The Bessel differential equation and the Hankel transform (Q2381597): Difference between revisions

This paper studies the classical second-order Bessel differential equation in Liouville form \[ -y''(x)+(\nu^2-\frac14)x^{-2}y(x)=\lambda y(x)\quad\text{ for } x\in (0, \infty), \] where the parameter \(\nu\in[0, \infty)\) is the order of the associated Bessel functions and \(\lambda \in\mathbb C\) is the spectral parameter. This equation is considered in the Hilbert function space \(L^2(0, \infty)\). For the case \(\nu\in[0, 1)\), the singular endpoint \(0\) is in the limit-circle nonoscillatory classification in the space \(L^2(0, \infty)\), except for the regular case \(\nu=\frac{1}{2}\). The equation is in the strong limit-point and Dirichlet condition at the endpoint \(+\infty\). A single Titchmarsh-Weyl \(m\)-coefficient for the whole interval \((0, \infty)\) can be defined using the generalized initial value theorem at the singular endpoint \(0\). This can be applied to prove the Hankel transform as an eigenfunction expansion for the case \(\nu\in[0, 1)\). The application of the principle solution from the endpoint \(0\) of the Bessel equation as a boundary condition yields the Friedrichs self-adjoint extension in \(L^2(0, \infty)\).