Asymptotic spectrum of the oblate spin-weighted spheroidal harmonics: a WKB analysis

Abstract

Spin-weighted spheroidal harmonics play a central role in the mathematical description of diverse physical phenomena, including black-hole perturbation theory and wave scattering. We present a novel and compact derivation of the asymptotic eigenvalues of these important functions. Our analysis is based on a simple trick which transforms the corresponding spin-weighted spheroidal angular equation into a Schr\"odinger-like wave equation which is amenable to a standard WKB analysis.