Higher-order Maass forms (Q1932513)

Invariants of classical holomorphic modular forms can sometimes be studied effectively by considering nonanalytic generating functions. Examples include the Eisenstein series \[ E^* (z,s) = \sum_{\gamma \in \Gamma_\infty \backslash \Gamma_0 (N)} \langle f, \gamma \rangle\, \text{Im} (\gamma z)^s \] that is modified with modular symbols. This Eisenstein series is an invariant of order two under the right regular representation of \(\Gamma_0 (N)\) on the space of functions on the upper half plane \(\mathfrak H\) that are eigenfunctions of the Laplacian. Although higher-order invariants have been classified in several cases, the real analytic case to which \(E^* (z,s)\) belongs has not yet been fully studied. The subject of this paper is the resolution of the problem of classification of higher-order Maass forms. The authors prove that the spaces of Maass forms of even weight and of arbitrary order are as large as possible if the exponential growth at the cusps is allowed. These results also apply to the case of higher-order holomorphic forms of even weight.