Quadratic Hermite-Padé approximation to the exponential function (Q579558): Difference between revisions

The subject of this paper is the study of what is nowadays known as the system of Latin polynomials for the functions 1, \(e^{-x}\), \(e^{-2x}\) [\textit{K. Mahler}, Compositio Math. 19, 95-166 (1986)]. Explicit forms for the polynomials \(p_ m\), \(q_ m\), \(r_ m\) of degree m and the remainders \(E_ m\) satisfying \[ E_ m(x):=p_ m(x)e^{-2x}+q_ m(x)e^{-x}+r_ m(x)=O(x^{3(m+1)-1}) \] were known before [\textit{H. Jager}, Indag. Math. 26, 192-249 (1964; Zbl 0127.278)] but not in such a nice form as in the paper under review. Equating the O-term to zero and solving the quadratic equation the natural generalisation of the main diagonal approximant to \(e^{-x}\) is found: the so-called quadratic approximant [\textit{R. E. Shafer}, SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 111, 447-460 (1974; Zbl 0253.65006)]. The author gives explicit expressions and asymptotics as \(m\to \infty\) for \(p_ m\), \(q_ m\) \(r_ m\) and \(E_ m\). Moreover simple differential equations and a four-term recurrence relation for the polynomials is given. Finally it is proved [using the center shifting trick due to \textit{D. Braess}, J. Approximation Theory 40, 375-379 (1984; Zbl 0544.41017)] that the polynomials lead to an asymptotically exact solution, in the form \(E_ m(z+1/(3m+2))\), of the problem of minimising expressions of the form of \(E_ m\) with arbitrary polynomial coefficients of degrees \(\leq m\) in the sup-norm on the unit disk. An interesting paper.