On the difference of partial theta functions

Abstract

Sums of the form add((-1)^n q^(n(n-1)/2) x^n, n>=0) are called partial theta functions. In his lost notebook, Ramanujan recorded many identities for those functions. In 2003, Warnaar found an elegant formula for a sum of two partial theta functions. Subsequently, Andrews and Warnaar established a similar result for the product of two partial theta functions. In this note, I discuss the relation between the Andrews-Warnaar identity and the (1986) product formula due to Gasper and Rahman. I employ nonterminating extension of Sears-Carlitz transformation for 3\phi_2 to provide a new elegant proof for a companion identity for the difference of two partial theta series. This difference formula first appeared in the work of Schilling-Warnaar (2002). Finally, I show that Schilling-Warnnar (2002) and Warnaar (2003) formulas are, in fact, equivalent.