The Sobolev orthogonality and spectral analysis of the Laguerre polynomials \(\{L_{n}^{-k}\}\) for positive integers \(k\) (Q596242)

The authors consider the analysis of the classical Laguerre differential expression \[ {l}_{-k}[y](x)={1\over x^{-k}e^{-x}}\left(-(x^{-k-1}e^{-x}y'(x))'+rx^{-k}e^{-x}y(x)\right), \] with \(x\in(0,\infty)\), \(k\in \mathbb{N}\) and \(r\geq 0\) fixed, in several nonisomorphic Hilbert and Hilbert-Sobolev spaces. In one of these spaces, specifically the Hilbert space \(L^2((0,\infty);x^{-k}e^{-x})\), the Glazman-Krein-Naimark theory produces a self-adjoint operator \(A_{-k}\), generated by \({l}_{-k}[\cdot]\), that is bounded below by \(rI\), where \(I\) is the identity operator on \(L^2((0,\infty);x^{-k}e^{-x})\). As a result of a general theory developed by Littlejohn and Wellman, there is a continuum of left-definite Hilbert spaces \(\{ H_{s,-k}=(V_{s,-k},(\cdot,\cdot)_{s,-k})\}_{s>0}\) and left-definite self-adjoint operators \(\{ B_{s,-k}\}_{s>0}\) associated with the pair \((L^2((0,\infty);x^{-k}e^{-x}),A_{-k})\). For \(A_{-k}\) and each of the self-adjoint operators \(B_{s,-k}\), the tail-end sequence \(\{ L_n^{-k}\}_{n=k}^\infty\) of Laguerre polynomials form a complete set of eigenfunctions in the corresponding Hilbert spaces. In [\textit{K. H. Kwon} and \textit{L. L. Littlejohn}, Rocky Mt. J. Math. 28, 547--594 (1998; Zbl 0930.33004)], a Hilbert-Sobolev space \(W_k[0,\infty)\) was introduced in which the entire sequence of Laguerre polynomials is orthonormal. In his paper, the authors construct a self-adjoint operator in this space, generated by the second-order Laguerre differential expression \({l}_{-k}[\cdot]\). The sequence \(\{ L_n^{-k}\}_{n=k}^\infty\) is a complete set of eigenfunctions of this operator.