Second-order linear differential equations with two irregular singular points of rank three: The characteristic exponent (Q1571006)

The author studies the differential equation \[ z^2f''+zf'-\left[\sum^6_{m=1} D_mz^{-m}+L^2+ \sum^6_{m=1}B_mz^m \right]f(z)=0, \] where \(D_i,B_i\), \(i=1,\dots,6\), and \(L\) are constants. This equation has two irregular singular points at the origin and at infinity. The author applies the classical method of multiple Laplace contour integral solutions. An explicit formula in terms of the Stokes multipliers is derived for the characteristic exponent of the multiplicative solutions. The Stokes multipliers are represented by converging series with terms for which limit formulas and more detailed asymptotic expansions are available. The formulas displayed in this paper are not of merely theoretical interest, but they also are complete in the sense that they have been implemented for computing accurate numerical values of the characteristic exponent.