Basic hypergeometric series

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In mathematics, the basic hypergeometric series, also sometimes called the hypergeometric q-series, are q-analog generalizations of ordinary hypergeometric series. Two basic series are commonly defined, the unilateral basic hypergeometric series, and the bilateral basic geometric series.

The naming is in analogy to an ordinary hypergeometric series. An ordinary series {xn} is termed an ordinary hypergeometric series if the ratio of successive terms xn + 1 / xn is a rational function of n. But if the ratio of successive terms is a rational function of qn, then the series is called a basic hypergeometric series.

The basic hypergeometric series was first considered by Eduard Heine in the 19th century, as a way of capturing the common features of the Jacobi theta functions and elliptic functions.

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[edit] Definition

The unilateral basic hypergeometric series is defined as

\;_{j}\phi_k \left[\begin{matrix} 
a_1 & a_2 & \ldots & a_{j} \\ 
b_1 & b_2 & \ldots & b_k \end{matrix} 
; q,z \right] = \sum_{n=0}^\infty  
\frac {(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{j};q)_n} {(b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_k,q;q)_n} \left((-1)^nq^{n\choose 2}\right)^{1+k-j}z^n

where

(a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_m;q)_n = (a_1;q)_n (a_2;q)_n \ldots (a_m;q)_n

is the q-shifted factorial. The most important special case is when j = k+1, when it becomes

\;_{k+1}\phi_k \left[\begin{matrix} 
a_1 & a_2 & \ldots & a_{k+1} \\ 
b_1 & b_2 & \ldots & b_k \end{matrix} 
; q,z \right] = \sum_{n=0}^\infty  
\frac {(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{k+1};q)_n} {(b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_k,q;q)_n} z^n.

The bilateral basic hypergeometric series, corresponding to the bilateral hypergeometric series, is defined as

\;_j\psi_k \left[\begin{matrix} 
a_1 & a_2 & \ldots & a_j \\ 
b_1 & b_2 & \ldots & b_k  \end{matrix} 
; q,z \right] = \sum_{n=-\infty}^\infty  
\frac {(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_j;q)_n} {(b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_k;q)_n}  \left((-1)^nq^{n\choose 2}\right)^{k-j}z^n.

The most important special case is when j = k, when it becomes

\;_k\psi_k \left[\begin{matrix} 
a_1 & a_2 & \ldots & a_k \\ 
b_1 & b_2 & \ldots & b_k  \end{matrix} 
; q,z \right] = \sum_{n=-\infty}^\infty  
\frac {(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_k;q)_n} {(b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_k;q)_n} z^n.

The unilateral series can be obtained as a special case of the bilateral one by setting one of the b variables equal to q, at least when none of the a variables is a power of q., as all the terms with n<0 then vanish.

[edit] Simple series

Some simple series expressions include

\frac{z}{1-q} \;_{2}\phi_1 \left[\begin{matrix} 
q \; q \\ 
q^2  \end{matrix}\;  ; q,z \right] = 
\frac{z}{1-q}
+ \frac{z^2}{1-q^2}
+ \frac{z^3}{1-q^3}
+ \ldots

and

\frac{z}{1-q^{1/2}} \;_{2}\phi_1 \left[\begin{matrix} 
q \; q^{1/2} \\ 
q^{3/2}  \end{matrix}\;  ; q,z \right] = 
\frac{z}{1-q^{1/2}}
+ \frac{z^2}{1-q^{3/2}}
+ \frac{z^3}{1-q^{5/2}}
+ \ldots

and

\;_{2}\phi_1 \left[\begin{matrix} 
q \; -1 \\ 
-q  \end{matrix}\;  ; q,z \right] = 1+
\frac{2z}{1+q}
+ \frac{2z^2}{1+q^2}
+ \frac{2z^3}{1+q^3}
+ \ldots.

[edit] Simple identities

Some simple identities include

\;_{1}\phi_0 (a;q,z) = \prod_{n=0}^\infty 
\frac {1-aq^n z}{1-q^n z}

and

\;_{1}\phi_0 (a;q,z) = 
\frac {1-az}{1-z} \;_{1}\phi_0 (a;q,qz).

The special case of a = 0 is closely related to the q-exponential.

[edit] Ramanujan's identity

Ramanujan gave the identity

\;_1\psi_1 \left[\begin{matrix} a \\ b \end{matrix} ; q,z \right] 
= \sum_{n=-\infty}^\infty \frac {(a;q)_n} {(b;q)_n} 
= \frac {(b/a;q)_\infty\; (q;q)_\infty\; (q/az;q)_\infty\; (az;q)_\infty }
{(b;q)_\infty\; (b/az;q)_\infty\; (q/a;q)_\infty\; (z;q)_\infty}

valid for | q | < 1 and | b / a | < | z | < 1. Similar identities for \;_6\psi_6 have been given by Bailey. Such identities can be understood to be generalizations of the Jacobi triple product theorem, which can be written using q-series as

\sum_{n=-\infty}^\infty q^{n(n+1)/2}z^n = 
(q;q)_\infty \; (-1/z;q)_\infty \; (-zq;q)_\infty.

Ken Ono gives a related formal power series

A(z;q) \stackrel{\rm{def}}{=} \frac{1}{1+z} \sum_{n=0}^\infty 
\frac{(z;q)_n}{(-zq;q)_n}z^n = 
\sum_{n=0}^\infty (-1)^n z^{2n} q^{n^2}.

[edit] References

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