§2.8 Differential Equations with a Parameter
Contents
- §2.8(i) Classification of Cases
- §2.8(ii) Case I: No Transition Points
- §2.8(iii) Case II: Simple Turning Point
- §2.8(iv) Case III: Simple Pole
- §2.8(v) Multiple and Fractional Turning Points
- §2.8(vi) Coalescing Transition Points
§2.8(i) Classification of Cases
Many special functions satisfy an equation of the form
in which
is a real or complex parameter, and asymptotic solutions are
needed for large
that are uniform with respect to
in a point set
in
or
. For example,
can be the order of a
Bessel function or degree of an orthogonal polynomial. The form of the
asymptotic expansion depends on the nature of the transition points in
, that is, points at which
has a zero or singularity. Zeros
of
are also
called turning points.
There are three main cases. In Case I there are no transition points in
and
is analytic. In Case II
has a simple zero at
and
is analytic at
. In Case III
has a simple pole at
and
is analytic at
.
The same approach is used in all three cases. First we apply the
Liouville transformation (§1.13(iv)) to (2.8.1).
This introduces new variables
and
, related by
dots denoting differentiations with respect to
. Then
where
The transformation is now specialized in such a way that: (a)
and
are
analytic functions of each other at the transition point (if any); (b) the
approximating differential equation obtained by neglecting
(or part
of
) has solutions that are functions of a single variable. The
actual choices are as follows:
for Case I,
for Case II,
for Case III.
The transformed equation has the form
with
(Case I),
(Case II),
(Case III). In Cases I and
II the asymptotic solutions are in terms of the functions that satisfy
(2.8.8) with
. These are elementary functions in
Case I, and Airy functions (§9.2) in Case II. In Case III the
approximating equation is
where
as
. Solutions are Bessel
functions, or modified Bessel functions, of order
(§§10.2, 10.25).
§2.8(ii) Case I: No Transition Points
The transformed differential equation is
in which
ranges over a bounded or unbounded interval or domain
, and
is
or analytic on
. The parameter
is assumed to be real and positive.
Corresponding to each positive integer
there are solutions
,
, that depend on arbitrarily chosen reference points
, are
or analytic on
, and
as


with
and
(the constants of integration being arbitrary). The expansions
(2.8.11) and (2.8.12) are both uniform and
differentiable with respect to
. The regions of validity
comprise those points
that can be joined to
in
by a path
along which
is nondecreasing
or nonincreasing
as
passes from
to
. In addition,
and
must be bounded on
.
For error bounds, extensions to pure imaginary or complex
, an extension to
inhomogeneous differential equations, and examples, see
Olver (1997b, Chapter 10). This reference also supplies sufficient
conditions to ensure that the solutions
and
having the properties (2.8.11) and (2.8.12) are
independent of
.
§2.8(iii) Case II: Simple Turning Point
The transformed differential equation is
and for simplicity
is assumed to range over a finite or infinite interval
with
,
. Again,
and
is
on
. Corresponding to each
positive integer
there are solutions
,
, that are
on
, and as ![]()
Here
,
and
when
. For
and
see §9.2. The
expansions (2.8.15) and (2.8.16) are both uniform and
differentiable with respect to
. These results are valid when
and
are finite.
An alternative way of representing the error terms in (2.8.15) and
(2.8.16) is as follows. Let
be the real root of
the equation
of smallest absolute value, and define the envelopes
of
and
by
These envelopes are continuous functions of
, and as
uniformly with respect to
.
For error bounds, more delicate error estimates, extensions to complex
and
, zeros, connection formulas, extensions to inhomogeneous equations, and
examples, see Olver (1997b, Chapters 11, 13), Olver (1964b),
Reid (1974a, b), Boyd (1987), and
Baldwin (1991).
For other examples of uniform asymptotic approximations and expansions of special functions in terms of Airy functions see especially §10.20 and §§12.10(vii), 12.10(viii); also §§12.14(ix), 13.20(v), 13.21(iii), 13.21(iv), 15.12(iii), 18.15(iv), 30.9(i), 30.9(ii), 32.11(ii), 32.11(iii), 33.12(i), 33.12(ii), 33.20(iv), 36.12(ii), 36.13.
§2.8(iv) Case III: Simple Pole
The transformed equation (2.8.8) is renormalized as
We again assume
with
,
. Also,
is
on
, and
. The constant
(
)
is real and nonnegative.
There are two cases:
and
. In the
former, corresponding to any positive integer
there are solutions
,
, that are
on
, and
as ![]()
Here
,
. For
and
see
§10.25(ii). The expansions (2.8.25) and
(2.8.26) are both uniform and differentiable with respect to
. These results are valid when
and
are finite.
If
, then there are solutions
,
,
that are
on
, and as
Here
,
, and (2.8.28) again applies. For
and
see §10.2(ii). The expansions
(2.8.29) and (2.8.30) are both uniform and
differentiable with respect to
. These results are valid when
and
are finite.
Again, an alternative way of representing the error terms in
(2.8.29) and (2.8.30) is by means of envelope
functions.
Let
be the smallest positive root of the equation
Define
Then as
uniformly with respect to
.
For error bounds, more delicate error estimates, extensions to complex
,
,
and
, zeros, and examples see Olver (1997b, Chapter 12),
Boyd (1990a), and Dunster (1990a).
For other examples of uniform asymptotic approximations and expansions of special functions in terms of Bessel functions or modified Bessel functions of fixed order see §§13.8(iii), 13.21(i), 13.21(iv), 14.15(i), 14.15(iii), 14.20(vii), 15.12(iii), 18.15(i), 18.15(iv), 18.24, 33.20(iv).
§2.8(v) Multiple and Fractional Turning Points
The approach used in preceding subsections for equation (2.8.1)
also succeeds when
is a multiple or fractional turning
point. For the former
has a zero of multiplicity
and
is analytic. For the latter
and
are both analytic at
,
(
) being a real constant. In both cases uniform
asymptotic approximations are obtained in terms of Bessel functions of order
. More generally,
can have a simple or double pole at
. (In the case of the double pole the order of the approximating Bessel
functions is fixed but no longer
.) However, in all cases with
and
or
, only uniform asymptotic
approximations are available, not uniform asymptotic expansions. For results,
including error bounds, see Olver (1977c).
§2.8(vi) Coalescing Transition Points
Corresponding to the problems for integrals outlined in §§2.3(v), 2.4(v), and 2.4(vi), there are analogous problems for differential equations.
For two coalescing turning points see Olver (1975a, 1976) and Dunster (1996a); in this case the uniform approximants are parabolic cylinder functions. (For envelope functions for parabolic cylinder functions see §14.15(v)).
For a coalescing turning point and double pole see Boyd and Dunster (1986) and Dunster (1990b); in this case the uniform approximants are Bessel functions of variable order.
For a coalescing turning point and simple pole see Nestor (1984) and Dunster (1994b); in this case the uniform approximants are Whittaker functions (§13.14(i)) with a fixed value of the second parameter.
For further examples of uniform asymptotic approximations in terms of parabolic cylinder functions see §§13.20(iii), 13.20(iv), 14.15(v), 15.12(iii), 18.24.
For further examples of uniform asymptotic approximations in terms of Bessel functions or modified Bessel functions of variable order see §§13.21(ii), 14.15(ii), 14.15(iv), 14.20(viii), 30.9(i), 30.9(ii).
For examples of uniform asymptotic approximations in terms of Whittaker functions with fixed second parameter see §18.15(i) and §28.8(iv).
Lastly, for an example of a fourth-order differential equation, see Wong and Zhang (2007).

