math/9803142

∗ †
arXiv:math/9803142v1 [math.QA] 28 Mar 1998

IMSc-98/03/11

(P, Q)-Special Functions

R. Jagannathan
The Institute of Mathematical Sciences
C.I.T. Campus, Tharamani, Chennai (Madras), Tamilnadu - 600 113, India.
e-mail: jagan@imsc.ernet.in

Abstract: It is suggested that the (p, q)-hypergeometric series studied by Burban

and Klimyk (in Integral Transforms and Special Functions 2 (1994) 15 - 36) can be
considered as a special case of a more general (P, Q)-hypergeometric series.

1. Introduction
I propose a general (P, Q)-hypergeometric series. In this, I am inspired mainly by
the paper of Burban and Klimyk [1] titled “P, Q-differentiation, P, Q-integration, and
P, Q-hypergeometric functions related to quantum groups” and the paper of Floreanini,
Lapointe and Vinet [2] titled “A note on (p, q)-oscillators and bibasic hypergeometric
functions”. Burban and Klimyk [1] have already presented a well-developed theory of
(p, q)-hypergeometric functions and what I propose is only a suggestion towards a slight
generalization of their work, taking some clues from Floreanini, Lapointe and Vinet [2],
Katriel and Kibler [3], and Gasper and Rahman [4].

2. q-Hypergeometric Series
One defines the q-shifted factorial by

 1,
 n = 0,
(x; q)n = (1 − x)(1 − xq)(1
− xq 2 ) . . . (2.1)
. . . 1 − xq n−1 , n = 1, 2, . . . .



Then, with the notation

(x1 , x2 , . . . , xm ; q)n = (x1 ; q)n (x2 ; q)n . . . (xm ; q)n , (2.2)

an r φs basic hypergeometric series, or a general q-hypergeometric series, is given by

r φs (a1 , a2 , . . . , ar ; b1 , b2 , . . . , bs ; q, z)
∞
(a1 , a2 , . . . , ar ; q)n  1+s−r
(−1)n q n(n−1)/2 zn ,
X
= (2.3)
n=0
(b1 , b2 , . . . , bs ; q)n (q; q)n

with |q| < 1 and r, s = 0, 1, 2, . . . (see [4] for details). Choosing

a1 = q α1 , . . . , ar = q αr , b1 = q β1 , . . . , bs = q βs , (2.4)
∗
Published in Special Functions and Differential Equations, Proceedings of a Workshop held at The
Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Madras, India, January 13-24, 1997, Eds. K. Srinivasa Rao, R.
Jagannathan, G. Vanden Berghe and J. Van der Jeugt (Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 1998) pp. 158-164.
†
MSC: 33D20 (Gerneralized hypergeometric series) - 05A30(q-calculus and related topics)
2 R. Jagannathan

and defining, following Heine,

1 − qx
[x]q = , (2.5)
1−q

 1,
 n = 0,
([x]q )n = [x]q [x + 1]q [x + 2]q . . . (2.6)
. . . [x + n − 1]q , n = 1, 2, . . . ,



 1,
 n = 0,
[n]q ! = [n]q [n − 1]q [n − 2]q . . . (2.7)
. . . [2]q [1]q , n = 1, 2, . . . ,



one gets the special case:

 
r φs q α1 , q α2 , . . . , q αr ; q β1 , q β2 , . . . , q βs ; q, z
       (1+s−r)
∞ [α1 ]q [α2 ]q . . . [αr ]q (−1)n q n(n−1)/2
n  n n zn .
X
= (2.8)
(1 − q)n(1+s−r) [n]q !
 
n=0 [β1 ]q [β2 ]q . . . [βs ]q
n n n

3. (P, Q)-Hypergeometric Series

Now comes my proposal. Let
q̃ = (P, Q) (3.1)
and

((P, Q); (P, Q))n = (q̃; q̃)n


 1,
 n=0
(P − Q) P 2 − Q2 P 3 − Q3 . . .



= (3.2)
. . . (P n − Qn ) , n = 1, 2, . . . .



For any
x̃ = (xp , xq ) , (3.3)
let

((xp , xq ) ; (P, Q))n = (x̃; q̃)n


 1,
 n = 0,
P2 Q2


= (xp − xq ) (xp P − xq Q) xp
− xq ... (3.4)
. . . xp P n−1 − xq Qn−1 , n = 1, 2, . . . .



As before, I shall use the notation

(x̃1 , x̃2 , . . . , x̃m ; q̃)n = (x̃1 ; q̃)n (x̃2 ; q̃)n . . . (x̃m ; q̃)n . (3.5)

Then, with

ã1 = (a1p , a1q ) , . . . , ãr = (arp , arq ) ,

b̃1 = (b1p , b1q ) , . . . , b̃s = (bsp , bsq ) , (3.6)
(P, Q)-Special Functions 3

I define an r φ̃s basic hypergeometric series, or a general (P, Q)-hypergeometric series,

by
 
r φ̃s ã1 , ã2 , . . . , ãr ; b̃1 , b̃2 , . . . , b̃s ; q̃, z
∞
(ã1 , ã2 , . . . , ãr ; q̃)n  1+s−r
(−1)n (Q/P )n(n−1)/2 zn .
X
=   (3.7)
n=0 b̃1 , b̃2 , . . . , b̃s ; q̃ (q̃; q̃)n
n

with |Q/P | < 1 and r, s = 0, 1, 2, . . . .

The r φs series (2.3) is a special case of r φ̃s series (3.7) corresponding to the choice
a1p = a2p = . . . = arp = b1p = b2p = . . . = bsp = 1, a1q = a1 , a2q = a2 , . . . , arq = ar ,
 1+s−r
b1q = b1 , b2q = b2 , . . . , bsq = bs and (P, Q) = (1, q). The factor (−1)n q n(n−1)/2
included in the definition of r φs series (2.3), following Gasper and Rahman [4], is absent
in the earlier literature (see, e.g., [5, 6, 7]). The inclusion of this factor leads to the
nice property
lim r φs (z/ar ) = r−1 φs (z) . (3.8)
ar →∞

For r φ̃s series the  corresponding property, valid independent of the factor
 1+s−r
(−1)n (Q/P )n(n−1)/2 , is
 
lim r φ̃s (z/arq ) = r φ̃s ã1 , . . . , ãr−1 , (0, 1); b̃1 , . . . , b̃s ; q̃, z , (3.9)
arq →∞
 
lim r φ̃s (z/arp ) = r φ̃s ã1 , . . . , ãr−1 , (1, 0); b̃1 , . . . , b̃s ; q̃, z . (3.10)
arp →∞

At times, the parameters ã, b̃, etc., and q̃ may be explicitly indicated in the formulae
and equations as (ap , aq ), (bp , bq ), etc., and (P, Q), respectively, and such notations
should be clear from the context.

With the notation

q̃ x = (P x , Qx ) , (3.11)
choosing
ã1 = q̃ α1 , . . . , ãr = q̃ αr , b̃1 = q̃ β1 , . . . , b̃s = q̃ βs , (3.12)
and defining
P x − Qx
[x]P,Q = , (3.13)
P −Q

 1,
 n = 0,
([x]P,Q )n = [x]P,Q [x + 1]P,Q [x + 2]P,Q . . . (3.14)
. . . [x + n − 1]P,Q , n = 1, 2, . . . ,



 1,
 n = 0,
[n]P,Q ! = [n]P,Q [n − 1]P,Q [n − 2]P,Q . . . (3.15)
. . . [2]P,Q [1]P,Q , n = 1, 2, . . . ,


4 R. Jagannathan

it is seen that r φ̃s becomes

 
r φ̃s q̃ α1 , q̃ α2 , . . . , q̃ αr ; q̃ β1 , q̃ β2 , . . . , q̃ βs ; q̃, z
       (1+s−r)
∞ [α1 ]P,Q [α2 ]P,Q . . . [αr ]P,Q (−1)n (Q/P )n(n−1)/2
n  n n zn .
X
=
(P − Q)n(1+s−r) [n]P,Q !
 
n=0 [β1 ]P,Q [β2 ]P,Q . . . [βs ]P,Q
n n n
(3.16)

Note that
1 − ρx
 
[x]P,Q = P x−1 = P x−1 [x]ρ , with ρ = Q/P . (3.17)
1−ρ

Thus we can define r φ̃s also as

 
r φ̃s q̃ α1 , q̃ α2 , . . . , q̃ αr ; q̃ β1 , q̃ β2 , . . . , q̃ βs ; q̃, z
       1+s−r
∞ [α1 ]ρ [α2 ]ρ . . . [αr ]ρ (−1)n (ρ/P )n(n−1)/2
ωn ,
X
=  n  n  n
n=0 [β1 ]ρ [β2 ]ρ . . . [βs ]ρ (1 − ρ)n(1+s−r) [n]ρ !
n n n
Pr s
with ω = P ( βi −1)
P
αi −
i=1 i=1 z. (3.18)
 
When (P, Q) = (1, q) it is seen that r φ̃s q̃ α1 , q̃ α2 , . . . , q̃ αr ; q̃ β1 , q̃ β2 , . . . , q̃ βs ; q̃, z reduces
 
to r φs q α1 , q α2 , . . . , q αr ; q β1 , q β2 , . . . , q βs ; q, z .

When s = r − 1, we have
 
r φ̃r−1 q̃ α1 , q̃ α2 , . . . , q̃ αr ; q̃ β1 , q̃ β2 , . . . , q̃ βs ; q̃, z
 
= r φr−1 ρα1 , ρα2 , . . . , ραr ; ρβ1 , ρβ2 , . . . , ρβs ; ρ, ω . (3.19)

This r φ̃r−1 is exactly the (p, q)-hypergeometric series studied in detail by Burban and
Klimyk [1], except for the difference in notations and choice of parameters; our φ̃, r,
P , Q and ρ correspond, respectively, to their Ψ, A, q −1/2 , p1/2 and r.

4. Genesis of (P, Q)-Analysis

Let me now recall briefly the genesis of the (P, Q)-basic number and (P, Q)-analysis.
In 1991, Ranabir Chakrabarti and I introduced in [8] the (p, q)-oscillator algebra
h i
aa† − qa† a = p−N , [N, a] = −a , N, a† = a† , (4.1)

generalizing/unifying several forms of q-oscillators well known in the earlier physics

literature related to quantum groups. We related the algebra (4.1) to the realization of
a (p, q)-deformed angular momentum algebra

p−2J0 − q 2J0
[J0 , J± ] = ±J± , J+ J− − pq −1 J− J+ = . (4.2)
p−1 − q
(P, Q)-Special Functions 5

Note that the algebra (4.1) is satisfied when

p−N − q N p−(N +1) − q N +1

a† a = , aa† = . (4.3)
p−1 − q p−1 − q

Thus we were led to study the p−1 , q -basic number (p−n − q n ) / p−1 − q , or [n]p−1 ,q

in the notation
of (3.13), which is a solution for Fn obeying the Fibonacci relation
Fn+1 − p−1 + q Fn − p−1 qFn−1 = 0 for n ≥ 1, with F1 = 1 and F0 = 0. Further, study
of the Bargmann-Fock realization and coherent states of the (p, q)-oscillator led us to
−1


define the corresponding p , q -deformation of differentiation, integration (for mono-
mials), and exponential (0 φ̃0 −; −; p−1 , q , p−1 − q z in the notation of the present




 1+s−r
work, if the factor (−1)n ((Q/P ))n(n−1)/2 is dropped from the definition (3.7) for
r φ̃s ). With the addition of a central element, the (p, q)-angular momentum algebra (4.2)
can be turned into a genuine two-parameter Hopf algebra Up,q (gl(2)). Representation
theory of Up,q (gl(2)) is very similar to that of Uq (sl(2)) and can be used to construct
all the finite-dimensional representations of the Hopf algebra F unp,q (GL(2)) dual to
Up,q (gl(2)) (see [12]).

Around the same time in 1991, independently, there appeared two other similar,
but very much less detailed, works in the context of quantum groups : Brodimas, Jan-
nussis and Mignani also introduced the (p, q)-oscillator algebra (4.1) and defined the
two-parameter deformed derivative [9]. Arik et al. also introduced the two-parameter
oscillator algebra (4.1) calling it the Fibonacci oscillator [10].

It is really a surprising coincidence that in the same year 1991, without any con-
nection to the quantum group related mathematics/physics literature, there appeared
a paper [11] in which the (p, q)-basic number, defined by (pn − q n ) / (p − q), was in-
troduced while generalizing the Sterling numbers, motivated by certain combinatorial
problems. This work of Wachs and White [11] was brought to the notice of physi-
cists by Katriel and Kibler [3] who also defined the (p, q)-binomial coefficients and
derived a (p, q)-binomial theorem while discussing normal ordering for deformed bo-
son operators obeying algebra of the type (4.1). Smirnov and Wehrhahn [13] gave an
operator version of such a (p, q)-binomial theorem giving an expression for the expan-
 l
sion of q J0 (1) J± (2) + J± (1)p−J0 (2) in terms of the (p, q)-binomial coefficients, where
{J0 (1), J± (1)} and {J0 (2), J± (2)} are the generators of two commuting (p, q)-angular
momentum algebras (4.2).

Before closing, I like to acknowledge that the idea of introducing (x̃; q̃)n , as defined
in (3.4), is derived from the definitions
   
(λ; x)(l) = (λ + x)(pλ + qx) p2 λ + q 2 x . . . pl−1 λ + q l−1 x , (4.4)

and
1 1 1
    
µ ν
[p , p ; p, q]n = − qν −q ν+1
... −q ν+n−1
, (4.5)
pµ pµ+1 pµ+n−1
6 R. Jagannathan

occurring in [3] and [2], respectively, in related, but different, contexts. In our nota-
tion, (λ; x)(l) of [3] is ((λ, −x); (p, q))l and [pµ , pν ; p, q]n of [2] is (p−µ , q ν ) ; p−1 , q n .

In [3] the (p, q)-binomial coefficients have ! been defined and a (p, q)-analogue of the
n n
binomial theorem (a + b)n = ak bn−k , n = 0, 1, 2, . . . , has been ob-
P
k=0 k
tained. In [2] the (p, q)-oscillator algebra (4.1) and [pµ , pν ; p, q]n are related to biba-
sic hypergeometric functions [14] regarding p and q as two different bases. Further
in this connection, let me note that the construction of (P, Q)-analogue of multiba-
sic hypergeometric series is straightforward : one has to choose multiple q̃-doublets
(q̃1 = (P1 , Q1 ) , q̃2 = (P2 , Q2 ) , . . .) and assign them partially to the numerator param-
eters (ã-doublets) and the denominator parameters (b̃-doublets), thus simply extend-
ing the procedure adopted in constructing the usual multibasic hypergeometric series
(see [14] and, e.g., [4]).

5. Conclusion
To conclude, let me just give one example which, I hope, will convince the reader that
this work indeed promises to lead to an interesting subject: (P, Q)-special functions.
It is straightforward to obtain a general (P, Q)-binomial theorem :
∞
((ap , aq ) ; (P, Q))n ((P, aq z) ; (P, Q))∞
zn =
X
1 φ̃0 ((ap , aq ) ; −; (P, Q), z) = .
n=0
((P, Q) ; (P, Q))n ((P, ap z) ; (P, Q))∞
(5.1)
   
In the special case when (P, Q) = q −1/2 , p1/2 and (ap , aq ) = q −a/2 , pa/2 equa-
tion (5.1) reduces to the (p, q)-binomial theorem of Burban and Klimyk [1]. It is easily
seen that this (P, Q)-binomial theorem (5.1) has interesting consequences. The product
Qn
i=1 1 φ̃0 ((aip , aiq ) ; −; (P, Q), z) is invariant under the group of independent permuta-
tions of the p-components (a1p , a2p , . . . , anp ) and the q-components (a1q , a2q , . . . , anq ).
Note that this product has value 1 if the n-tuple of p-components (a1p , a2p , . . . , anp )
is related to the n-tuple of q-components (a1q , a2q , . . . , anq ) by mere permutation. A
special case is the relation 1 φ̃0 ((1, 0); −; (1, q), z) 1 φ̃0 ((0, 1); −; (1, q), z) = 1 which is
the well known identity eq (z)Eq (−z) = 1 for the two canonical q-exponentials.

Acknowledgements : This article is based mainly on the talk I gave at the Workshop
on Special Functions & Differential Equations, Chennai, 1997 (WSSF97); it also con-
tains a few new results which were not part of my talk but sprang up naturally while
writing up this contribution to the Proceedings of the Workshop and I could not resist
the temptation to include. I am very grateful to Prof. K. Srinivasa Rao, particularly
with regard to the present work, besides for many other things : whatever little fasci-
nation I have got for the general theory of hypergeometric series has been induced by
him. Actually, I wish to confess that my interest in obtaining a (p, q)-generalization of
the q-hypergeometric series has its origin in the period around July 1991 when I was
attracted to certain ideas of Prof. Srinivasa Rao in this direction which have at last
had a definitive effect on me recently. I am thankful to Prof. J. Van der Jeugt for a
copy of the paper of Burban and Klimyk. This research was partly supported by the
EEC (contract No. CI1∗ -CT92-0101).
(P, Q)-Special Functions 7

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[4] G. Gasper and M. Rahman, Basic Hypergeometric Series (Cambridge University

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[5] W. N. Bailey, Generalized Hypergeometric Series (Cambridge University Press,

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