Paper 4, Section I, B

Further Complex Methods | Part II, 2015

Explain how the Papperitz symbol

P{z1z2z3α1β1γ1zα2β2γ2}P\left\{\begin{array}{cccc} z_{1} & z_{2} & z_{3} & \\ \alpha_{1} & \beta_{1} & \gamma_{1} & z \\ \alpha_{2} & \beta_{2} & \gamma_{2} & \end{array}\right\}

represents a differential equation with certain properties. [You need not write down the differential equation explicitly.]

The hypergeometric function F(a,b,c;z)F(a, b, c ; z) is defined to be the solution of the equation given by the Papperitz symbol

that is analytic at z=0z=0 and such that F(a,b,c;0)=1F(a, b, c ; 0)=1. Show that

F(a,b,c;z)=(1z)aF(a,cb,c;zz1)F(a, b, c ; z)=(1-z)^{-a} F\left(a, c-b, c ; \frac{z}{z-1}\right) \text {, }

indicating clearly any general results for manipulating Papperitz symbols that you use.

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