Ince’s limits for confluent and double-confluent Heun equations

Abstract

We find pairs of solutions to a differential equation which is obtained as a special limit of a generalized spheroidal wave equation (this is also known as confluent Heun equation). One solution in each pair is given by a series of hypergeometric functions and converges for any finite value of the independent variable z, while the other is given by a series of modified Bessel functions and converges for ∣z∣>∣z0∣, where z0 denotes a regular singularity. For short, the preceding limit is called Ince’s limit after Ince who have used the same procedure to get the Mathieu equations from the Whittaker-Hill ones. We find as well that, when z0 tends to zero, the Ince limit of the generalized spheroidal wave equation turns out to be the Ince limit of a double-confluent Heun equation, for which solutions are provided. Finally, we show that the Schrödinger equation for inverse fourth- and sixth-power potentials reduces to peculiar cases of the double-confluent Heun equation and its Ince’s limit, respectively.