For each pair of values of
and
there are four infinite unbounded sets
of real eigenvalues
for which equation (29.2.1) has even or odd
solutions with periods
or
. They are denoted
by
,
,
,
, where
;
see Table 29.3.1.
| eigenvalue |
parity | period |
|---|---|---|
| even | ||
| odd | ||
| even | ||
| odd |
The eigenvalues interlace according to
The eigenvalues coalesce according to
If
is distinct from
, then
If
is a nonnegative integer, then
For the special case
see
Erdélyi et al. (1955, §15.5.2).
The quantity
satisfies the continued-fraction equation
where
is any nonnegative integer, and
The continued fraction following the second negative sign on the left-hand side
of (29.3.10) is finite: it equals 0 if
, and if
, then
the last denominator is
. If
is a nonnegative integer and
, then the continued fraction on the right-hand side of
(29.3.10) terminates, and (29.3.10) has only the solutions
(29.3.9) with
. If
is a nonnegative integer and
, then (29.3.10) has only the solutions (29.3.9)
with
.
The quantity
satisfies
equation (29.3.10) with
The eigenfunctions corresponding to the eigenvalues of §29.3(i) are
denoted by
,
,
,
. They are called
Lamé functions with real periods and of order
, or more simply,
Lamé functions. See Table 29.3.2. In this table the
nonnegative integer
corresponds to the number of zeros of each Lamé
function in
, whereas the superscripts
,
, or
correspond to the number of zeros in
.
| boundary conditions |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| even | even | ||||||||||||||
| odd | even | ||||||||||||||
| even | odd | ||||||||||||||
| odd | odd |
For
see §22.2.
To complete the definitions,
is positive
and
is negative.
For power-series expansions of the eigenvalues see Volkmer (2004b).