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.
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.
This paper addresses new results on the factorization of the general Heun's operator, extending the investigations performed in previous works [{\it Applied Mathematics and Computation} {\bf 141} (2003), 177 - 184 and {\bf 189} (2007), 816 - 820]. Both generalized Heun and generalized Lamé equations are considered.
We show that in four particular cases the derivative of the solution of Heun general equation can be expressed in terms of a solution to another Heun equation. Starting from this property, we use the Gauss hypergeometric functions to construct series solutions to Heun equation for the mentioned cases. Each of the hypergeometric functions involved has correct singular behavior at only one of the singular points of the equation; the sum, however, has correct behavior.
We find transformations of variables which preserve the form of the equation for the kernels of integral relations among solutions of the Heun equation. These transformations lead to new kernels for the Heun equation, given by single hypergeometric functions (Lambe-Ward-type kernels) and by products of two hypergeometric functions (Erdélyi-type). Such kernels, by a limiting process, also afford new kernels for the confluent Heun equation.
We construct new solutions in series of confluent hypergeometric functions for the confluent Heun equation (CHE). Some of these solutions are applied to the one-dimensional stationary Schrödinger equation with hyperbolic and trigonometric quasiexactly solvable potentials.
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 $q$-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.
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.
Connection formulas relating Frobenius solutions of linear ODEs at different Fuchsian singular points can be expressed in terms of the large order asymptotics of the corresponding power series. We demonstrate that for the usual, confluent and reduced confluent Heun equation, the series expansion of the relevant asymptotic amplitude in a suitable parameter can be systematically computed to arbitrary order. This allows to check a recent conjecture of Bonelli-Iossa-Panea Lichtig-Tanzini expressing the Heun connection matrix in terms of quasiclassical Virasoro conformal blocks.
Integral relations and transformation rules are used to obtain, out of an asymptotic solution, a new group of four pairs of solutions to the double-confluent Heun equation. Each pair presents the same series coefficients but has solutions convergent in different regions of the complex plane. Integral relations are also established between solutions given by series of Coulomb wave functions. The Whittaker-Hill equation and another equation are studied as particular cases of both the double-confluent and the single-confluent Heun equations. Finally, applications for the Schrödinger equation with…
We introduce new hypergeometric series expansions of the solutions to the general Heun equation. The form of the Gauss hypergeometric functions used as expansion function differs from that used before. We derive three such expansions and further generate, by termination of the series, closed-form solutions for several sets of involved parameters.
The $q$-Heun equation and its variants arise as degenerations of Ruijsenaars-van Diejen operators with one particle. We investigate local properties of these equations. In particular we characterize the variants of the $q$-Heun equation by using analysis of regular singularities. We also consider the quasi-exact solvability of the $q$-Heun equation and its variants. Namely we investigate finite-dimensional subspaces which are invariant under the action of the $q$-Heun operator or variants of the $q$-Heun operator.
The explicit formulas for the maps interconnecting the sets of solutions of the special double confluent Heun equation and the equation of the RSJ model of overdamped Josephson junction in case of shifted sinusoidal bias are given. The approach these are based upon leans on the extensive application of eigenfunctions of certain linear operator acting on functions holomorphic on the universal cover of the punctured complex plane. The functional equation the eigenfunctions noted obey is derived, the matrix form of the monodromy transformation they infer is given.
In this work we establish new forms of Heun-to-Heun transformations and Heun-to-Hypergeometric transformations. The transformations are realised by changing the independent variable in a non-linear way. Using these we also point out some simple examples of transformations between equations that are not Fuchsian and that generalise the Heun-to-Hypergeometric transformations.
Several expansions of the solutions to the confluent Heun equation in terms of incomplete Beta functions are constructed. A new type of expansion involving certain combinations of the incomplete Beta functions as expansion functions is introduced. The necessary and sufficient conditions when the derived expansions are terminated, thus generating closed-form solutions, are discussed. It is shown that termination of a Beta-function series solution always leads to a solution that is necessarily an elementary function.
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,…
The cases when the equation for the derivative of the confluent Heun function has only three singularities (in general, the equation has four such points) are examined. It is shown that this occurs only in three specific cases. Further, it is shown that in all these three cases this equation is reduced to some confluent Heun equation with changed parameters. This means that in these cases the derivative of the confluent Heun function is expressed via some other confluent Heun function. The analysis of the obtained relations shows that they can be useful for the construction of some exact solut…
We present a simple systematic algorithm for construction of expansions of the solutions of ordinary differential equations with rational coefficients in terms of mathematical functions having indefinite integral representation. The approach employs an auxiliary equation involving only the derivatives of a solution of the equation under consideration. Using power-series expansions of the solutions of this auxiliary equation, we construct several expansions of the four confluent Heun equations' solutions in terms of the incomplete Gamma-functions. In the cases of single- and double-confluent He…
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 $z$, while the other is given by a series of modified Bessel functions and converges for $|z|>|z_{0}|$, where $z_{0}$ 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…
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.
Starting from equations obeyed by functions involving the first or the second derivatives of the biconfluent Heun function, we construct two expansions of the solutions of the biconfluent Heun equation in terms of incomplete Beta functions. The first series applies single Beta functions as expansion functions, while the second one involves a combination of two Beta functions. The coefficients of expansions obey four- and five-term recurrence relations, respectively. It is shown that the proposed technique is potent to produce series solutions in terms of other special functions. Two examples o…
Starting from the equation obeyed by the derivative, we construct several expansions of the solutions of the general Heun equation in terms of the Appell generalized hypergeometric functions of two variables of the fist kind. Several cases when the expansions reduce to ones written in terms of simpler mathematical functions such as the incomplete Beta function or the Gauss hypergeometric function are identified. The conditions for deriving finite-sum solutions via termination of the series are discussed. In general, the coefficients of the expansions obey four-term recurrence relations; howeve…
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 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.
Firstly, we construct kernels of integral relations among solutions of the confluent Heun equation (CHE) and its limit, the reduced CHE (RCHE). In both cases we generate additional kernels by systematically applying substitutions of variables. Secondly, we establish integral relations between known solutions of the CHE that are power series and solutions that are series of special functions; and similarly for solutions of the RCHE. Thirdly, by using one of the integral relations as an integral transformation we obtain a new series solution of the spheroidal wave equation. From this solution we…
This paper examines some solutions for confluent and double-confluent Heun equations. In the first place, we review two Leaver's solutions in series of regular and irregular confluent hypergeometric functions for the confluent equation and introduce an additional expansion in series of irregular confluent hypergeometric functions. Then, we find the conditions under which one of these solutions can be written as a linear combination of the others. In the second place, by means of limiting procedures we generate solutions for the double-confluent equation as well as for special limits of both th…
It is shown that there exist several ways to treat the quantum-mechanical Coulomb problem for a Dirac particle in flat Minkowski space with the help of the Heun differential equation, Fuchs's equation with four singular points. When extending the problem to curved spaces of constant curvature, Lobachevsky H_{3} and Rimann S_{3}, there arise 2-nd order differential equations of the Fuchs type with 6 singular points, a method to get relevant equations with five singular points has been elaborated.
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.
In the first part of our paper we discuss linear 2nd order differential equations in the complex domain, especially Heun class equations, that is, the Heun equation and its confluent cases. The second part of our paper is devoted to Painlevé I-VI equations. Our philosophy is to treat these families of equations in a unified way. This philosophy works especially well for Heun class equations. We discuss its classification into 5 supertypes, subdivided into 10 types (not counting trivial cases). We also introduce in a unified way deformed Heun class equations, which contain an additional nonloga…
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…
We show that the q-Heun equation and its variants appear in the linear q-difference equations associated to some q-Painlevé equations by considering the blow-up associated to their initial-value spaces. We obtain the firstly degenerated Ruijsenaars-van Diejen operator from the linear q-difference equation associated to the q-Painlevé equation of type $E_8$.
New solutions for the elliptic Darboux equation are obtained as particular cases of solutions constructed for Heun's general equation. We consider two groups of power series expansions and two new groups of expansions in series of Gauss hypergeometric functions. The convergence of one group in power series is determined by means of ratio tests for infinite series, while the other groups are designed to solve problems which admit finite-series solutions. Actually, we envisage periodic quasi-exactly solvable potentials for which the stationary one-dimensional Schrödinger equation is reduced to t…
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…
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.
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.
In a recent paper, the canonical forms of a new multi-parameter class of Abel differential equations, so-called AIR, all of whose members can be mapped into Riccati equations, were shown to be related to the differential equations for the hypergeometric 2F1, 1F1 and 0F1 functions. In this paper, a connection between the AIR canonical forms and the Heun General (GHE), Confluent (CHE) and Biconfluent (BHE) equations is presented. This connection fixes the value of one of the Heun parameters, expresses another one in terms of those remaining, and provides closed form solutions in terms of pFq fun…
The Heun functions satisfy linear ordinary differential equations of second order with certain singularities in the complex plane. The first order derivatives of the Heun functions satisfy linear second order differential equations with one more singularity. In this paper we compare these equations with linear differential equations isomonodromy deformations of which are described by the Painlevé equations $P_{II}-P_{VI}$.
We obtain integral representations of solutions to special cases of the Fuchsian system of differential equations and Heun's differential equation. In particular, we calculate the monodromy of solutions to the Fuchsian equation that corresponds to Picard's solution of the sixth Painlevé equation, and to Heun's equation.
Heun's equation naturally appears as special cases of Fuchsian system of differential equations of rank two with four singularities by introducing the space of initial conditions of the sixth Painlevé equation. Middle convolutions of the Fuchsian system are related with an integral transformation of Heun's equation.
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.
We review different methods of generating potentials such that the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation (ODSE) can be transformed into the hypergeometric equation. We compare our results with previous studies, and complement the subject with new findings. Our main result is to derive new classes of potentials such that the ODSE can be transformed into the Heun equation and its confluent cases. The generalized Heun equation is also considered.
By exploiting a recently developed connection between Heun's differential equation and the generalized associated Lamé equation, we not only recover the well known periodic solutions, but also obtain a large class of new, quasi-periodic solutions of Heun's equation. Each of the quasi-periodic solutions is doubly degenerate.
The harmonic Lagrange top is the Lagrange top plus a quadratic (harmonic) potential term. We describe the top in the space fixed frame using a global description with a Poisson structure on $T^*S^3$. This global description naturally leads to a rational parametrisation of the set of critical values of the energy-momentum map. We show that there are 4 different topological types for generic parameter values. The quantum mechanics of the harmonic Lagrange top is described by the most general confluent Heun equation (also known as the generalised spheroidal wave equation). We derive formulas for …
We give examples where the Heun function exists in general relativity. It turns out that while a wave equation written in the background of certain metric yields Mathieu functions as its solutions in four space-time dimensions, the trivial generalization to five dimensions results in the double confluent Heun function. We reduce this solution to the Mathieu function with some transformations.
The limit theorems of discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks on the line have been intensively studied. We show a relation among limit distributions of quantum walks, Heun differential equations and Gauss differential equations. Indeed, we derive the second-order Fucksian differential equations which limit density functions of quantum walks satisfy. Moreover, using both differential equations, we discuss a relationship between discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks. Taking suitable limit, we can transform a Heun equation obtained from the limit density function of the discrete-time q…
Applying the approach based on the equation for the derivative, we construct several expansions of the solutions of the general Heun equation in terms of the incomplete Beta functions. Several expansions in terms of the Appell generalized hypergeometric functions of two variables of the fist kind are also presented. The constructed expansions are applicable for arbitrary sets of the involved parameters. The coefficients of the expansions obey four-, five- or six-term recurrence relations. However, there exist several sets of the parameters for which the recurrence relations involve fewer terms…
We review several results on the finite-gap potential and Heun's differential equation, and we discuss relationships among the finite-gap potential, the WKB analysis and Heun's differential equation.
We transform the Schrödinger wave equation to a nine-parameter Heun-type differential equation. Using our solutions of the latter in [J. Math. Phys. 59 (2018) 113507], we are able to identify the associated potential function, energy parameter, and write the corresponding wave function. Some of the solutions obtained correspond to new integrable quantum systems.
The Heun-Racah operator is diagonalized with the help of the modified algebraic Bethe ansatz. This operator is the most general bilinear expression in two generators of the Racah algebra. A presentation of this algebra is given in terms of dynamical operators, and allows the construction of Bethe vectors for the Heun-Racah operator. The associated Bethe equations are derived for both the homogeneous and inhomogeneous cases.
A recently proposed algorithm to obtain global solutions of the double confluent Heun equation is applied to solve the quantum mechanical problem of finding the energies and wave functions of a particle bound in a potential sum of a repulsive supersingular term, Ar(-4), plus an attractive Coulombian one, -Zr(-1). The existence of exact algebraic solutions for certain values of A is discussed.
We find confluent Heun solutions to the radial equations of two Halilsoy-Badawi metrics. For the first metric, we studied the radial part of the massless Dirac equation and for the second case, we studied the radial part of the massless Klein-Gordon equation.
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 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.
We obtain isomonodromic transformations for Heun's equation by generalizing Darboux transformation, and we find pairs and triplets of Heun's equation which have the same monodromy structure. By composing generalized Darboux transformations, we establish a new construction of the commuting operator which ensures finite-gap property. As an application, we prove conjectures in part III.
We develop a theory for the Hermite-Krichever Ansatz on the Heun equation. As a byproduct, we find formulae which reduce hyperelliptic integrals to elliptic ones.
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…
