The Bailey chain and mock theta functions (Q387897): Difference between revisions

Mock theta functions were first introduced by S. Ramanujan in his last letter to G. H. Hardy dated on January 12, 1920 which includes \(\mathcal{F}_1(q):= \sum_{n\geq 1} \dfrac{q^{n^2}}{(q^n)_n}. \) Here the authors use the standard \(q\)-hypergeometric notation \[ (a)_n = (a;q)_n = (1-a)(1-aq) \cdots (1-aq^{n-1}). \] Bailey pairs form a pair of sequences \((\alpha_n, \beta_n)_{n \geq 0} \) satisfying \[ \beta_n = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \frac{\alpha_k}{(q)_{n-k} (aq)_{n+k}} \tag{1} \] and the use of these Bailey pairs leads to an identity \[ \sum_{n\geq 0} (b)_n (c)_n (aq/bc)^n \beta_n = \frac{(aq/b)_\infty (aq/c)_\infty}{(aq)_\infty (aq/bc)_\infty } \sum_{n \geq 0} \frac{(b)_n (c)_n (aq/bc)^n }{(aq/b)_n (aq/c)_n } \alpha_n \] under some convergence conditions. In the 1980's, Andrews showed that if \((\alpha_n, \beta_n) \) is a sequence satisfying (1), then so is \((\alpha_n', \beta_n'), \) where \[ \alpha_n' = \frac{(b)_n (c)_n (aq/bc)^n}{(aq/b)_n (aq/c)_n } \alpha_n \tag{2} \] and \[ \beta_n' = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \frac{(b)_k (c)_k (aq/bc)_{n-k} (aq/bc)^k } {(aq/b)_n (aq/c)_n (q)_{n-k}} \beta_k . \tag{3} \] Iterating (2) and (3) leads to a sequence of Bailey pairs, called the Bailey chain. In the paper under review the authors investigate the mock modularity of \(q\)-hypergeometric multisums constructed by using changes of bases in Bailey pairs, a method used by Bressoud, Ismail, and Stanton in [\textit{D. Bressoud} et al., Ramanujan J. 4, No. 4, 435--453 (2000; Zbl 0980.33013)]. Some identities involving these multisums and classical mock theta functions are also established.