Interlacing of the zeros of Jacobi polynomials with different parameters (Q1014751)

The authors study the interlacing properties of zeros of Jacobi polynomials of degrees differing by at most one as one or both of the parameters is (are) shifted continuously within a certain range. The work extends and complements earlier work done on zeros of \({}_2F_1\) hypergeometric polynomials [J. Comput. Appl. Math. 199, 48--55 (2007; Zbl 1106.33003)]. With the use of \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)}\) for the Jacobi polynomial of degree \(n\), orthogonal polynomials with respect to \(w(x)=(1-x)^{\alpha}(1+x)^{\beta}\) for \(\alpha,\beta>-1\) on \((-1,1)\), the main results show the interlacing property for the zeros of \textbf{1.} for \(0<t<2\): \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_{n-1}^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_{n-1}^{(\alpha,\beta +t)},\, P_{n-1}^{(\alpha,\beta +2)}\), \textbf{2.} for \(0<t<2\): \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_{n-1}^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_{n-1}^{(\alpha +t,\beta)},\, P_{n-1}^{(\alpha +2,\beta)}\), \textbf{3.} for \(0\leq t\leq 2,\;0\leq k\leq 2\): \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_{n-1}^{(\alpha +t ,\beta +k)}\), \textbf{4.} for \(0<t<2\): \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_n^{(\alpha,\beta +t)},\,P_n^{(\alpha,\beta +2)}\), \textbf{5.} for \(0<t<2\): \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_n^{(\alpha -t,\beta)},\,P_n^{(\alpha -2,\beta)}\), \textbf{6.} for \(0<t<2,\;0<k<2\): \(P_n^{(\alpha,\beta)},\,P_n^{(\alpha -k,\beta +t)},\,P_n^{(\alpha -2,\beta +2)}\). (on the interval \((-1,1)\) the zeros appear in clusters in the order indicated by the polynomials given) Several cases are discussed where it becomes clear that bounds on the increase in the parameters can not be weakened or both parameters can not be increased simultaneously without losing the interlacing properties. Furthermore, monotonicity and interlacing are compared; the latter sometimes needing less severe restrictions.