Sequence of differential equation solutions
Complex color plot of the Laguerre polynomial L n(x) with n as -1 divided by 9 and x as z to the power of 4 from -2-2i to 2+2i In mathematics , the Laguerre polynomials , named after Edmond Laguerre (1834–1886), are nontrivial solutions of Laguerre's differential equation:
x
y
″
+
(
1
−
x
)
y
′
+
n
y
=
0
,
y
=
y
(
x
)
{\displaystyle xy''+(1-x)y'+ny=0,\ y=y(x)}
linear differential equation . This equation has nonsingular solutions only if n is a non-negative integer.
Sometimes the name Laguerre polynomials is used for solutions of
x
y
″
+
(
α
+
1
−
x
)
y
′
+
n
y
=
0
.
{\displaystyle xy''+(\alpha +1-x)y'+ny=0~.}
n is still a non-negative integer.
Then they are also named generalized Laguerre polynomials , as will be done here (alternatively associated Laguerre polynomials or, rarely, Sonine polynomials , after their inventor[ 1] Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin ).
More generally, a Laguerre function is a solution when n is not necessarily a non-negative integer.
The Laguerre polynomials are also used for Gauss–Laguerre quadrature to numerically compute integrals of the form
∫
0
∞
f
(
x
)
e
−
x
d
x
.
{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\infty }f(x)e^{-x}\,dx.}
These polynomials, usually denoted L 0 L 1 polynomial sequence which may be defined by the Rodrigues formula ,
L
n
(
x
)
=
e
x
n
!
d
n
d
x
n
(
e
−
x
x
n
)
=
1
n
!
(
d
d
x
−
1
)
n
x
n
,
{\displaystyle L_{n}(x)={\frac {e^{x}}{n!}}{\frac {d^{n}}{dx^{n}}}\left(e^{-x}x^{n}\right)={\frac {1}{n!}}\left({\frac {d}{dx}}-1\right)^{n}x^{n},}
They are orthogonal polynomials with respect to an inner product
⟨
f
,
g
⟩
=
∫
0
∞
f
(
x
)
g
(
x
)
e
−
x
d
x
.
{\displaystyle \langle f,g\rangle =\int _{0}^{\infty }f(x)g(x)e^{-x}\,dx.}
The rook polynomials in combinatorics are more or less the same as Laguerre polynomials, up to elementary changes of variables. Further see the Tricomi–Carlitz polynomials .
The Laguerre polynomials arise in quantum mechanics, in the radial part of the solution of the Schrödinger equation for a one-electron atom. They also describe the static Wigner functions of oscillator systems in quantum mechanics in phase space . They further enter in the quantum mechanics of the Morse potential and of the 3D isotropic harmonic oscillator .
Physicists sometimes use a definition for the Laguerre polynomials that is larger by a factor of n ! than the definition used here. (Likewise, some physicists may use somewhat different definitions of the so-called associated Laguerre polynomials.)
The first few polynomials [ edit ] These are the first few Laguerre polynomials:
n
L
n
(
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}(x)\,}
0
1
{\displaystyle 1\,}
1
−
x
+
1
{\displaystyle -x+1\,}
2
1
2
(
x
2
−
4
x
+
2
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{2}}(x^{2}-4x+2)\,}
3
1
6
(
−
x
3
+
9
x
2
−
18
x
+
6
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{6}}(-x^{3}+9x^{2}-18x+6)\,}
4
1
24
(
x
4
−
16
x
3
+
72
x
2
−
96
x
+
24
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{24}}(x^{4}-16x^{3}+72x^{2}-96x+24)\,}
5
1
120
(
−
x
5
+
25
x
4
−
200
x
3
+
600
x
2
−
600
x
+
120
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{120}}(-x^{5}+25x^{4}-200x^{3}+600x^{2}-600x+120)\,}
6
1
720
(
x
6
−
36
x
5
+
450
x
4
−
2400
x
3
+
5400
x
2
−
4320
x
+
720
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{720}}(x^{6}-36x^{5}+450x^{4}-2400x^{3}+5400x^{2}-4320x+720)\,}
7
1
5040
(
−
x
7
+
49
x
6
−
882
x
5
+
7350
x
4
−
29400
x
3
+
52920
x
2
−
35280
x
+
5040
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{5040}}(-x^{7}+49x^{6}-882x^{5}+7350x^{4}-29400x^{3}+52920x^{2}-35280x+5040)\,}
8
1
40320
(
x
8
−
64
x
7
+
1568
x
6
−
18816
x
5
+
117600
x
4
−
376320
x
3
+
564480
x
2
−
322560
x
+
40320
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{40320}}(x^{8}-64x^{7}+1568x^{6}-18816x^{5}+117600x^{4}-376320x^{3}+564480x^{2}-322560x+40320)\,}
9
1
362880
(
−
x
9
+
81
x
8
−
2592
x
7
+
42336
x
6
−
381024
x
5
+
1905120
x
4
−
5080320
x
3
+
6531840
x
2
−
3265920
x
+
362880
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{362880}}(-x^{9}+81x^{8}-2592x^{7}+42336x^{6}-381024x^{5}+1905120x^{4}-5080320x^{3}+6531840x^{2}-3265920x+362880)\,}
10
1
3628800
(
x
10
−
100
x
9
+
4050
x
8
−
86400
x
7
+
1058400
x
6
−
7620480
x
5
+
31752000
x
4
−
72576000
x
3
+
81648000
x
2
−
36288000
x
+
3628800
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{3628800}}(x^{10}-100x^{9}+4050x^{8}-86400x^{7}+1058400x^{6}-7620480x^{5}+31752000x^{4}-72576000x^{3}+81648000x^{2}-36288000x+3628800)\,}
n
1
n
!
(
(
−
x
)
n
+
n
2
(
−
x
)
n
−
1
+
⋯
+
n
(
n
!
)
(
−
x
)
+
n
!
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{n!}}((-x)^{n}+n^{2}(-x)^{n-1}+\dots +n({n!})(-x)+n!)\,}
The first six Laguerre polynomials. One can also define the Laguerre polynomials recursively, defining the first two polynomials as
L
0
(
x
)
=
1
{\displaystyle L_{0}(x)=1}
L
1
(
x
)
=
1
−
x
{\displaystyle L_{1}(x)=1-x}
recurrence relation for any k ≥ 1
L
k
+
1
(
x
)
=
(
2
k
+
1
−
x
)
L
k
(
x
)
−
k
L
k
−
1
(
x
)
k
+
1
.
{\displaystyle L_{k+1}(x)={\frac {(2k+1-x)L_{k}(x)-kL_{k-1}(x)}{k+1}}.}
x
L
n
′
(
x
)
=
n
L
n
(
x
)
−
n
L
n
−
1
(
x
)
.
{\displaystyle xL'_{n}(x)=nL_{n}(x)-nL_{n-1}(x).}
In solution of some boundary value problems, the characteristic values can be useful:
L
k
(
0
)
=
1
,
L
k
′
(
0
)
=
−
k
.
{\displaystyle L_{k}(0)=1,L_{k}'(0)=-k.}
The closed form is
L
n
(
x
)
=
∑
k
=
0
n
(
n
k
)
(
−
1
)
k
k
!
x
k
.
{\displaystyle L_{n}(x)=\sum _{k=0}^{n}{\binom {n}{k}}{\frac {(-1)^{k}}{k!}}x^{k}.}
The generating function for them likewise follows,
∑
n
=
0
∞
t
n
L
n
(
x
)
=
1
1
−
t
e
−
t
x
/
(
1
−
t
)
.
{\displaystyle \sum _{n=0}^{\infty }t^{n}L_{n}(x)={\frac {1}{1-t}}e^{-tx/(1-t)}.}
L
n
(
x
)
=
1
n
!
e
x
d
n
d
x
n
(
x
n
e
−
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}(x)={\frac {1}{n!}}e^{x}{\frac {d^{n}}{dx^{n}}}(x^{n}e^{-x})}
Polynomials of negative index can be expressed using the ones with positive index:
L
−
n
(
x
)
=
e
x
L
n
−
1
(
−
x
)
.
{\displaystyle L_{-n}(x)=e^{x}L_{n-1}(-x).}
Generalized Laguerre polynomials [ edit ] For arbitrary real α the polynomial solutions of the differential equation[ 2]
x
y
″
+
(
α
+
1
−
x
)
y
′
+
n
y
=
0
{\displaystyle x\,y''+\left(\alpha +1-x\right)y'+n\,y=0}
generalized Laguerre polynomials , or associated Laguerre polynomials .
One can also define the generalized Laguerre polynomials recursively, defining the first two polynomials as
L
0
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
1
{\displaystyle L_{0}^{(\alpha )}(x)=1}
L
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
1
+
α
−
x
{\displaystyle L_{1}^{(\alpha )}(x)=1+\alpha -x}
and then using the following recurrence relation for any k ≥ 1
L
k
+
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
2
k
+
1
+
α
−
x
)
L
k
(
α
)
(
x
)
−
(
k
+
α
)
L
k
−
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
k
+
1
.
{\displaystyle L_{k+1}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {(2k+1+\alpha -x)L_{k}^{(\alpha )}(x)-(k+\alpha )L_{k-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)}{k+1}}.}
The simple Laguerre polynomials are the special case α = 0
L
n
(
0
)
(
x
)
=
L
n
(
x
)
.
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(0)}(x)=L_{n}(x).}
The Rodrigues formula for them is
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
x
−
α
e
x
n
!
d
n
d
x
n
(
e
−
x
x
n
+
α
)
=
x
−
α
n
!
(
d
d
x
−
1
)
n
x
n
+
α
.
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={x^{-\alpha }e^{x} \over n!}{d^{n} \over dx^{n}}\left(e^{-x}x^{n+\alpha }\right)={\frac {x^{-\alpha }}{n!}}\left({\frac {d}{dx}}-1\right)^{n}x^{n+\alpha }.}
The generating function for them is
∑
n
=
0
∞
t
n
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
1
(
1
−
t
)
α
+
1
e
−
t
x
/
(
1
−
t
)
.
{\displaystyle \sum _{n=0}^{\infty }t^{n}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {1}{(1-t)^{\alpha +1}}}e^{-tx/(1-t)}.}
The first few generalized Laguerre polynomials, Ln (k ) (x ) Explicit examples and properties of the generalized Laguerre polynomials [ edit ] Laguerre functions are defined by confluent hypergeometric functions and Kummer's transformation as[ 3]
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
:=
(
n
+
α
n
)
M
(
−
n
,
α
+
1
,
x
)
.
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x):={n+\alpha \choose n}M(-n,\alpha +1,x).}
(
n
+
α
n
)
{\textstyle {n+\alpha \choose n}}
binomial coefficient . When n is an integer the function reduces to a polynomial of degree n . It has the alternative expression[ 4]
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
−
1
)
n
n
!
U
(
−
n
,
α
+
1
,
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {(-1)^{n}}{n!}}U(-n,\alpha +1,x)}
Kummer's function of the second kind .
The closed form for these generalized Laguerre polynomials of degree n is[ 5]
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
(
−
1
)
i
(
n
+
α
n
−
i
)
x
i
i
!
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{n}(-1)^{i}{n+\alpha \choose n-i}{\frac {x^{i}}{i!}}}
Leibniz's theorem for differentiation of a product to Rodrigues' formula.
Laguerre polynomials have a differential operator representation, much like the closely related Hermite polynomials. Namely, let
D
=
d
d
x
{\displaystyle D={\frac {d}{dx}}}
M
=
x
D
2
+
(
α
+
1
)
D
{\displaystyle M=xD^{2}+(\alpha +1)D}
exp
(
−
t
M
)
x
n
=
(
−
1
)
n
t
n
n
!
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
t
)
{\displaystyle \exp(-tM)x^{n}=(-1)^{n}t^{n}n!L_{n}^{(\alpha )}\left({\frac {x}{t}}\right)}
[citation needed
The first few generalized Laguerre polynomials are:
n
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)\,}
0
1
{\displaystyle 1\,}
1
−
x
+
α
+
1
{\displaystyle -x+\alpha +1\,}
2
1
2
(
x
2
−
2
(
α
+
2
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
(
α
+
2
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{2}}(x^{2}-2\left(\alpha +2\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\left(\alpha +2\right))\,}
3
1
6
(
−
x
3
+
3
(
α
+
3
)
x
2
−
3
(
α
+
2
)
(
α
+
3
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
(
α
+
2
)
(
α
+
3
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{6}}(-x^{3}+3\left(\alpha +3\right)x^{2}-3\left(\alpha +2\right)\left(\alpha +3\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\left(\alpha +2\right)\left(\alpha +3\right))\,}
4
1
24
(
x
4
−
4
(
α
+
4
)
x
3
+
6
(
α
+
3
)
(
α
+
4
)
x
2
−
4
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
4
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
4
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{24}}(x^{4}-4\left(\alpha +4\right)x^{3}+6\left(\alpha +3\right)\left(\alpha +4\right)x^{2}-4\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +4\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +4\right))\,}
5
1
120
(
−
x
5
+
5
(
α
+
5
)
x
4
−
10
(
α
+
4
)
(
α
+
5
)
x
3
+
10
(
α
+
3
)
⋯
(
α
+
5
)
x
2
−
5
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
5
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
5
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{120}}(-x^{5}+5\left(\alpha +5\right)x^{4}-10\left(\alpha +4\right)\left(\alpha +5\right)x^{3}+10\left(\alpha +3\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +5\right)x^{2}-5\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +5\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +5\right))\,}
6
1
720
(
x
6
−
6
(
α
+
6
)
x
5
+
15
(
α
+
5
)
(
α
+
6
)
x
4
−
20
(
α
+
4
)
⋯
(
α
+
6
)
x
3
+
15
(
α
+
3
)
⋯
(
α
+
6
)
x
2
−
6
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
6
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
6
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{720}}(x^{6}-6\left(\alpha +6\right)x^{5}+15\left(\alpha +5\right)\left(\alpha +6\right)x^{4}-20\left(\alpha +4\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +6\right)x^{3}+15\left(\alpha +3\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +6\right)x^{2}-6\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +6\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +6\right))\,}
7
1
5040
(
−
x
7
+
7
(
α
+
7
)
x
6
−
21
(
α
+
6
)
(
α
+
7
)
x
5
+
35
(
α
+
5
)
⋯
(
α
+
7
)
x
4
−
35
(
α
+
4
)
⋯
(
α
+
7
)
x
3
+
21
(
α
+
3
)
⋯
(
α
+
7
)
x
2
−
7
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
7
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
7
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{5040}}(-x^{7}+7\left(\alpha +7\right)x^{6}-21\left(\alpha +6\right)\left(\alpha +7\right)x^{5}+35\left(\alpha +5\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +7\right)x^{4}-35\left(\alpha +4\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +7\right)x^{3}+21\left(\alpha +3\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +7\right)x^{2}-7\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +7\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +7\right))\,}
8
1
40320
(
x
8
−
8
(
α
+
8
)
x
7
+
28
(
α
+
7
)
(
α
+
8
)
x
6
−
56
(
α
+
6
)
⋯
(
α
+
8
)
x
5
+
70
(
α
+
5
)
⋯
(
α
+
8
)
x
4
−
56
(
α
+
4
)
⋯
(
α
+
8
)
x
3
+
28
(
α
+
3
)
⋯
(
α
+
8
)
x
2
−
8
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
8
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
8
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{40320}}(x^{8}-8\left(\alpha +8\right)x^{7}+28\left(\alpha +7\right)\left(\alpha +8\right)x^{6}-56\left(\alpha +6\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +8\right)x^{5}+70\left(\alpha +5\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +8\right)x^{4}-56\left(\alpha +4\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +8\right)x^{3}+28\left(\alpha +3\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +8\right)x^{2}-8\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +8\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +8\right))\,}
9
1
362880
(
−
x
9
+
9
(
α
+
9
)
x
8
−
36
(
α
+
8
)
(
α
+
9
)
x
7
+
84
(
α
+
7
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
x
6
−
126
(
α
+
6
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
x
5
+
126
(
α
+
5
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
x
4
−
84
(
α
+
4
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
x
3
+
36
(
α
+
3
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
x
2
−
9
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
9
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{362880}}(-x^{9}+9\left(\alpha +9\right)x^{8}-36\left(\alpha +8\right)\left(\alpha +9\right)x^{7}+84\left(\alpha +7\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right)x^{6}-126\left(\alpha +6\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right)x^{5}+126\left(\alpha +5\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right)x^{4}-84\left(\alpha +4\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right)x^{3}+36\left(\alpha +3\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right)x^{2}-9\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +9\right))\,}
10
1
3628800
(
x
10
−
10
(
α
+
10
)
x
9
+
45
(
α
+
9
)
(
α
+
10
)
x
8
−
120
(
α
+
8
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
7
+
210
(
α
+
7
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
6
−
252
(
α
+
6
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
5
+
210
(
α
+
5
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
4
−
120
(
α
+
4
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
3
+
45
(
α
+
3
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
2
−
10
(
α
+
2
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
x
+
(
α
+
1
)
⋯
(
α
+
10
)
)
{\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{3628800}}(x^{10}-10\left(\alpha +10\right)x^{9}+45\left(\alpha +9\right)\left(\alpha +10\right)x^{8}-120\left(\alpha +8\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x^{7}+210\left(\alpha +7\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x^{6}-252\left(\alpha +6\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x^{5}+210\left(\alpha +5\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x^{4}-120\left(\alpha +4\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x^{3}+45\left(\alpha +3\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x^{2}-10\left(\alpha +2\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right)x+\left(\alpha +1\right)\cdots \left(\alpha +10\right))\,}
The coefficient of the leading term is (−1)n n ! ;
The constant term , which is the value at 0, is
L
n
(
α
)
(
0
)
=
(
n
+
α
n
)
=
Γ
(
n
+
α
+
1
)
n
!
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
;
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(0)={n+\alpha \choose n}={\frac {\Gamma (n+\alpha +1)}{n!\,\Gamma (\alpha +1)}};}
If α L n (α ) has n real , strictly positive roots (notice that
(
(
−
1
)
n
−
i
L
n
−
i
(
α
)
)
i
=
0
n
{\displaystyle \left((-1)^{n-i}L_{n-i}^{(\alpha )}\right)_{i=0}^{n}}
Sturm chain ), which are all in the interval
(
0
,
n
+
α
+
(
n
−
1
)
n
+
α
]
.
{\displaystyle \left(0,n+\alpha +(n-1){\sqrt {n+\alpha }}\,\right].}
[citation needed
The polynomials' asymptotic behaviour for large n , but fixed α and x > 0[ 6] [ 7]
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
n
α
2
−
1
4
π
e
x
2
x
α
2
+
1
4
sin
(
2
n
x
−
π
2
(
α
−
1
2
)
)
+
O
(
n
α
2
−
3
4
)
,
L
n
(
α
)
(
−
x
)
=
(
n
+
1
)
α
2
−
1
4
2
π
e
−
x
/
2
x
α
2
+
1
4
e
2
x
(
n
+
1
)
⋅
(
1
+
O
(
1
n
+
1
)
)
,
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}&L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {n^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}-{\frac {1}{4}}}}{\sqrt {\pi }}}{\frac {e^{\frac {x}{2}}}{x^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}+{\frac {1}{4}}}}}\sin \left(2{\sqrt {nx}}-{\frac {\pi }{2}}\left(\alpha -{\frac {1}{2}}\right)\right)+O\left(n^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}-{\frac {3}{4}}}\right),\\[6pt]&L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(-x)={\frac {(n+1)^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}-{\frac {1}{4}}}}{2{\sqrt {\pi }}}}{\frac {e^{-x/2}}{x^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}+{\frac {1}{4}}}}}e^{2{\sqrt {x(n+1)}}}\cdot \left(1+O\left({\frac {1}{\sqrt {n+1}}}\right)\right),\end{aligned}}}
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
n
)
n
α
≈
e
x
/
2
n
⋅
J
α
(
2
x
)
x
α
,
{\displaystyle {\frac {L_{n}^{(\alpha )}\left({\frac {x}{n}}\right)}{n^{\alpha }}}\approx e^{x/2n}\cdot {\frac {J_{\alpha }\left(2{\sqrt {x}}\right)}{{\sqrt {x}}^{\alpha }}},}
J
α
{\displaystyle J_{\alpha }}
Bessel function . As a contour integral [ edit ] Given the generating function specified above, the polynomials may be expressed in terms of a contour integral
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
1
2
π
i
∮
C
e
−
x
t
/
(
1
−
t
)
(
1
−
t
)
α
+
1
t
n
+
1
d
t
,
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {1}{2\pi i}}\oint _{C}{\frac {e^{-xt/(1-t)}}{(1-t)^{\alpha +1}\,t^{n+1}}}\;dt,}
Recurrence relations [ edit ] The addition formula for Laguerre polynomials:[ 8]
L
n
(
α
+
β
+
1
)
(
x
+
y
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
n
−
i
(
β
)
(
y
)
.
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha +\beta +1)}(x+y)=\sum _{i=0}^{n}L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n-i}^{(\beta )}(y).}
Laguerre's polynomials satisfy the recurrence relations
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
L
n
−
i
(
α
+
i
)
(
y
)
(
y
−
x
)
i
i
!
,
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{n}L_{n-i}^{(\alpha +i)}(y){\frac {(y-x)^{i}}{i!}},}
L
n
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{n}L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)}
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
(
α
−
β
+
n
−
i
−
1
n
−
i
)
L
i
(
β
)
(
x
)
,
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\alpha -\beta +n-i-1 \choose n-i}L_{i}^{(\beta )}(x),}
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
(
α
−
β
+
n
n
−
i
)
L
i
(
β
−
i
)
(
x
)
;
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\alpha -\beta +n \choose n-i}L_{i}^{(\beta -i)}(x);}
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
−
∑
j
=
0
Δ
−
1
(
n
+
α
n
−
j
)
(
−
1
)
j
x
j
j
!
=
(
−
1
)
Δ
x
Δ
(
Δ
−
1
)
!
∑
i
=
0
n
−
Δ
(
n
+
α
n
−
Δ
−
i
)
(
n
−
i
)
(
n
i
)
L
i
(
α
+
Δ
)
(
x
)
=
(
−
1
)
Δ
x
Δ
(
Δ
−
1
)
!
∑
i
=
0
n
−
Δ
(
n
+
α
−
i
−
1
n
−
Δ
−
i
)
(
n
−
i
)
(
n
i
)
L
i
(
n
+
α
+
Δ
−
i
)
(
x
)
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)-\sum _{j=0}^{\Delta -1}{n+\alpha \choose n-j}(-1)^{j}{\frac {x^{j}}{j!}}&=(-1)^{\Delta }{\frac {x^{\Delta }}{(\Delta -1)!}}\sum _{i=0}^{n-\Delta }{\frac {n+\alpha \choose n-\Delta -i}{(n-i){n \choose i}}}L_{i}^{(\alpha +\Delta )}(x)\\[6pt]&=(-1)^{\Delta }{\frac {x^{\Delta }}{(\Delta -1)!}}\sum _{i=0}^{n-\Delta }{\frac {n+\alpha -i-1 \choose n-\Delta -i}{(n-i){n \choose i}}}L_{i}^{(n+\alpha +\Delta -i)}(x)\end{aligned}}}
They can be used to derive the four 3-point-rules
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
L
n
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
−
L
n
−
1
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
=
∑
j
=
0
k
(
k
j
)
(
−
1
)
j
L
n
−
j
(
α
+
k
)
(
x
)
,
n
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
n
+
α
)
L
n
−
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
−
x
L
n
−
1
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
,
or
x
k
k
!
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
k
(
−
1
)
i
(
n
+
i
i
)
(
n
+
α
k
−
i
)
L
n
+
i
(
α
−
k
)
(
x
)
,
n
L
n
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
=
(
n
−
x
)
L
n
−
1
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
+
(
n
+
α
)
L
n
−
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
x
L
n
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
=
(
n
+
α
)
L
n
−
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
−
(
n
−
x
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
;
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=L_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)-L_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)=\sum _{j=0}^{k}{k \choose j}(-1)^{j}L_{n-j}^{(\alpha +k)}(x),\\[10pt]nL_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=(n+\alpha )L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)-xL_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x),\\[10pt]&{\text{or }}\\{\frac {x^{k}}{k!}}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=\sum _{i=0}^{k}(-1)^{i}{n+i \choose i}{n+\alpha \choose k-i}L_{n+i}^{(\alpha -k)}(x),\\[10pt]nL_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)&=(n-x)L_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)+(n+\alpha )L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)\\[10pt]xL_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)&=(n+\alpha )L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)-(n-x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x);\end{aligned}}}
combined they give this additional, useful recurrence relations
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
2
+
α
−
1
−
x
n
)
L
n
−
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
−
(
1
+
α
−
1
n
)
L
n
−
2
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
α
+
1
−
x
n
L
n
−
1
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
−
x
n
L
n
−
2
(
α
+
2
)
(
x
)
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=\left(2+{\frac {\alpha -1-x}{n}}\right)L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)-\left(1+{\frac {\alpha -1}{n}}\right)L_{n-2}^{(\alpha )}(x)\\[10pt]&={\frac {\alpha +1-x}{n}}L_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)-{\frac {x}{n}}L_{n-2}^{(\alpha +2)}(x)\end{aligned}}}
Since
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)}
n
{\displaystyle n}
α
{\displaystyle \alpha }
partial fraction decomposition
n
!
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
(
α
+
1
)
n
=
1
−
∑
j
=
1
n
(
−
1
)
j
j
α
+
j
(
n
j
)
L
n
(
−
j
)
(
x
)
=
1
−
∑
j
=
1
n
x
j
α
+
j
L
n
−
j
(
j
)
(
x
)
(
j
−
1
)
!
=
1
−
x
∑
i
=
1
n
L
n
−
i
(
−
α
)
(
x
)
L
i
−
1
(
α
+
1
)
(
−
x
)
α
+
i
.
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\frac {n!\,L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)}{(\alpha +1)_{n}}}&=1-\sum _{j=1}^{n}(-1)^{j}{\frac {j}{\alpha +j}}{n \choose j}L_{n}^{(-j)}(x)\\&=1-\sum _{j=1}^{n}{\frac {x^{j}}{\alpha +j}}\,\,{\frac {L_{n-j}^{(j)}(x)}{(j-1)!}}\\&=1-x\sum _{i=1}^{n}{\frac {L_{n-i}^{(-\alpha )}(x)L_{i-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(-x)}{\alpha +i}}.\end{aligned}}}
i and n and immediate from the expression of
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)}
Charlier polynomials :
(
−
x
)
i
i
!
L
n
(
i
−
n
)
(
x
)
=
(
−
x
)
n
n
!
L
i
(
n
−
i
)
(
x
)
.
{\displaystyle {\frac {(-x)^{i}}{i!}}L_{n}^{(i-n)}(x)={\frac {(-x)^{n}}{n!}}L_{i}^{(n-i)}(x).}
Derivatives of generalized Laguerre polynomials [ edit ] Differentiating the power series representation of a generalized Laguerre polynomial k times leads to
d
k
d
x
k
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
{
(
−
1
)
k
L
n
−
k
(
α
+
k
)
(
x
)
if
k
≤
n
,
0
otherwise.
{\displaystyle {\frac {d^{k}}{dx^{k}}}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\begin{cases}(-1)^{k}L_{n-k}^{(\alpha +k)}(x)&{\text{if }}k\leq n,\\0&{\text{otherwise.}}\end{cases}}}
This points to a special case (α = 0α = k
L
n
(
k
)
(
x
)
=
(
−
1
)
k
d
k
L
n
+
k
(
x
)
d
x
k
,
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(k)}(x)=(-1)^{k}{\frac {d^{k}L_{n+k}(x)}{dx^{k}}},}
k sometimes causing confusion with the usual parenthesis notation for a derivative.
Moreover, the following equation holds:
1
k
!
d
k
d
x
k
x
α
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
n
+
α
k
)
x
α
−
k
L
n
(
α
−
k
)
(
x
)
,
{\displaystyle {\frac {1}{k!}}{\frac {d^{k}}{dx^{k}}}x^{\alpha }L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={n+\alpha \choose k}x^{\alpha -k}L_{n}^{(\alpha -k)}(x),}
Cauchy's formula to
L
n
(
α
′
)
(
x
)
=
(
α
′
−
α
)
(
α
′
+
n
α
′
−
α
)
∫
0
x
t
α
(
x
−
t
)
α
′
−
α
−
1
x
α
′
L
n
(
α
)
(
t
)
d
t
.
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha ')}(x)=(\alpha '-\alpha ){\alpha '+n \choose \alpha '-\alpha }\int _{0}^{x}{\frac {t^{\alpha }(x-t)^{\alpha '-\alpha -1}}{x^{\alpha '}}}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(t)\,dt.}
The derivative with respect to the second variable α has the form,[ 9]
d
d
α
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
−
1
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
n
−
i
.
{\displaystyle {\frac {d}{d\alpha }}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{n-1}{\frac {L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)}{n-i}}.}
x
L
n
(
α
)
′
′
(
x
)
+
(
α
+
1
−
x
)
L
n
(
α
)
′
(
x
)
+
n
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
0
,
{\displaystyle xL_{n}^{(\alpha )\prime \prime }(x)+(\alpha +1-x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )\prime }(x)+nL_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=0,}
k th derivative of the ordinary Laguerre polynomial,
x
L
n
[
k
]
′
′
(
x
)
+
(
k
+
1
−
x
)
L
n
[
k
]
′
(
x
)
+
(
n
−
k
)
L
n
[
k
]
(
x
)
=
0
,
{\displaystyle xL_{n}^{[k]\prime \prime }(x)+(k+1-x)L_{n}^{[k]\prime }(x)+(n-k)L_{n}^{[k]}(x)=0,}
L
n
[
k
]
(
x
)
≡
d
k
L
n
(
x
)
d
x
k
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{[k]}(x)\equiv {\frac {d^{k}L_{n}(x)}{dx^{k}}}}
In Sturm–Liouville form the differential equation is
−
(
x
α
+
1
e
−
x
⋅
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
′
)
′
=
n
⋅
x
α
e
−
x
⋅
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
,
{\displaystyle -\left(x^{\alpha +1}e^{-x}\cdot L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)^{\prime }\right)'=n\cdot x^{\alpha }e^{-x}\cdot L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x),}
which shows that L (α) n n .
The generalized Laguerre polynomials are orthogonal over [0, ∞) with respect to the measure with weighting function xα e −x [ 10]
∫
0
∞
x
α
e
−
x
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
m
(
α
)
(
x
)
d
x
=
Γ
(
n
+
α
+
1
)
n
!
δ
n
,
m
,
{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\infty }x^{\alpha }e^{-x}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{m}^{(\alpha )}(x)dx={\frac {\Gamma (n+\alpha +1)}{n!}}\delta _{n,m},}
which follows from
∫
0
∞
x
α
′
−
1
e
−
x
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
d
x
=
(
α
−
α
′
+
n
n
)
Γ
(
α
′
)
.
{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\infty }x^{\alpha '-1}e^{-x}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)dx={\alpha -\alpha '+n \choose n}\Gamma (\alpha ').}
If
Γ
(
x
,
α
+
1
,
1
)
{\displaystyle \Gamma (x,\alpha +1,1)}
∫
0
∞
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
m
(
α
)
(
x
)
Γ
(
x
,
α
+
1
,
1
)
d
x
=
(
n
+
α
n
)
δ
n
,
m
,
{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\infty }L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{m}^{(\alpha )}(x)\Gamma (x,\alpha +1,1)dx={n+\alpha \choose n}\delta _{n,m},}
The associated, symmetric kernel polynomial has the representations (Christoffel–Darboux formula )[citation needed
K
n
(
α
)
(
x
,
y
)
:=
1
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
∑
i
=
0
n
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
i
(
α
)
(
y
)
(
α
+
i
i
)
=
1
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
n
+
1
(
α
)
(
y
)
−
L
n
+
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
y
)
x
−
y
n
+
1
(
n
+
α
n
)
=
1
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
∑
i
=
0
n
x
i
i
!
L
n
−
i
(
α
+
i
)
(
x
)
L
n
−
i
(
α
+
i
+
1
)
(
y
)
(
α
+
n
n
)
(
n
i
)
;
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}K_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x,y)&:={\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\frac {L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(y)}{\alpha +i \choose i}}\\[4pt]&={\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}{\frac {L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n+1}^{(\alpha )}(y)-L_{n+1}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(y)}{{\frac {x-y}{n+1}}{n+\alpha \choose n}}}\\[4pt]&={\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\frac {x^{i}}{i!}}{\frac {L_{n-i}^{(\alpha +i)}(x)L_{n-i}^{(\alpha +i+1)}(y)}{{\alpha +n \choose n}{n \choose i}}};\end{aligned}}}
recursively
K
n
(
α
)
(
x
,
y
)
=
y
α
+
1
K
n
−
1
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
,
y
)
+
1
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
L
n
(
α
+
1
)
(
x
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
y
)
(
α
+
n
n
)
.
{\displaystyle K_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x,y)={\frac {y}{\alpha +1}}K_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x,y)+{\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}{\frac {L_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(y)}{\alpha +n \choose n}}.}
Moreover,[clarification needed
y
α
e
−
y
K
n
(
α
)
(
⋅
,
y
)
→
δ
(
y
−
⋅
)
.
{\displaystyle y^{\alpha }e^{-y}K_{n}^{(\alpha )}(\cdot ,y)\to \delta (y-\cdot ).}
Turán's inequalities can be derived here, which is
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
2
−
L
n
−
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
n
+
1
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
∑
k
=
0
n
−
1
(
α
+
n
−
1
n
−
k
)
n
(
n
k
)
L
k
(
α
−
1
)
(
x
)
2
>
0.
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)^{2}-L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n+1}^{(\alpha )}(x)=\sum _{k=0}^{n-1}{\frac {\alpha +n-1 \choose n-k}{n{n \choose k}}}L_{k}^{(\alpha -1)}(x)^{2}>0.}
The following integral is needed in the quantum mechanical treatment of the hydrogen atom ,
∫
0
∞
x
α
+
1
e
−
x
[
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
]
2
d
x
=
(
n
+
α
)
!
n
!
(
2
n
+
α
+
1
)
.
{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\infty }x^{\alpha +1}e^{-x}\left[L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)\right]^{2}dx={\frac {(n+\alpha )!}{n!}}(2n+\alpha +1).}
Let a function have the (formal) series expansion
f
(
x
)
=
∑
i
=
0
∞
f
i
(
α
)
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
.
{\displaystyle f(x)=\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }f_{i}^{(\alpha )}L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x).}
Then
f
i
(
α
)
=
∫
0
∞
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
(
i
+
α
i
)
⋅
x
α
e
−
x
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
⋅
f
(
x
)
d
x
.
{\displaystyle f_{i}^{(\alpha )}=\int _{0}^{\infty }{\frac {L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)}{i+\alpha \choose i}}\cdot {\frac {x^{\alpha }e^{-x}}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}\cdot f(x)\,dx.}
The series converges in the associated Hilbert space L 2 [0, ∞)if and only if
‖
f
‖
L
2
2
:=
∫
0
∞
x
α
e
−
x
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
|
f
(
x
)
|
2
d
x
=
∑
i
=
0
∞
(
i
+
α
i
)
|
f
i
(
α
)
|
2
<
∞
.
{\displaystyle \|f\|_{L^{2}}^{2}:=\int _{0}^{\infty }{\frac {x^{\alpha }e^{-x}}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}|f(x)|^{2}\,dx=\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }{i+\alpha \choose i}|f_{i}^{(\alpha )}|^{2}<\infty .}
Further examples of expansions [ edit ] Monomials are represented as
x
n
n
!
=
∑
i
=
0
n
(
−
1
)
i
(
n
+
α
n
−
i
)
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
,
{\displaystyle {\frac {x^{n}}{n!}}=\sum _{i=0}^{n}(-1)^{i}{n+\alpha \choose n-i}L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x),}
binomials have the parametrization
(
n
+
x
n
)
=
∑
i
=
0
n
α
i
i
!
L
n
−
i
(
x
+
i
)
(
α
)
.
{\displaystyle {n+x \choose n}=\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\frac {\alpha ^{i}}{i!}}L_{n-i}^{(x+i)}(\alpha ).}
This leads directly to
e
−
γ
x
=
∑
i
=
0
∞
γ
i
(
1
+
γ
)
i
+
α
+
1
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
convergent iff
ℜ
(
γ
)
>
−
1
2
{\displaystyle e^{-\gamma x}=\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }{\frac {\gamma ^{i}}{(1+\gamma )^{i+\alpha +1}}}L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)\qquad {\text{convergent iff }}\Re (\gamma )>-{\tfrac {1}{2}}}
incomplete gamma function has the representation
Γ
(
α
,
x
)
=
x
α
e
−
x
∑
i
=
0
∞
L
i
(
α
)
(
x
)
1
+
i
(
ℜ
(
α
)
>
−
1
,
x
>
0
)
.
{\displaystyle \Gamma (\alpha ,x)=x^{\alpha }e^{-x}\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }{\frac {L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)}{1+i}}\qquad \left(\Re (\alpha )>-1,x>0\right).}
In quantum mechanics [ edit ] In quantum mechanics the Schrödinger equation for the hydrogen-like atom is exactly solvable by separation of variables in spherical coordinates. The radial part of the wave function is a (generalized) Laguerre polynomial.[ 11]
Vibronic transitions in the Franck-Condon approximation can also be described using Laguerre polynomials.[ 12]
Multiplication theorems [ edit ] Erdélyi gives the following two multiplication theorems [ 13]
t
n
+
1
+
α
e
(
1
−
t
)
z
L
n
(
α
)
(
z
t
)
=
∑
k
=
n
∞
(
k
n
)
(
1
−
1
t
)
k
−
n
L
k
(
α
)
(
z
)
,
e
(
1
−
t
)
z
L
n
(
α
)
(
z
t
)
=
∑
k
=
0
∞
(
1
−
t
)
k
z
k
k
!
L
n
(
α
+
k
)
(
z
)
.
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}&t^{n+1+\alpha }e^{(1-t)z}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(zt)=\sum _{k=n}^{\infty }{k \choose n}\left(1-{\frac {1}{t}}\right)^{k-n}L_{k}^{(\alpha )}(z),\\[6pt]&e^{(1-t)z}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(zt)=\sum _{k=0}^{\infty }{\frac {(1-t)^{k}z^{k}}{k!}}L_{n}^{(\alpha +k)}(z).\end{aligned}}}
Relation to Hermite polynomials [ edit ] The generalized Laguerre polynomials are related to the Hermite polynomials :
H
2
n
(
x
)
=
(
−
1
)
n
2
2
n
n
!
L
n
(
−
1
/
2
)
(
x
2
)
H
2
n
+
1
(
x
)
=
(
−
1
)
n
2
2
n
+
1
n
!
x
L
n
(
1
/
2
)
(
x
2
)
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}H_{2n}(x)&=(-1)^{n}2^{2n}n!L_{n}^{(-1/2)}(x^{2})\\[4pt]H_{2n+1}(x)&=(-1)^{n}2^{2n+1}n!xL_{n}^{(1/2)}(x^{2})\end{aligned}}}
H n x )Hermite polynomials based on the weighting function exp(−x 2 ) , the so-called "physicist's version."
Because of this, the generalized Laguerre polynomials arise in the treatment of the quantum harmonic oscillator .
Relation to hypergeometric functions [ edit ] The Laguerre polynomials may be defined in terms of hypergeometric functions , specifically the confluent hypergeometric functions , as
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
n
+
α
n
)
M
(
−
n
,
α
+
1
,
x
)
=
(
α
+
1
)
n
n
!
1
F
1
(
−
n
,
α
+
1
,
x
)
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={n+\alpha \choose n}M(-n,\alpha +1,x)={\frac {(\alpha +1)_{n}}{n!}}\,_{1}F_{1}(-n,\alpha +1,x)}
(
a
)
n
{\displaystyle (a)_{n}}
Pochhammer symbol (which in this case represents the rising factorial).
The generalized Laguerre polynomials satisfy the Hardy–Hille formula[ 14] [ 15]
∑
n
=
0
∞
n
!
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
Γ
(
n
+
α
+
1
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
y
)
t
n
=
1
(
1
−
t
)
α
+
1
e
−
(
x
+
y
)
t
/
(
1
−
t
)
0
F
1
(
;
α
+
1
;
x
y
t
(
1
−
t
)
2
)
,
{\displaystyle \sum _{n=0}^{\infty }{\frac {n!\,\Gamma \left(\alpha +1\right)}{\Gamma \left(n+\alpha +1\right)}}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(y)t^{n}={\frac {1}{(1-t)^{\alpha +1}}}e^{-(x+y)t/(1-t)}\,_{0}F_{1}\left(;\alpha +1;{\frac {xyt}{(1-t)^{2}}}\right),}
α
>
−
1
{\displaystyle \alpha >-1}
|
t
|
<
1
{\displaystyle |t|<1}
0
F
1
(
;
α
+
1
;
z
)
=
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
z
−
α
/
2
I
α
(
2
z
)
,
{\displaystyle \,_{0}F_{1}(;\alpha +1;z)=\,\Gamma (\alpha +1)z^{-\alpha /2}I_{\alpha }\left(2{\sqrt {z}}\right),}
generalized hypergeometric function ), this can also be written as
∑
n
=
0
∞
n
!
Γ
(
1
+
α
+
n
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
L
n
(
α
)
(
y
)
t
n
=
1
(
x
y
t
)
α
/
2
(
1
−
t
)
e
−
(
x
+
y
)
t
/
(
1
−
t
)
I
α
(
2
x
y
t
1
−
t
)
.
{\displaystyle \sum _{n=0}^{\infty }{\frac {n!}{\Gamma (1+\alpha +n)}}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(y)t^{n}={\frac {1}{(xyt)^{\alpha /2}(1-t)}}e^{-(x+y)t/(1-t)}I_{\alpha }\left({\frac {2{\sqrt {xyt}}}{1-t}}\right).}
Mehler kernel for Hermite polynomials , which can be recovered from it by using the relations between Laguerre and Hermite polynomials given above.
The generalized Laguerre polynomials are used to describe the quantum wavefunction for hydrogen atom orbitals.[ 16] [ 17] [ 18] [ 19]
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
Γ
(
α
+
n
+
1
)
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
n
!
1
F
1
(
−
n
;
α
+
1
;
x
)
,
{\displaystyle L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {\Gamma (\alpha +n+1)}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)n!}}\,_{1}F_{1}(-n;\alpha +1;x),}
where
1
F
1
(
a
;
b
;
x
)
{\displaystyle \,_{1}F_{1}(a;b;x)}
confluent hypergeometric function .
In the physics literature,[ 18]
L
¯
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
[
Γ
(
α
+
n
+
1
)
]
2
Γ
(
α
+
1
)
n
!
1
F
1
(
−
n
;
α
+
1
;
x
)
.
{\displaystyle {\bar {L}}_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {\left[\Gamma (\alpha +n+1)\right]^{2}}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)n!}}\,_{1}F_{1}(-n;\alpha +1;x).}
The physics version is related to the standard version by
L
¯
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
n
+
α
)
!
L
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
.
{\displaystyle {\bar {L}}_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=(n+\alpha )!L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x).}
There is yet another, albeit less frequently used, convention in the physics literature [ 20] [ 21] [ 22]
L
~
n
(
α
)
(
x
)
=
(
−
1
)
α
L
¯
n
−
α
(
α
)
.
{\displaystyle {\tilde {L}}_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)=(-1)^{\alpha }{\bar {L}}_{n-\alpha }^{(\alpha )}.}
Umbral Calculus Convention [ edit ] Generalized Laguerre polynomials are linked to Umbral calculus by being Sheffer sequences for
D
/
(
D
−
I
)
{\displaystyle D/(D-I)}
n
!
{\displaystyle n!}
[ 23]
L
n
(
x
)
=
n
!
L
n
(
−
1
)
(
x
)
=
∑
k
=
0
n
L
(
n
,
k
)
(
−
x
)
k
{\displaystyle {\mathcal {L}}_{n}(x)=n!L_{n}^{(-1)}(x)=\sum _{k=0}^{n}L(n,k)(-x)^{k}}
L
(
n
,
k
)
=
(
n
−
1
k
−
1
)
n
!
k
!
{\textstyle L(n,k)={\binom {n-1}{k-1}}{\frac {n!}{k!}}}
Lah numbers .
(
L
n
(
x
)
)
n
∈
N
{\textstyle ({\mathcal {L}}_{n}(x))_{n\in \mathbb {N} }}
binomial type , ie they satisfy
L
n
(
x
+
y
)
=
∑
k
=
0
n
(
n
k
)
L
k
(
x
)
L
n
−
k
(
y
)
{\displaystyle {\mathcal {L}}_{n}(x+y)=\sum _{k=0}^{n}{\binom {n}{k}}{\mathcal {L}}_{k}(x){\mathcal {L}}_{n-k}(y)}
^ N. Sonine (1880). "Recherches sur les fonctions cylindriques et le développement des fonctions continues en séries" . Math. Ann. 16 (1): 1–80. doi :10.1007/BF01459227 . S2CID 121602983 . ^ A&S p. 781
^ A&S p. 509
^ A&S p. 510
^ A&S p. 775
^ Szegő, p. 198.
^ D. Borwein, J. M. Borwein, R. E. Crandall, "Effective Laguerre asymptotics", SIAM J. Numer. Anal. , vol. 46 (2008), no. 6, pp. 3285–3312 doi :10.1137/07068031X
^ A&S equation (22.12.6), p. 785
^ Koepf, Wolfram (1997). "Identities for families of orthogonal polynomials and special functions". Integral Transforms and Special Functions . 5 (1–2): 69–102. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.298.7657 doi :10.1080/10652469708819127 . ^ "Associated Laguerre Polynomial" .^ Ratner, Schatz, Mark A., George C. (2001). Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry . 0-13-895491-7: Prentice Hall. pp. 90–91. {{cite book }}: CS1 maint: location (link ) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )^ Jong, Mathijs de; Seijo, Luis; Meijerink, Andries; Rabouw, Freddy T. (2015-06-24). "Resolving the ambiguity in the relation between Stokes shift and Huang–Rhys parameter" . Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics . 17 (26): 16959–16969. Bibcode :2015PCCP...1716959D . doi :10.1039/C5CP02093J . hdl :1874/321453 ISSN 1463-9084 . PMID 26062123 . S2CID 34490576 . ^ C. Truesdell, "On the Addition and Multiplication Theorems for the Special Functions ", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mathematics , (1950) pp. 752–757.
^ Szegő, p. 102.
^ W. A. Al-Salam (1964), "Operational representations for Laguerre and other polynomials" , Duke Math J. 31 (1): 127–142.
^ Griffiths, David J. (2005). Introduction to quantum mechanics (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0131118927 ^ Sakurai, J. J. (2011). Modern quantum mechanics (2nd ed.). Boston: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0805382914 ^ a b Merzbacher, Eugen (1998). Quantum mechanics (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471887021 ^ Abramowitz, Milton (1965). Handbook of mathematical functions, with formulas, graphs, and mathematical tables . New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-61272-0 ^ Schiff, Leonard I. (1968). Quantum mechanics (3d ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0070856435 ^ Messiah, Albert (2014). Quantum Mechanics . Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486784557 ^ Boas, Mary L. (2006). Mathematical methods in the physical sciences (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN 9780471198260 ^ Rota, Gian-Carlo; Kahaner, D; Odlyzko, A (1973-06-01). "On the foundations of combinatorial theory. VIII. Finite operator calculus" . Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications . 42 (3): 684–760. doi :10.1016/0022-247X(73)90172-8 ISSN 0022-247X .
Abramowitz, Milton ; Stegun, Irene Ann , eds. (1983) [June 1964]. "Chapter 22" . Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables ISBN 978-0-486-61272-0 LCCN 64-60036 . MR 0167642 . LCCN 65-12253 .G. Szegő, Orthogonal polynomials , 4th edition, Amer. Math. Soc. Colloq. Publ. , vol. 23, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 1975.
Koornwinder, Tom H.; Wong, Roderick S. C.; Koekoek, Roelof; Swarttouw, René F. (2010), "Orthogonal Polynomials" , in Olver, Frank W. J. ; Lozier, Daniel M.; Boisvert, Ronald F.; Clark, Charles W. (eds.), NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions ISBN 978-0-521-19225-5 MR 2723248 B. Spain, M.G. Smith, Functions of mathematical physics , Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, London, 1970. Chapter 10 deals with Laguerre polynomials.
"Laguerre polynomials" , Encyclopedia of Mathematics EMS Press , 2001 [1994]Eric W. Weisstein , "Laguerre Polynomial ", From MathWorld—A Wolfram Web Resource.George Arfken and Hans Weber (2000). Mathematical Methods for Physicists . Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-059825-0
International National Other
_with_n_as_-1_divided_by_9_and_x_as_z_to_the_power_of_4_from_-2-2i_to_2%2B2i.svg)
![{\displaystyle \left(0,n+\alpha +(n-1){\sqrt {n+\alpha }}\,\right].}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/268387cf6ed314caa46b2a11e87acbaf9695875d)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}&L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {n^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}-{\frac {1}{4}}}}{\sqrt {\pi }}}{\frac {e^{\frac {x}{2}}}{x^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}+{\frac {1}{4}}}}}\sin \left(2{\sqrt {nx}}-{\frac {\pi }{2}}\left(\alpha -{\frac {1}{2}}\right)\right)+O\left(n^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}-{\frac {3}{4}}}\right),\\[6pt]&L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(-x)={\frac {(n+1)^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}-{\frac {1}{4}}}}{2{\sqrt {\pi }}}}{\frac {e^{-x/2}}{x^{{\frac {\alpha }{2}}+{\frac {1}{4}}}}}e^{2{\sqrt {x(n+1)}}}\cdot \left(1+O\left({\frac {1}{\sqrt {n+1}}}\right)\right),\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/a65232999dd61f4298266965f24f79d6d0923b05)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)-\sum _{j=0}^{\Delta -1}{n+\alpha \choose n-j}(-1)^{j}{\frac {x^{j}}{j!}}&=(-1)^{\Delta }{\frac {x^{\Delta }}{(\Delta -1)!}}\sum _{i=0}^{n-\Delta }{\frac {n+\alpha \choose n-\Delta -i}{(n-i){n \choose i}}}L_{i}^{(\alpha +\Delta )}(x)\\[6pt]&=(-1)^{\Delta }{\frac {x^{\Delta }}{(\Delta -1)!}}\sum _{i=0}^{n-\Delta }{\frac {n+\alpha -i-1 \choose n-\Delta -i}{(n-i){n \choose i}}}L_{i}^{(n+\alpha +\Delta -i)}(x)\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e449381aff6f2b593def172ab03c17cb1bb57dfb)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=L_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)-L_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)=\sum _{j=0}^{k}{k \choose j}(-1)^{j}L_{n-j}^{(\alpha +k)}(x),\\[10pt]nL_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=(n+\alpha )L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)-xL_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x),\\[10pt]&{\text{or }}\\{\frac {x^{k}}{k!}}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=\sum _{i=0}^{k}(-1)^{i}{n+i \choose i}{n+\alpha \choose k-i}L_{n+i}^{(\alpha -k)}(x),\\[10pt]nL_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)&=(n-x)L_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)+(n+\alpha )L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)\\[10pt]xL_{n}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)&=(n+\alpha )L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)-(n-x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x);\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/ff755ad59b503998c9e8898cb25b5ff1545520d7)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)&=\left(2+{\frac {\alpha -1-x}{n}}\right)L_{n-1}^{(\alpha )}(x)-\left(1+{\frac {\alpha -1}{n}}\right)L_{n-2}^{(\alpha )}(x)\\[10pt]&={\frac {\alpha +1-x}{n}}L_{n-1}^{(\alpha +1)}(x)-{\frac {x}{n}}L_{n-2}^{(\alpha +2)}(x)\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/fc32e1d35979f9126c29a1b4fe1d3ae723d4641d)
![{\displaystyle xL_{n}^{[k]\prime \prime }(x)+(k+1-x)L_{n}^{[k]\prime }(x)+(n-k)L_{n}^{[k]}(x)=0,}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/18d6805dbdf16f74423e00fc23ca5ea675eabd49)
![{\displaystyle L_{n}^{[k]}(x)\equiv {\frac {d^{k}L_{n}(x)}{dx^{k}}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/94adaf2e2b6fca61a722420bcb1a66576e10593a)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}K_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x,y)&:={\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\frac {L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{i}^{(\alpha )}(y)}{\alpha +i \choose i}}\\[4pt]&={\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}{\frac {L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n+1}^{(\alpha )}(y)-L_{n+1}^{(\alpha )}(x)L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(y)}{{\frac {x-y}{n+1}}{n+\alpha \choose n}}}\\[4pt]&={\frac {1}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)}}\sum _{i=0}^{n}{\frac {x^{i}}{i!}}{\frac {L_{n-i}^{(\alpha +i)}(x)L_{n-i}^{(\alpha +i+1)}(y)}{{\alpha +n \choose n}{n \choose i}}};\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/bdbc06de0ef9a87d70e951a09cacec0b7da13396)
![{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{\infty }x^{\alpha +1}e^{-x}\left[L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)\right]^{2}dx={\frac {(n+\alpha )!}{n!}}(2n+\alpha +1).}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/0bb8646b87b220d879aec2c64ff9e7e15228b32a)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}&t^{n+1+\alpha }e^{(1-t)z}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(zt)=\sum _{k=n}^{\infty }{k \choose n}\left(1-{\frac {1}{t}}\right)^{k-n}L_{k}^{(\alpha )}(z),\\[6pt]&e^{(1-t)z}L_{n}^{(\alpha )}(zt)=\sum _{k=0}^{\infty }{\frac {(1-t)^{k}z^{k}}{k!}}L_{n}^{(\alpha +k)}(z).\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/419e3fd18bf2b0ef484d747b9670be1f38888684)
![{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}H_{2n}(x)&=(-1)^{n}2^{2n}n!L_{n}^{(-1/2)}(x^{2})\\[4pt]H_{2n+1}(x)&=(-1)^{n}2^{2n+1}n!xL_{n}^{(1/2)}(x^{2})\end{aligned}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/015273f34e288fc1847a90dd793e433e9dbb23d0)
![{\displaystyle {\bar {L}}_{n}^{(\alpha )}(x)={\frac {\left[\Gamma (\alpha +n+1)\right]^{2}}{\Gamma (\alpha +1)n!}}\,_{1}F_{1}(-n;\alpha +1;x).}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/12bfdcde9315fd8f61b7556fb8b93652a9ba59f2)
