On computation and use of Fourier coefficients for associated Legendre functions

Abstract

The computation of spherical harmonic series in very high resolution is known to be delicate in terms of performance and numerical stability. A major problem is to keep results inside a numerical range of the used data type during calculations as under-/overflow arises. Extended data types are currently not desirable since the arithmetic complexity will grow exponentially with higher resolution levels. If the associated Legendre functions are computed in the spectral domain, then regular grid transformations can be applied to be highly efficient and convenient for derived quantities as well. In this article, we compare three recursive computations of the associated Legendre functions as trigonometric series, thereby ensuring a defined numerical range for each constituent wave number, separately. The results to a high degree and order show the numerical strength of the proposed method. First, the evaluation of Fourier coefficients of the associated Legendre functions has been done with respect to the floating-point precision requirements. Secondly, the numerical accuracy in the cases of standard double and long double precision arithmetic is demonstrated. Following Bessel’s inequality the obtained accuracy estimates of the Fourier coefficients are directly transferable to the associated Legendre functions themselves and to derived functionals as well. Therefore, they can provide an essential insight to modern geodetic applications that depend on efficient spherical harmonic analysis and synthesis beyond [ $$5~\times ~5$$ ] arcmin resolution.