynomial. The expansion coefficients of the series satisfy three-term recursion relations, which are solved in terms of orthogonal polynomials with continuous and/or discrete spectra. Some of these are well-known polynomials while others are either new or modified versions of known ones.
The $q$-Heun equation is a $q$-difference analogue of Heun's differential equation. We review several solutions of Heun's differential equation and investigate polynomial-type solutions of $q$-Heun equation. The limit $q\to 1$ corresponding to Heun's differential equation and the ultradiscrete limit $q\to 0$ are considered.
The Painlevé equations arise from the study of Hankel determinants generated by moment matrices, whose weights are expressed as the product of ``classical" weights multiplied by suitable ``deformation factors", usually dependent on a ``time variable'' $t$. From ladder operators one finds second order linear ordinary differential equations for associated orthogonal polynomials with coefficients being rational functions. The Painlevé and related functions appear as the residues of these rational functions. We will be interested in the situation when $n$, the order of the Hankel matrix and also t…
The $q$-difference equation, the shift and the contiguity relations of the Askey-Wilson polynomials are cast in the framework of the three and four-dimensional degenerate Sklyanin algebras $\mathfrak{ska}_3$ and $\mathfrak{ska}_4$. It is shown that the $q$-para Racah polynomials corresponding to a non-conventional truncation of the Askey-Wilson polynomials form a basis for a finite-dimensional representation of $\mathfrak{ska}_4$. The first order Heun operators defined by a degree raising condition on polynomials are shown to form a five-dimensional vector space that encompasses $\mathfrak{ska…
The Heun-Askey-Wilson algebra is introduced through generators $\{\boX,\boW\}$ and relations. These relations can be understood as an extension of the usual Askey-Wilson ones. A central element is given, and a canonical form of the Heun-Askey-Wilson algebra is presented. A homomorphism from the Heun-Askey-Wilson algebra to the Askey-Wilson one is identified. On the vector space of the polynomials in the variable $x=z+z^{-1}$, the Heun operator of Askey-Wilson type realizing $\boW$ can be characterized as the most general second order $q$-difference operator in the variable $z$ that maps polyno…
By making use of a recently developed method to solve linear differential equations of arbitrary order, we find a wide class of polynomial solutions to the Heun equation. We construct the series solution to the Heun equation before identifying the polynomial solutions. The Heun equation extended by the addition of a term, $- \s/x$, is also amenable for polynomial solutions.
The first order nonlinear ODE \dot ϕ(t) + \sinϕ(t)=q(t),q(t)=B+A\cosωt, where A,B,ωare real constants, is considered, the transformation converting it to a second order linear homogeneous ODE with polynoimial coefficients is found. The latter is identified as a particular case of the double confluent Heun equation. The series of algebraic constraints on the constant parameters is found whose fulfillment leads to the existance of solutions representable through polynomials in explicit form. These polynomials are found to constitute the orthogonal normalizable system
The paper presents a detailed analysis of the so-called "Double-Root Tangent-Polynomial" (DRtTP) reduction of the regular Gauss-reference (r-GRef) potential exactly solvable by hypergeometric functions. It is shown that the Dutt-Khare-Varshni (DKV) potential represents a remarkable particular case when the DRtTP r-GRef becomes expressible in terms of elementary functions. This is also true for its basic single- or double-step SUSY partners which are either exactly or conditionally exactly quantized by Heun polynomials (Hp-EQ or Hp-CEQ, respectively).
S-Heun operators on linear and $q$-linear grids are introduced. These operators are special cases of Heun operators and are related to Sklyanin-like algebras. The Continuous Hahn and Big $q$-Jacobi polynomials are functions on which these S-Heun operators have natural actions. We show that the S-Heun operators encompass both the bispectral operators and Kalnins and Miller's structure operators. These four structure operators realize special limit cases of the trigonometric degeneration of the original Sklyanin algebra. Finite-dimensional representations of these algebras are obtained from a tr…
It is shown that the regular-at-infinity solution of the 1D Schrodinger equation with the hyperbolic Poschl-Teller (h-PT) potential with integer parameters is expressible in terms of a n-order Heun polynomial in y=thr at an arbitrary negative energy. It was proven that the Heun polynomials in question form a subset of generally complex Lambe-Ward polynomials corresponding to zero value of the accessory parameter. Since the mentioned solution expressed in the new variable y has an almost-everywhere holomorphic (AEH) form it can be used as the factorization function (FF) for canonical Liouville-…
A new bi-parametric $su(1,1)$ algebraization of the Heun class of equations is explored. This yields additional quasi-polynomial solutions of the form $\{z^αP_N(z): \ α\in \mathbb{C}, \ N \in \mathbb{N}_0\}$ to the General Heun eqaution and its confluent versions. Explicit conditions leading to these quasi-polynomials have been provided for the individual equations to allow direct use. For the Confluent and the Doubly-confluent Heun equations, specific parametric situations leading to (i) an infinite number of quasi-polynomials and (ii) non-algebraizability of the equation have been identified…
We describe the close connection between the linear system for the sixth Painlevé equation and the general Heun equation, formulate the Riemann-Hilbert problem for the Heun functions and show how, in the case of reducible monodromy, the Riemann-Hilbert formalism can be used to construct explicit polynomial solutions of the Heun equation.
The paper studies the quantum mechanical Coulomb problem on a 3-sphere. We present a special parametrization of the ellipto-spheroidal coordinate system suitable for the separation of variables. After quantization we get the explicit form of the spectrum and present an algebraic equation for the eigenvalues of the Runge-Lentz vector. We also present the wave functions expressed via Heun polynomials.
The equation of motion of a massless Dirac particle in the C-metric leads to the general Heun equation (GHE) for the radial and the polar variables. The GHE, under certain parametric conditions, has been cast in terms of a new set of $su(1,1)$ generators involving differential operators of \emph{degrees} $\pm 1/2$ and $0$. Additional \emph{Heun polynomials} are obtained using this new algebraic structure and are used to construct some exact solutions for the radial and the polar parts of the Dirac equation.
The present paper analyze the constraints on the confluent Heun type-equation, $(a_{3,1}r^2+a_{3,2}r)y"+(a_{2,0}r^2+a_{2,1}r+a_{2,2})y'-(τ_{1,0}r+τ_{1,1})y=0,$ where $|a_{3,1}|^2+|a_{3,2}|^2\neq 0, $ and $a_{i,j},i=3,2,1, j=0,1,2$ are real parameters, to admit polynomial solutions. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of these polynomials are given. A three-term recurrence relation is provided to generate the polynomial solutions explicitly. We, then, prove that these polynomial solutions are a source of finite sequences of orthogonal polynomials. Several properties, such …
The reductions of the Heun equation to the hypergeometric equation by polynomial transformations of its independent variable are enumerated and classified. Heun-to-hypergeometric reductions are similar to classical hypergeometric identities, but the conditions for the existence of a reduction involve features of the Heun equation that the hypergeometric equation does not possess; namely, its cross-ratio and accessory parameters. The reductions include quadratic and cubic transformations, which may be performed only if the singular points of the Heun equation form a harmonic or an equianharmoni…
It is known that the Fuchsian differential equation which produces the sixth Painlevé equation corresponds to the Fuchsian differential equation with different parameters via Euler's integral transformation, and Heun's equation also corresponds to Heun's equation with different parameters, again via Euler's integral transformation. In this paper we study the correspondences in detail. After investigating correspondences with respect to monodromy, it is demonstrated that the existence of polynomial-type solutions corresponds to apparency (non-branching) of a singularity. For the elliptical repr…
An analysis of the generalized confluent Heun equation $(α_2r^2+α_1r)\,y''+(β_2r^2+β_1r+β_0)\,y'-(\varepsilon_1r+\varepsilon_0)\,y=0$ in $d$-dimensional space, where $\{α_i, β_i, \varepsilon_i\}$ are real parameters, is presented. With the aid of these general results, the quasi exact solvability of the Schrödinger eigenproblem generated by the softcore Coulomb potential $V(r)=-e^2Z/(r+b),\, b>0$, is explicitly resolved. Necessary and sufficient conditions for polynomial solvability are given. A three-term recurrence relation is provided to generate the coefficients of polynomial solutions exp…
It is shown that the Confluent Heun Equation (CHEq) reduces for certain conditions of the parameters to a particular class of Quasi-Exactly Solvable models, associated with the Lie algebra $sl (2,{\mathbb R})$. As a consequence it is possible to find a set of polynomial solutions of this quasi-exactly solvable version of the CHEq. These finite solutions encompass previously known polynomial solutions of the Generalized Spheroidal Equation, Razavy Eq., Whittaker-Hill Eq., etc. The analysis is applied to obtain and describe special eigen-functions of the quantum Hamiltonian of two fixed Coulombi…
It is shown that the tridiagonalization of the hypergeometric operator $L$ yields the generic Heun operator $M$. The algebra generated by the operators $L,M$ and $Z=[L,M]$ is quadratic and a one-parameter generalization of the Racah algebra. The new Racah-Heun orthogonal polynomials are introduced as overlap coefficients between the eigenfunctions of the operators $L$ and $M$. An interpretation in terms of the Racah problem for $su(1,1)$ algebras and separation of variables in a superintegrable system are discussed.
A new approach to the finite-gap property for the Heun equation is constructed. The relationship between the finite-dimensional invariant space and the spectral curve is clarified. The monodromies are calculated and are expressed as hyperelliptic integrals. Applications to the spectral problem for the $BC_1$ Inozemtsev model are obtained.
We report an alternative method to solve second order differential equations which have at most four singular points. This method is developed by changing the degrees of the polynomials in the basic equation of Nikiforov-Uvarov (NU) method. This is called extended NU method for this paper. The eigenvalue solutions of Heun equation and confluent Heun equation are obtained via extended NU method. Some quantum mechanical problems such as Coulomb problem on a 3-sphere, two Coulombically repelling electrons on a sphere and hyperbolic double-well potential are investigated by this method.
We show that the Heun confluent equation admits infinitely many solutions in terms of the confluent generalized hypergeometric functions. For each of these solutions a characteristic exponent of a regular singularity of the Heun confluent equation is a non-zero integer and the accessory parameter obeys a polynomial equation. Each of the solutions can be written as a linear combination with constant coefficients of a finite number of either the Kummer confluent hypergeometric functions or the Bessel functions.
The effects on the non-relativistic dynamics of a system compound by two electrons interacting by a Coulomb potential and with an external harmonic oscillator potential, confined to move in a two dimensional Euclidean space, are investigated. In particular, it is shown that it is possible to determine exactly and in a closed form a finite portion of the energy spectrum and the associated eigeinfunctions for the Schrödinger equation describing the relative motion of the electrons, by putting it into the form of a biconfluent Heun equation. In the same framework, another set of solutions of this…
Schroedinger's equation with the attractive potential V(r) = -Z/(r^q+ b^q)^(1/q), Z > 0, b > 0, q >= 1, is shown, for general values of the parameters Z and b, to be reducible to the confluent Heun equation in the case q=1, and to the generalized Heun equation in case q=2. In a formulation with correct asymptotics, the eigenstates are specified a priori up to an unknown factor. In certain special cases this factor becomes a polynomial. The Asymptotic Iteration Method is used either to find the polynomial factor and the associated eigenvalue explicitly, or to construct accurate approximations f…
Spectral analysis of Dirac materials in position-dependent magnetic and electric fields via Heun functions
Escuela Superior de Física y Matemáticas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional（墨西哥国立理工学院物理与数学高等学院）；Área Académica de Matemáticas y Física, UAEH（伊达尔戈自治大学数学与物理学术区）
It is shown that Schrödinger equation with combination of three potentials U = - α r^{-1} + β r + kr^{2}, Coulomb, linear and harmonic, the potential often used to describe quarkonium, is reduced to a bi-confluent Heun differential equation. The method to construct its solutions in the form of polynomials is developed, however with additional constraints in four parameters of the model, α, β, k, l. The energy spectrum looks as a modified combination of oscillator and Coulomb parts.
The generic Heun operator of Lie type is identified as a certain $BC$-Gaudin magnet Hamiltonian in a magnetic field. By using the modified algebraic Bethe ansatz introduced to diagonalize such Gaudin models, we obtain the spectrum of the generic Heun operator of Lie type in terms of the Bethe roots of inhomogeneous Bethe equations. We show also that these Bethe roots are intimately associated to the roots of polynomial solutions of the differential Heun equation. We illustrate the use of this approach in two contexts: the representation theory of $O(3)$ and the computation of the entanglement …
We consider the non-stationary Heun equation, also known as quantum Painlevé VI, which has appeared in different works on quantum integrable models and conformal field theory. We use a generalized kernel function identity to transform the problem to solve this equation into a differential-difference equation which, as we show, can be solved by efficient recursive algorithms. We thus obtain series representations of solutions which provide elliptic generalizations of the Jacobi polynomials. These series reproduce, in a limiting case, a perturbative solution of the Heun equation due to Takemura,…
An operator of Heun-Askey-Wilson type is diagonalized within the framework of the algebraic Bethe ansatz using the theory of Leonard pairs. For different specializations and the generic case, the corresponding eigenstates are constructed in the form of Bethe states, whose Bethe roots satisfy Bethe ansatz equations of homogeneous or inhomogenous type. For each set of Bethe equations, an alternative presentation is given in terms of `symmetrized' Bethe roots. Also, two families of on-shell Bethe states are shown to generate two explicit bases on which a Leonard pair acts in a tridiagonal fashion…
After a brief introduction to Heun type functions we note that the actual solutions of the eigenvalue equation emerging in the calculation of the one loop contribution to QCD from the Belavin-Polyakov-Schwarz-Tyupkin instanton and the similar calculation for a Dirac particle coupled to a scalar $CP^1$ model in two dimensions can be given in terms of confluent Heun equation in their original forms. These equations were previously modified to be solved by more elementary functions. We also show that polynomial solutions with discrete eigenvalues are impossible to find in the unmodified equations…
We reexamine and extend a group of solutions in series of Bessel functions for a limiting case of the confluent Heun equation and, then, apply such solutions to the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation with an inverted quasi-exactly solvable potential as well as to the angular equation for an electron in the field of a point electric dipole. For the first problem we find finite- and infinite-series solutions which are convergent and bounded for any value of the independent variable. For the angular equation, we also find expansions in series of Jacobi polynomials.
We study the spectral polynomial of the Treibich-Verdier potential. Such spectral polynomial, which is a generalization of the classical Lame polynomial, plays fundamental roles in both the finite-gap theory and the ODE theory of Heun's equation. In this paper, we prove that all the roots of such spectral polynomial are real and distinct under some assumptions. The proof uses the classical concept of Sturm sequence and isomonodromic theories. We also prove an analogous result for a polynomial associated with a generalized Lame equation. Differently, our new approach is based on the viewpoint o…
We report a solution of the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation with a hyperbolic double-well confining potential via a transformation to the so-called confluent Heun equation. We discuss the requirements on the parameters of the system in which a reduction to Heun polynomials is possible, representing the wavefunctions of bound states.
The Heun equation can be rewritten as an eigenvalue equation for an ordinary differential operator of the form $-d^2/dx^2+V(g;x)$, where the potential is an elliptic function depending on a coupling vector $g\in{\mathbb R}^4$. Alternatively, this operator arises from the $BC_1$ specialization of the $BC_N$ elliptic nonrelativistic Calogero-Moser system (a.k.a. the Inozemtsev system). Under suitable restrictions on the elliptic periods and on $g$, we associate to this operator a self-adjoint operator $H(g)$ on the Hilbert space ${\mathcal H}=L^2([0,ω_1],dx)$, where $2ω_1$ is the real period of …
The 'relativistic' Heun equation is an 8-coupling difference equation that generalizes the 4-coupling Heun differential equation. It can be viewed as the time-independent Schrödinger equation for an analytic difference operator introduced by van Diejen. We study Hilbert space features of this operator and its 'modular partner', based on an in-depth analysis of the eigenvectors of a Hilbert-Schmidt integral operator whose integral kernel has a previously known relation to the two difference operators. With suitable restrictions on the parameters, we show that the commuting difference operators …
This paper is devoted to a complete parametric study of Liouvillian solutions of the general trace-free second order differential equation with a Laurent polynomial coefficient. This family of equations, for fixed orders at $0$ and $\infty$ of the Laurent polynomial, is seen as an affine algebraic variety. We proof that the set of Picard-Vessiot integrable differential equations in the family is an enumerable union of algebraic subvarieties. We compute explicitly the algebraic equations of its components. We give some applications to well known subfamilies as the doubly confluent and biconflue…
We consider two quasi-exactly solvable problems in one dimension for which the Schrödinger equation can be converted to Heun's equation. We show that in neither case the Bender-Dunne polynomials form an orthogonal set. Using the anti-isopectral transformation we also discover a new quasi-exactly solvable problem and show that even in this case the polynomials do not form an orthogonal set.
Conditions are given for the second-order linear differential equation P3 y" + P2 y'- P1 y = 0 to have polynomial solutions, where Pn is a polynomial of degree n. Several application of these results to Schroedinger's equation are discussed. Conditions under which the confluent, biconfluent, and the general Heun equation yield polynomial solutions are explicitly given. Some new classes of exactly solvable differential equation are also discussed. The results of this work are expressed in such way as to allow direct use, without preliminary analysis.
We use Kovacic's algorithm to obtain all Liouvillian solutions, i.e., essentially all solutions in terms of quadratures, of the master equation which governs the evolution of first order perturbations of the Schwarzschild geometry. We show that all solutions in quadratures of this equation contain a polynomial solution to an associated ordinary differential equation (ODE). This ODE, apart from a few trivial cases, falls into the confluent Heun class. In the case of the gravitational perturbations, for the Liouvillian solution $χ\int \frac {{\rm d}r_{\!\ast}}{χ^{2}}$, we find in "closed form" t…
We show that the solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in a homogeneous and isotropic universe are given by triconfluent Heun functions for the spatially closed, flat, and open geometries of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe filled with different forms of energy. In a matter-dominated universe, we find the polynomial solution and the energy density spectrum. In the cases of radiation-dominated and vacuum universes, there are no polynomial solutions as shown.
Recently, it has been proved that a nonlinear quantum oscillator, generalization of the isotonic one, is exactly solvable for certain values of its parameters. Here we show that the Schroedinger equation for such an oscillator can be transformed into a confluent Heun equation. We give a very simple and efficient algorithm to solve it numerically, no matter what the values of the parameters are. Algebraic quasi-polynomial solutions, for particular values of the parameters, are found.
The singularity structure of a second-order ordinary differential equation with polynomial coefficients often yields the type of solution. It is shown that the $θ$-operator method can be used as a symbolic computational approach to obtain the indicial equation and the recurrence relation. Consequently, the singularity structure leads to the transformations that yield a solution in terms of a special function, if the equation is suitable. Hypergeometric and Heun-type equations are mostly employed in physical applications. Thus only these equations and their confluent types are considered with S…
