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14 Legendre and Related FunctionsReal Arguments

§14.16 Zeros

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§14.16(i) Notation

Throughout this section we assume that \mu and \nu are real, and when they are not integers we write

where m, n\in\Integer and \delta_{{\mu}}, \delta_{{\nu}}\in(0,1). For all cases concerning \mathop{\mathsf{P}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) and \mathop{P^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) we assume that \nu\geq-\frac{1}{2} without loss of generality (see (14.9.5) and (14.9.11)).

§14.16(ii) Interval -1<x<1

The number of zeros of \mathop{\mathsf{P}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) in the interval (-1,1) is \max(\lceil\nu-|\mu|\rceil,0) if any of the following sets of conditions hold:

  • (a)

    \mu\leq 0.

  • (b)

    \mu>0, n\geq m, and \delta_{{\nu}}>\delta_{{\mu}}.

  • (c)

    \mu>0, n<m, and m-n is odd.

  • (d)

    \nu=0,1,2,3,\dots.

The number of zeros of \mathop{\mathsf{P}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) in the interval (-1,1) is \max(\lceil\nu-|\mu|\rceil,0)+1 if either of the following sets of conditions holds:

  • (a)

    \mu>0, n>m, and \delta_{{\nu}}\leq\delta_{{\mu}}.

  • (b)

    \mu>0, n<m, and m-n is even.

The zeros of \mathop{\mathsf{Q}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) in the interval (-1,1) interlace those of \mathop{\mathsf{P}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right). \mathop{\mathsf{Q}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) has \max(\lceil\nu-|\mu|\rceil,0)+k zeros in the interval (-1,1), where k can take one of the values −1, 0, 1, 2, subject to \max(\lceil\nu-|\mu|\rceil,0)+k being even or odd according as \mathop{\cos\/}\nolimits\!\left(\nu\pi\right) and \mathop{\cos\/}\nolimits\!\left(\mu\pi\right) have opposite signs or the same sign. In the special case \mu=0 and \nu=n=0,1,2,3,\dots, \mathop{\mathsf{Q}_{{n}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) has n+1 zeros in the interval -1<x<1.

For uniform asymptotic approximations for the zeros of \mathop{\mathsf{P}^{{-m}}_{{n}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) in the interval -1<x<1 when n\to\infty with m (\geq 0) fixed, see Olver (1997b, p. 469).

§14.16(iii) Interval 1<x<\infty

\mathop{P^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) has exactly one zero in the interval (1,\infty) if either of the following sets of conditions holds:

  • (a)

    \mu>0, \mu>\nu, \mu\notin\Integer, and \mathop{\sin\/}\nolimits\!\left((\mu-\nu)\pi\right) and \mathop{\sin\/}\nolimits\!\left(\mu\pi\right) have opposite signs.

  • (b)

    \mu\leq\nu, \mu\notin\Integer, and \lfloor\mu\rfloor is odd.

For all other values of \mu and \nu (with \nu\geq-\frac{1}{2}) \mathop{P^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) has no zeros in the interval (1,\infty).

\mathop{\boldsymbol{Q}^{{\mu}}_{{\nu}}\/}\nolimits\!\left(x\right) has no zeros in the interval (1,\infty) when \nu>-1, and at most one zero in the interval (1,\infty) when \nu<-1.