On zeros of discrete orthogonal polynomials (Q1008711)

The authors establish sharp inequalities for the extreme zeros of the classical discrete orthogonal polynomials: Charlier, Krawtchouk, Meixner, and Hahn. Their approach is based on the corresponding difference equations. For Charlier, Krawtchouk, and Meixner polynomials the function bounding the zero spacing is unimodal, meanwhile for the Hahn case different situations appear, depending on the parameters. Finally, they also provide lower bounds on the minimal distance between consecutive zeros.