Properties of associated Legendre conical functions

Abstract

We present some new properties of associated Legendre conical functions of the first and second kind, $P^{-1/2-K}_{-1/2+i \tau}(\chi)$ and $Q^{-1/2-K}_{-1/2+i \tau}(\chi)$. In particular we show that with the $\tau$-independent $\mathcal{R}^{K}_{n}(\chi)=(2\pi)^{-3/2}\tanh^{-K}\chi\sinh^{-1/2}\chi[\Gamma(1+K)]^{-1}\int_{0}^{2\pi} d\omega \left (1-\cos \omega/\cosh\chi\right)^{K}e^{in\omega}$ for any general $K$, we can set $P^{-1/2-K}_{-1/2+i \tau}(\chi)=2\sum_{n}\mathcal{R}^{K}_{n}(\chi)\sin[(\tau-in)\chi)]/(\tau-in)$, where $n$ ranges from $-\ell$ to $\ell$ in unit steps when $K$ is a non-negative integer $\ell$, and from $-\infty$ to $\infty$ in unit steps otherwise. Also we can set $Q^{-1/2-K}_{-1/2+i \tau}(\chi)=-\pi\sum_n\mathcal{R}^K_{n-K}(\chi)e^{-i \chi(\tau-i(n-K))}/(\tau-i(n-K))$, where $n$ ranges from $0$ to $2\ell$ in unit steps when $K$ is a non-negative integer $\ell$, and from $0$ to $\infty$ in unit steps otherwise. With these forms isolating the entire $\tau$ dependence, and especially its associated pole structure, we can use these forms to determine closed form expressions for integrals over $\tau$ of associated Legendre conical functions and their products. The $Q^{-1/2-K}_{-1/2+i \tau}(\chi)$ have an integral representation containing the integral $\int_{\chi}^{\infty}d\omega e^{i\omega\tau}(\cosh\omega-\cosh\chi)^{K}$, an integral that only converges at $\omega=\infty$ if ${\rm Re}[K]<{\rm Im}[\tau]$. We show how to use the divergence of this integral outside of this range in order to characterize the complex $\tau$ plane pole structure of $Q^{-1/2-K}_{-1/2+i \tau}(\chi)$. We present a new treatment of the Borwein integral and the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem.